9 by Design (2010)

Meet husband and wife design team Bob and Cortney Novogratz, owners of the NYC based design firm, Sixx Design, and parents to six kids, with one on the way. The couple is widely known in New York for their uncanny ability to renovate and sell sumptuous homes in the city, most of which they reside in with their large family for some period. But the Novogratz family is in a pinch. With construction on their newest Manhattan home almost complete, they decide to accept an offer to lease out their current home, a spectacular Soho building with five bedrooms and a rooftop basketball court. But there’s one problem: the new house isn’t quite ready for habitation, so the family needs to find a temporary place to live for two months. With eight family members and a baby on the way, finding short-term housing won’t be easy. The family searches feverishly for an affordable temporary apartment that is spacious enough to hold them all, but Bob and Cortney have very different expectations for the temporary space. Will they find a place to live before the baby comes?

Sixx Design's latest and greatest creation is a five-story, 8,000 square foot Manhattan dream home, built on the site of a former sex shop. With the lease up on the temporary space, it’s finally time for the family to move into the new house…but there’s just one problem: it’s STILL not done! In classic Novogratz style, Bob and Cortney have to push and prod their colorful construction team to get the job done in time for the family’s arrival. The Novogratzes' move-in celebration is cut short, however, when Bob announces that he’s already decided to put the new house up for sale.

With the birth of their seventh child, Bob and Cortney Novogratz invite friends and family to their home to celebrate baby Major's christening. At the same time, the couple decides to take on a challenging new design project: the renovation of an old wrestling gymnasium across the bridge in Hoboken, NJ. Bob and Cortney are confronted with unwanted design elements and a restrictive budget as they try to infuse the gym with their signature style. At the same time, they have to rush to prepare for the christening and a live performance from their good friend, singer/songwriter Suzanne Vega.

Bob and Cortney Novogratz go head to head when Cortney insists on taking on a low-budget job for a prominent client in the Hamptons. Cortney thinks that the renovation could result in more referrals, but Bob thinks that the job isn’t worth the trouble. One thing both parents do agree on is that hiring a new nanny is absolutely essential – but finding someone who can handle seven kids won’t be easy.

The Novogratzes open their home to help with two worthy causes. Bob takes the lead with raising money for his oldest son, Wolfie’s, basketball team, while Cortney throws herself into the effort to raise money for a dear friend’s daughter who has leukemia and desperately needs to pay for a bone marrow transplant. Cortney adds more to the family’s already full plate when she agrees to make over a big client’s office space without first negotiating the terms of the budget. As both benefits bump up against each other and the money-losing office renovation kicks into overdrive, Bob and Cortney realize that the souring economy may make it harder to sell their two expensive Manhattan properties than they thought.

Bob and Cortney Novogratz take the kids to London to promote the release of their new coffee table book on design and renovation, Downtown Chic. As always, the trip serves two purposes: promoting the book and the business while also searching for an international buyer for the new house. All goes well on their London sojourn, until Bob realizes that he’s reserved the book party venue for the wrong date. Once again, Bob and Cortney are forced to improvise – only this time in a foreign country.

Bob and Cortney Novogratz get their first big commercial job: they've been hired to design the interior of a brand new 24-room boutique hotel on the Jersey Shore. The pressure is on as they try to reconcile their unconventional design aesthetic with the practical needs of a functioning hotel. At the same time, Bob and Cortney grapple with the fact that potential homebuyers are complaining about the lack of an elevator in their five-story home they are trying to sell.

With their biggest design project only weeks away from completion, the Novogratzes steal some well-deserved family time at their Berkshires country house. Sixx Design's hotel project is almost done, and everyone is in a celebratory mood. But just days before the opening, it’s discovered that one of the last remaining hotel design details remains unfinished. As Bob and Cortney kick into high gear to get the job done at the hotel, things also heat up back at their house. With the pressure mounting to sell at least one of their Manhattan residential properties, Bob and Cortney are confronted with some tough choices about how to structure their business – and their lives – for the future. Will the tough housing market ease up and allow them to sell one of their two residential properties at long last, thereby forcing them to move yet again?