In February 2021, Avalon Rossi needed a project. The designer is one half of the Avi Ross Group, a mother-daughter design and real estate team that focuses on rehabbing historic properties in Southern California. Avalon was living and going to school in Los Angeles, but since classes had gone online due to the pandemic, she relocated to San Diego, where her mother had just bought a property. “I decided to use that time when I didn’t have to be in L.A. in person, and go build something for myself and live in it,” she says.

Her focus was on a detached guesthouse, which had 800 square feet divvied up into shared living spaces, two bedrooms, and one bath. Originally built in 1974, the home had low ceilings and outdated finishes. “The property is gorgeous; it’s about two acres up in horse country with sprawling lavender fields and ocean views,” says Avalon. “The sunsets are beautiful in the evening—so I was bummed that there was really no connection between the house and the surrounding property.”

Before: Exterior

After: Exterior

Avalon established a budget of $50,000 for the entire project, and she was debating whether to remove the dropped ceilings, which would incur a hefty expense. But then, while she was shopping at a recycled building materials store, she found four sets of solid mahogany custom French doors with etched glass, each measuring nine feet high. “We got them for an incredible deal,” says Avalon. “So I just built everything off that.”

$15,000 Structural & Framing	$3,000 Floors	$5,000 Doors & Windows
$4,000 Appliances	$4,000 Shower Stucco	$2,000 Bath & Kitchen Fixtures
$4,000 Exterior Stonework	$1,000 Ceiling Texture	$2,000 Built-In Media Console
$2,000 Countertops	$3,000 HVAC	$1,000 Light Fixtures & Fans
$2,000 Plumbing	$3,000 Electrical	$3,000 Paint
Grand Total: $54,000

Before: Exterior

After: Exterior

Avalon removed one of the bedrooms to expand the living space, demolished the eight-foot-tall ceilings (bringing the interior height up to roofline), and installed the nine-foot doors.

Now, two sets open to a generous entertaining patio, and a third is located in the kitchen, at the other end of the home. Demoing and refinishing the ceilings was “the most expensive part of the renovation, but well worth it,” says Avalon. “The bungalow immediately felt double the size.” She also glued a low-cost Abaca cloth to the ceiling for additional visual interest.

Before: Living Room

After: Living Room

The existing interior featured a mishmash of finishes, with diagonal wall paneling in a bedroom, wainscot in the second bedroom, and a mix of flooring that included carpet, stone, and tile. Avalon wanted to simplify and add character, so she kept the stone floor in the kitchen and introduced it throughout the home—a decision made easier on the budget when she found a crate of similar stones discounted at a stone yard. “They were completely mismatched and all different sizes,” says Avalon, who sorted through them and carefully selected pieces to be used for the new floor.

Before: Kitchen

As a counterpoint to the rough texture of the stone, Avalon specified smooth, plaster-like built-ins in the living room and kitchen. “We framed the media console out with two-by-fours and plywood, coated it in drywall texture, and painted it to give it a plaster look and feel,” she says.

Avalon took the same approach for the kitchen cabinets, although she selected a Roman clay finish atop the primed drywall, and set mahogany doors on the fronts. “I really didn’t want the kitchen to feel fully separate from the living room,” she says. For consistency, the designer used waterproof stucco in the shower and on the custom vanity in the bathroom.

After: Kitchen

Wherever possible, Avalon turned to salvaged and reused materials to keep the budget down—like the aforementioned exterior doors, the pantry doors in the kitchen, and the exposed accent beams, which she sourced from gazebos on the property. She also kept all the plumbing in the same place for that reason.

Unfortunately, when materials costs skyrocketed during the pandemic, she had to increase the budget slightly. “We did go a few thousand dollars over, but considering the scope of the changes, I think the renovation was pretty impactful for that amount,” says Avalon.

Before: Bedroom

After: Bedroom

Now, the new doors drastically improve the indoor/outdoor connection to several refinished outdoor spaces around the house—the last set, located in the bathroom, lead to a private patio with a soaking tub under the stars, surrounded by a wall built from stones gathered around the property.

“This house is one of my favorite things that I’ve done,” says Avalon. “It was really fun to design something for myself and just think about it—‘What do I want in here? What fits my personality?’ I feel like it turned out to be a true reflection of my style and myself.”

Before: Bathroom

After: Bathroom

Before: Patio

After: Patio

More Budget Breakdown stories:

An Architect Overhauls His Garage Into a Finely Tuned ADU for $75K

A $614K Renovation Carves Up an L.A. Bungalow Like a Slice of Swiss Cheese

An Interior Designer Livens Up Her Dated Kitchen for $57K

Project Credits:

Designer: Avi Ross Group / @avirossgroup

Builder: Avi Ross Group

Structural Engineering: ANP Engineering

Interior Design: Avi Ross Group

Cabinetry: Stephane Vimont

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Budget Breakdown: A Designer Polishes Up a Lackluster Guesthouse for $54K