Swampscott couple’s remodel on first episode of new A&E show

SWAMPSCOTT – A local family is whipping up gourmet meals and doing plenty of entertaining thanks to a complete kitchen makeover.Manton Road residents Jack and Sara Schecter received the free makeover for their appearance on the first episode of the new A&E series “Fix This Kitchen.”Sara Schecter, who works in real estate, said she was perusing ads on Craigslist when she saw an ad for the free makeover.”I sent them an e-mail,” she said. “I heard back and they wanted us to submit a video and I did. Jack (her husband) didn’t know much about what was going on. It was a surprise for him.”Jack Schecter, an attorney, said the couple used to refer to their kitchen as the “Bermuda Triangle.””The whole kitchen was so bad,” he said. “The layout was really bad. Everything was really tight and we kept bumping into each other every time we tried to do something in the kitchen.”The pale walls were covered with large cabinets with white doors and blue trim. Many of the cabinet doors were made of leaded stained glass.The floor was covered with worn linoleum that was a mottled green and yellow pattern.A refrigerator, sink and dishwasher were crowded into one corner, which only allowed one person to work in the area at a time.A built-in eating nook was sandwiched between the refrigerator and entrance to the dining room. There was a small island near the stove, which also divided the kitchen and restricted movement.Jack Schecter left one day for work – at the start of the makeover – and returned home to find the kitchen had been entirely gutted.”I was kept in the dark,” he said. “When I came home the kitchen was just gone. We went to stay with family for four days while the contractors worked. It’s just amazing. I think the contractors worked 24/7. They did it in just four days.”Sara Schecter is thrilled with the finished product and the work done by DiPietro Family Contracting.”He’s (Tom DiPietro) like a friend now,” she said. “He was preemptive. He thought of a lot of details.”The makeover includes new cabinets, a new center island and new appliances.The old leaded stained glass cabinet doors are gone, a portion of a wall was knocked out, but the new kitchen has incorporated a piece of the old into the new – some hardware from the old kitchen cabinets adorns the sides of a large frame proudly displayed on the kitchen wall.Jack Schecter, always the cook in the family, has even taken up baking since the new kitchen was installed.”The oven is fantastic,” he said. “I started baking a lot now. I make muffins and cake a lot.”The Schecters said they love the way the kitchen is now big enough to accommodate family and friends.”I love the flow,” Sara Schecter said. “There is room now for people to hang out and be comfortable. We’re going to be entertaining a lot more now. The kids love it. They love it so much that it was kind of annoying for a while: the kids always wanted to be in the kitchen.”The couple have lived at their home, which was built in the 1920s, for five years and have methodically working on one room after another to update the home.”I think the last time the kitchen was remodeled was in the 1950s,” Sara Schecter said. “It was a robins egg blue.”The couple has three children Max, 7, Rachel, 5, and Sam, who is 2.”Fix This Kitchen” host and Nicole Facciuto, owner of Nicole Facciuto Design, collaborated with Sara Schecter on the project.The six episode half-hour series airs Saturdays beginning Oct. 16 as part of A&E’s Saturday morning lineup, “The Big Fix.” the episode featuring the Schecter family will air at 10 a.m. on Oct. 30 on A&E.