Barbara Bestor’s one-of-a-kind homes for high-flying clients may get the lion’s share of attention, but the Los Angeles–based architect is just as willing to reach deep into her bag of talents and exercise her creative vision on lower-cost projects. Her fast-track renovation of a ’70s ranch house in Ojai, California, for a family of four is the latest example.

Before: Front Exterior

Budget, of course, is a relative thing, but in an area where even more modest homes sell for millions, pulling off an extensive redo for about $1.6 million was a matter of ingenuity and strategy.

After: Front Exterior

Homeowner Kim Master was crystal clear about what she wanted when she and her husband, Noah Lieb, headed west to California from Aspen with their two teenage daughters. “I had a laundry list of things: an office for Noah, a laundry room that didn’t keep us up at night, a pet room that would keep my dog from eating the cat’s food, en suite bathrooms, and a connection to the outdoors,” Kim recalls. “I wanted something clean and modern with soul and character. And I wanted it to look great even when it was messy.”

Before: Living Room

Kim had fallen in love with Bestor’s work while researching California architects, and she got in touch before the family had even found a house. “Barbara’s homes have this wonderful authenticity,” says Kim. “Everything is intentional—there’s no wasted space—but the tone is relaxed with a behind-the-scenes focus on details and precision.

After: Living Room

“Plus, Barbara’s work is fun,” Kim adds. “I’m a writer and my husband is an energy consultant, and we both work from home, so it was important that we have a space that would bring us joy and make us productive.”

Before: Living Room

When the couple discovered a 1977 three-bedroom, three-bath ranch house with a good roof and no obvious structural problems situated on one acre, they immediately put in an offer, and they sealed the deal for $2.3 million.

After: Living Room

Bestor says a ranch-style home makes sense for clients wishing to lean modern. “It’s easy to convert a ranch to a more contemporary house because it’s one big roof, it’s one story, and there are some high ceilings,” she explains. “In this case, since a lot of the interior walls weren’t structural, you could rearrange the interior pretty easily. You just add new windows and bring in light. The finishes are the easy part to fix.”

$222,830 Contractor Supervision	$33,890 Sitework & Demolition	$17,150 Concrete
$106,000 Wood (Including Rough & Finish Framing)	$22,875 Thermal & Moisture Protection	$175,000 Doors & Windows
$400,000 Finishes	$66,000 Plumbing	$65,000 Electrical
$221,749 Contractor Overhead	$162,000 Furniture & Decor	$77,000 Client-Ordered Fixtures & Finishes
$4,800 ADU Millwork
Grand Total: $1,574,294

Before: Den/Office

Looking past the blue wall-to-wall carpeting and cottage-cheese ceiling in the living room, the carpet in the bathrooms, and the “meh” kitchen, Bestor came up with a plan to transform the house and turn a freestanding workshop into a fully functioning ADU in less than a year.

After: Den/Office

To pull off the tight timeline requested by the clients, Bestor brought on two architects from her office, Elinor Nissley and Victoria Oakes, along with the firm’s senior interior designer, Allyson Campbell.

Before: Kitchen

To avoid having to pay for a rental, the family moved into the partially finished ADU after construction had begun on the house. But Kim says that “being in the trenches” enabled her to keep an eye on construction, which was overseen by builder Evan Warren, and make decisions on the fly as needed.

After: Kitchen

“Living on-site was challenging,” Kim admits, “but as long as your expectations about feeling elated every single day are low, you can experience unexpected joys.”

“I warned my kids, ‘The next few months are going to suck,’ and there were days that were a little grim,” she adds. “But we’d have cozy movie nights with boxes and pets all over the place and dinner with friends, even though our table was propped up and we were cooking in a tiny portable oven.”

After: Primary Suite

Having a decisive client went a long way to ensuring the renovation was completed on time, says Bestor. “Kim has high design standards, but she was willing to make choices really quickly.”

After: ADU

Though the budget drove many of the design decisions, Campbell says those constraints offered the team the opportunity to get creative since no structural work had to be done, and new windows and doors were installed in the existing openings.

“We used inexpensive materials, and materials that were easily available,” Campbell explains. “Color and paint are ways to get an impact without spending a lot and without having to specify long lead-time items.”

The multifunctional ADU, which does triple duty as a guesthouse-gym-and-TV-watching destination, is another spot where the team used color to maximum effect. The combination stair/storage unit that leads to the kids’ lounge is sky blue, which is offset by the retro-style refrigerator in a tomato-red.

Before: Rear Exterior

“Hiring Bestor was obviously a splurge,” explains Kim. “They do incredible homes. There’s a lot of expense that happens when you order the wrong thing, and I wanted to get it right the first time. They helped me make decisions that saved money, like doing engineered wood flooring rather than oak. When I told them my idea for a secret door into my office, they were like, ‘That’s not in your budget.’ They kept me under control.”

After: Rear Exterior

More projects by Bestor Architecture:

Jenni Konner’s Hollywood Pad Is Ready for Its Close-Up

An Eccentric Pop of Blue Accents a Modern Villa in Los Angeles

A Silver Lake Tudor’s Gut Renovation Shows That Bigger Isn’t Always Better

Daft Punk Could Play at This House

Project Credits:

Architecture and Interior Design: Bestor Architecture / @bestorarchitecture

Builder: Evan C. Warren, Warren Construction

Structural Engineer: Craig Phillips Engineering and Design

Landscape Design: Place / @_placedesign_

Photography: Michael Wells / @michaelraywells