Collection by Jami Smith

Affordable Home Transformations

Remodeling your home can come with a lengthy list of expenses and countless price tags. Here are seven transformations that cut costs and stick to their desired budget without compromising their dream home.

Regina and Andy Rihn open the sliding doors in the main living space when they need more ventilation, while the two dogs prefer to use their custom door to get a little fresh air.
Regina and Andy Rihn open the sliding doors in the main living space when they need more ventilation, while the two dogs prefer to use their custom door to get a little fresh air.
Stuth and Shelton’s dining area, like their bedroom, and the rest of their house, is a work in progress. The couple keeps an eye out for deals on materials to complete their laundry list of unfinished projects. Recently, a local surplus building supply happened to have just enough extra maple to finish their floors. They jumped on it. “We’re just waiting for the right opportunities,” Shelton says.
Stuth and Shelton’s dining area, like their bedroom, and the rest of their house, is a work in progress. The couple keeps an eye out for deals on materials to complete their laundry list of unfinished projects. Recently, a local surplus building supply happened to have just enough extra maple to finish their floors. They jumped on it. “We’re just waiting for the right opportunities,” Shelton says.
Building on a shoestring is no mean feat in Singapore, especially when your home calls for a multilayered facade. Chang Architects, however, were more than up to the challenge. Photo by Albert Lim KS.
Building on a shoestring is no mean feat in Singapore, especially when your home calls for a multilayered facade. Chang Architects, however, were more than up to the challenge. Photo by Albert Lim KS.
For a cost-conscious 2,000-square-foot renovation located 30 minutes outside of Austin, Texas, architect Nick Deaver took a look around for inspiration. He spied galvanized metal cladding on the region’s sheds and co-opted the inexpensive, resilient material for his own design. He then applied locally quarried Lueders limestone near the entrance—a warm contrast to the steely facade.
For a cost-conscious 2,000-square-foot renovation located 30 minutes outside of Austin, Texas, architect Nick Deaver took a look around for inspiration. He spied galvanized metal cladding on the region’s sheds and co-opted the inexpensive, resilient material for his own design. He then applied locally quarried Lueders limestone near the entrance—a warm contrast to the steely facade.
A view back into the hallway from the master bedroom.
A view back into the hallway from the master bedroom.
Architect Joaquin Castillo blends inexpensive materials, the odd splurge, and a refined modernist sensibility to create an affordable weekend house for brothers Alfredo and Guillermo Oropeza. The facade is a juxtaposition of rough-hewn local stone, smooth concrete, glass, and steel—the material palette used throughout the structure.
Architect Joaquin Castillo blends inexpensive materials, the odd splurge, and a refined modernist sensibility to create an affordable weekend house for brothers Alfredo and Guillermo Oropeza. The facade is a juxtaposition of rough-hewn local stone, smooth concrete, glass, and steel—the material palette used throughout the structure.