These are the All-Time Best Moments From Island of Bryan

Let’s rewind all the way to the show’s first season, shall we? At the time, Bryan and Sarah revealed they had bought what we now know as the Caerula Mar in the Bahamas. The island needed a lot of work and some major overhauls, but the Baeumlers had a vision and they were determined to see it through.

Of course, renovating an entire island and resort is no joke, so the family had to commit 100 per cent. That meant moving the whole family to the island during the workable months. They also had to home school their four children while working on the island, but luckily there were plenty of real-life learning opportunities as well.

Just as Bryan and Sarah were ready to welcome actual paying guests, the unthinkable happened: A global pandemic shut everyone down. Suddenly, all of the visitors the family thought they’d have weren’t there, putting even more stress and financial strain on the Baeumlers and their business venture.

Once restrictions lifted and the family was able to get the resort properly up and running, they were also able to take a step back and let their staff run the day-to-day operations. But, rather than trying to hop from Canada to the Bahamas and back, they made the decision to look for a temporary home closer to the resort for the duration of the project. Enter a new family home in Florida.

With the resort and a new home to overhaul and renovate, the family packed up their Canadian home for the big move. Although it wasn’t goodbye forever, it was a bittersweet farewell for the family and viewers alike. After all, we watched them build that home for their crew from the ground up. By the time they left, we were just as emotionally invested.

One thing Bryan and Sarah didn’t count on was renovating an entire home from top to bottom after a pandemic. Everything was backlogged, from products and materials to the actual building permits. That meant the renovations took far longer than they anticipated, and at one point the entire family even had to live in their new motor home for health and safety reasons.

Purchasing all of those flights to and from the Caerula Mar added up. After a while, Bryan decided to finally take his official pilot test. He had banked the flight hours (his father also used to fly) so it wasn’t exactly an arduous process. It was more a matter of procrastination and having the motivation. Getting to and from your own island certainly sounds like motivation enough to us!

It’s been cool to see Sarah’s career as a designer and creative take off over the years, so we were equally invested when she found a new building and the family renovated the space to create her own office oasis. The office was close to the kids’ school and served multiple purposes, including giving Sarah a serene area to keep business going while they gutted the Florida home.

Another thing we love about the Baeumlers is that they always consider opportunities when they present themselves. So when they were asked to partner on a rental home close to their new Florida abode, they jumped in. What was particularly cool about this rental though was that Bryan took the lead on the design choices, like the ones featured in this kitchen. The rest of the house, meanwhile, featured some furnishings from the family’s home in Canada.

It was a long haul, but by the end of Season 4 the resort was up and running, the rental was done, Sarah had her office space, and the family home in Florida was finally complete. Sure, they were still waiting on their backyard but all of the important elements were in place. Now, the family can finally take a breather and settle in for a while. Then again, these are the Baeumlers we’re talking about here, and we can’t wait to see what they get up to next.