Santa Monica’s quaint Sunset Park neighborhood was originally built to support Douglas Aircraft Company workers but today it has grown from a once-modest area to one of the best places to live in West Los Angeles. An array of original homes and new-build two stories, typical of the gentrifying area and real estate demand, dot its streets while the highly-rated school district and charming 20th century architecture continue to draw buyers.

It’s no secret that buying in the area will cost you. One couple, who had been living in a 1939 bungalow, chose to do an extensive remodel instead of move.

"They really liked the neighborhood and wanted to stay there,” says architect Susan Addison. “They had entertained the option of looking around but as an investment and lifestyle choice, it didn’t make sense.”

For approximately 15 years, the couple had lived in a home Addison and her partner, Jefferson Schierbeek, deemed as not their own as they adapted to a less than optimal situation. The homeowners, both writers, had an extensive art collection and wanted a home that felt authentic to who they are and how they live.

The dark, cramped, and dated home had undergone a light kitchen renovation, a back family room addition in the 80s, and the master bedroom and bathroom were tight. The layout was typical of a 1930s home with small, condensed spaces. They were ready for dramatic changes but the kicker? It had to be done on a tight budget.

“When someone says they have a limited budget, that means something very different in Santa Monica than in other parts of the country,” Addison explains.

Mid-range new construction costs around $500/square foot and the demand for contractors is high. “The bids they received before selecting a contractor were as high as $950,000,” she recalls.

Costs and budgeting are not often discussed frankly and the architects knew they needed to find a bid that would land the couple at a more reasonable budget.

When it came to the design plan, one of the advantages was the lot, which comes in at around 7,000 square feet. “The side yard has room, so given this situation, it was a way to make the house bigger without putting a second story on,” Schierbeek says.

The couple asked for individual offices, a facelift of the existing ADU on the site, an open main living space, and views of their beloved Chinese flame tree, which can be seen directly from the new deck and many other parts of the house.

First, they moved the original front door to the side of the home. The foyer has become an intimate sitting area and book nook. With budget a top priority, the architects also went with low-materials as the baseline. Engineered white oak hardwood files and porcelain tile keep things conservative while they “upped the ante with finer accent materials” like the Heath backsplash tile in the kitchen, Addison says.

Interior designers Debra Vigna and Rebecca Cox of Lily Spindle were also hired to furnish the “new” home and incorporate the couple’s personal art pieces.

“They were very open-minded from the beginning,” Vigna remarks. Their art collection, love of travel, and surprising interest in a bold palette served as a jumping off point.

Throughout the completion, art was hung and rehung many times to find the perfect spot for each. There’s now a vast ukulele collection in the living room, smaller works in the couple’s prospective offices, and framed Marfa prints of the iconic Prada store at day and night overhead the master bed.

To sum up the remodel, it’s a cheery project which honors its original architecture while fully encapsulating the homeowners’ quirky style and resourcefulness. The final budget? A cool $765K.

Demo and Hauling $28,300.00	Foundation $45,800.00	Framing and Steel $66,300.00
Roofing and Sheet Metal $30,700.00	Doors and Windows $79,000.00	Exterior Finishes $35,800.00
Drywall and Insulation $33,800.00	Finish Carpentry $25,200.00	Flooring $24,000.00
Tile and Countertops $29,700.00	Millwork Fabrication, Finishing and Installation $96,800.00	Interior and Exterior Painting $34,600.00
Electrical $48,000.00	Plumbing and Fire Sprinklers $29,500.00	HVAC $11,900.00
Stormwater Mitigation/Site Drainage $11,700.00	Contractor’s Profit/Overhead and Job Site Management $133,900.00
Grand Total:$765,000

Related Reading: Budget Breakdown: A Couple Spend Six Weeks and $16.7K Fashioning an Airy Kitchen

Project Details:

Architect of Record: Addison Schierbeek Architects/@architects_addisonschierbeek

Builder/General Contractor: Campbell Contractors Inc.

Structural Engineer: RSE Associates, Inc.

Landscape Design Company: Doug Shemer - Groundswell

Interior Design: Lily Spindle/@lilyspindledesign

Cabinetry Design: The Valley Woodworks and Finish Carpentry Inc.