When Mandy Palasik and her husband, Adam Vest, found out they were relocating from Philadelphia to Los Angeles for Adam’s new job, the couple were eager to trade cold winters for a home with a sunny backyard—understandable coming from the native Baltimoreans and long-time East Coasters, who had endured their share of harsh weather.

Mandy, who likes to peruse real estate websites, was keeping an eye out for something that had—or could have—the same great light as the loft they were renting in Philadelphia. She immediately sensed potential in a listing for a Spanish-style bungalow that had remnants of its original charm, like a barrel-vaulted ceiling, altar-topped fireplace, and Sante Fe–style plastered archway; Adam, who has a green thumb, needed no convincing after seeing the ample backyard. The home, built in 1926, was clearly a fixer-upper, but as a registered architect who runs her own practice, Mandy had ideas for how they could make it their own.

She and Adam bought the property site unseen in 2019—just before the onset of Covid and the completion of SoFi Stadium in nearby Inglewood sent the area’s home and rent prices soaring. The neighborhood still has its quiet charm and strong community, says Mandy, but she’s not sure they could afford to move there now. “Because the older generations that lived here are transitioning out, developers looking to make a quick profit have purchased a lot of the homes and stripped them of their original character,” she says.

Wanting to preserve what their home had while improving it with a $150,000 budget, the couple were intent on working within the existing footprint and maintaining the structure’s load bearing walls. Contractors they hired had a different view. “[They] were saying we should add another bathroom because it would raise the value, but at some point that gets under your skin. We didn’t need another bathroom for the two of us. It was a little bit less space than we had in Philadelphia, but it’s less space to clean. And our priority was maximizing the outdoor area.”

$11,700 Demolition	$8,816.26 Materials	$30,476 Framing
$21,380 Drywall	$10,387 Appliances	$3,651.66 Doors & Windows (labor not included)
$6,900 Flooring	$5,332.74 Countertops (Material and Labor)	$28,900 Cabinets (Material and Labor)
$8,027 Plumbing	$9,000 Electrical	$5,738.78 Deck (Material and Labor)
$8,405 Fireplace Rebuild	$14,933 Contractor Fees (Labor, cleanup, insurance, etc)	$2,486.01 Permit Fees
Grand Total (including $39K contractor losses): $176,133.45

The couple opted for a few simple yet effective design moves to recreate the open, light-filled atmosphere of their Philadelphia rental while maximizing backyard space for their new West Coast lifestyle. The living area’s assets were kept intact—the barrel-vaulted ceiling; the fireplace—with the preserved archway now serving as a threshold between old and new. The compartmentalized dining, kitchen, and laundry areas were consolidated toward the home’s rear, and an eight-foot-wide glass patio door opens to the backyard. The new opened-up layout is similar to a shotgun-style home, with light coming through a window at the front, which is original, and the new patio door at the rear.

Another key carry over from their previous apartment is a central storage unit. Sleek white cabinetry is built into the load-bearing wall, accommodating a recessed refrigerator and pantry items on the kitchen-facing side and closet space in the bedroom. Keeping things clutter free was essential with just 1,062 square feet.

Mandy and Adam were expecting to complete the project as planned until they were scammed by contractors. After hiring a builder recommended by a friend of a friend, Mandy realized the team couldn’t read plans or properly waterproof windows. Further sleuthing revealed that the contractor they initially hired was illegally subbing out his license to an impersonator. The next contractor they hired was “great” until they dropped out mid-project to chase a bigger lead in Malibu during the height of Covid. The fiasco set them back five months and $39,000, excluding the additional $10,000 they paid in rent while waiting to move in.

“We got the sticker shock of living in Los Angeles. It was a conscious decision to not go too crazy with the renovation.”
—Mandy Palasik, resident and architect

They resolved to finish the project on their own, taking up the painting, hardscaping, and landscaping work on the backyard, which ultimately became the couple’s favorite spot—and one of the thriftiest. A blanket of sod was ripped out, which qualified them for a rebate through Southern California’s Turf Replacement Program. They planted it with free olive and peach trees received through LA’s’ City Plants initiative, cacti and succulent cuttings from neighbors, and a trunkload of plants migrated from their verdant Philly loft to create the wild, aromatic retreat.

Faced with unsightly views of their neighbor’s garage in the backyard, the couple, with permission, planted it with bougainvillea, transforming it into a green backdrop behind their pergola. They painted another adjacent wall a Luis Barragán–inspired pink. The kidney-bean-shaped island at the center of the yard is a play on Southern California’s ubiquitous pools of the same silhouette.

Mandy compiled a 300-page document to build a case against her contractor, ultimately winning the arbitration clause. However, facing a number of similar cases and a lawsuit from their insurance company, the contractor filed bankruptcy, leaving Mandy and her husband high and dry. But she and Adam still ended up with a home they love, and perhaps all the more for the work they put in themselves. “It’s the little house that could,” says Mandy.

And while the neighborhood is rapidly changing, the area’s peaceful, communal spirit persists. “There is an older lady, Ms. B, that lives across the street with her son. She is our neighborhood watch, eyes on the street, always hanging out on the porch,” says Mandy. “She would always wave to the lady who lived in our home before us, and so we carry on that tradition.”

Related Reading:

Budget Breakdown: With $89K, an Architect Expands His L.A. Home for Three Generations of Family

Project Credits:

Architect: Mandy Palasik Studio / @mpal.studio