When they first stepped foot into their Mission District loft in 2015, Kathryn Heller and Kevin Short knew they’d found what they were looking for, though surface impressions were deceiving. “The interiors were ugly, stained, and completely outdated,” the couple tell Dwell. “The previous tenant had smoked cigarettes inside for nearly a decade, so it was particularly dreary and felt like a time capsule from the ’90s.”

$300 Demolition	$400 Wall Framing	$1,300 Doors
$3,500 Metal Guardrails	$1,500 Built-In Bedroom Closets	$5,300 Drywall & Plaster
$8,600 Tile	$2,200 Flooring	$4,500 Painting
$600 Kitchen & Bath Accessories	$2,100 Kitchen Appliances	$2,500 Kitchen & Bath Cabinetry
$500 Miscellaneous Carpentry	$2,200 Wood Countertop	$600 Black Quartz Countertop
$9,500 Furniture	$2,400 Mechanical Work	$7,200 Plumbing Work
$5,400 Electrical Work	$1,300 Lighting	$2,500 Curtains
$2,600 Miscellaneous	$1,400 Permits	$1,600 Patio Landscaping
Grand Total: $70,000

Even so, with such a great location and no structural or exterior problems, the couple—she’s a designer and he’s an architect, both at Tiny Monster Design—knew that they had found the perfect blank canvas in the loft. “We both had had that urban loft fantasy, and this space was our opportunity to not only live it, but also design it,” say the couple.

Scroll ahead for a look at the transformation.

Before

After

Before: The Kitchen

After: The Kitchen

Before: The Living Room

After: The Living Room

Shop the Look

Before: The Bedroom

After: The Bedroom

Before: The Bathroom

After: The Bathroom

Project Credits:

Architect: Tiny Monster Design / Kevin Short(@tinymonster.design)

Builder: DLiu Construction

Landscape Design: Stephen Stolte Designs

Lighting Design: Tiny Monster Design / Kevin Short

Interior Design: Tiny Monster Design / Kathryn Heller

Metal Railings: Mission Iron Works / Manny Lopez

Wood Counter: Mac Cutting Boards / Bart McHale

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Budget Breakdown: A Design Duo Give Their San Francisco Loft a Modern Makeover for $70K