Landing a place to call their own was a long time coming for L.A. locals James and Andrea. They met close to two decades ago on the east side, and spent years sharing spaces with roommates as their twenty-something savings grew to the point where they could begin looking for real estate.

James, who manages a climbing gym, met his friend Yan Wang—an architect and cofounding principal at Cover Architecture—around the same time he’d met Andrea, an acupuncturist. As the couple searched for property, they would send Wang listings they were considering.

Before: Entry

After: Entry

“James would ask me for feedback here and there, and then one day he sent a link to this property,” Wang recalls. “As soon as I saw it, I said, ‘Jump on it.’”

They had found a single-story house tucked in Pasadena’s San Rafael Hills, up a curved driveway shaded by mature trees that made it seem far more secluded than it was. The home was built in 1962 and hadn’t been renovated since; its wide deck and sparse windows shrouded an interior that felt like a time capsule. James and Andrea liked the post-and-beam detailing and could see past the cramped rooms topped with popcorn ceilings. They were also shocked to discover how solid the structure was after 60 years, noting that there was not a single crack in the foundation.

Before: Living Area

After: Living Area

Mobili Vintage sits beside a Moroccan rug and Kantara poufs. Cover Architecture restored the original joists and exposed them to give the room more character. The Oak flooring that runs throughout the home cost a total of $11,200. " layout="wide" credit="Photo by Leonid Furmansky" photoUserId="6719797107206717440"/>

“Seeing the excitement on Wang’s face validated our judgement in making the purchase,” James says—and they picked up the keys in December 2022.

In the beginning, James and Andrea asked Wang for renovation advice from the sidelines. They had moved in with family and were counting every dollar over the course of the next year as it went toward permitting and plans. James once did some drafting work for a structural engineer, and he would pitch Wang his ideas—erasing here, adding there, and wondering whether or not he could afford to hire his friend to take on the project professionally.

$16,000 Site Work	$20,000 Foundation	$30,000 Structural
$15,388 Wall Finishes	$11,200 Flooring	$23,315 Roofing
$21,540 Electrical	$21,950 Plumbing	$15,000 HVAC Equipment
$2,500 Kitchen & Bath Fixtures	$500 Lighting	$27,065 Cabinetry
$3,000 Countertops	$8,000 Appliances	$25,685 Windows & Glazing
$3,500 Tilework	$10,000 Furnishings & Decor	$2,500 Permitting
$40,000 General Contractor Fee	$15,500 Waste/Debris Removal
Grand Total: $312,643

Before: Kitchen

After: Kitchen

“It came to a point where we knew this house needed a lot of love, and we couldn’t make it happen on our own,” Andrea notes. “It felt like a community effort.”

Wang remembers walking through all 1,400 square feet of the home and envisioning thoughtful modernizations that would involve carefully peeling back layers. “The placement of windows and doors didn’t take advantage of the site, and the house was partitioned off in a way that didn’t encourage flow,” he says. “I knew that if I opened things up, it could feel like a tree house.”

A deep roof made most of the interiors dark, and it didn’t help that the south side only had one small sliding door to let light in. Wang chose to pepper the entire ceiling with skylights, and repositioned almost all of the windows and doors to to capture light from the sun and moon. He shifted the position of the entryway, which provided more square footage for the living room. Wang also struck down the wall separating the kitchen, inviting more cohesion. Although the home’s foundation was in good shape, the design team did have to cut into the existing slab to run plumbing lines for the new layout.

But the biggest change was Wang’s addition of a treatment room for Andrea’s clients, which he crafted from a concrete patio.

Before: Treatment Room

After: Treatment Room

“We introduced a curved element there to soften the corners, and speak to her ability to create a soft, healing space,” Wang says.

In keeping with the home’s midcentury style and natural surroundings, the couple and Wang embraced warm minimalism throughout the interiors.

They opted to expose the ceiling joists in the living room—a restoration project requiring lots of sanding, which James did himself—and those beams coordinated well with the French oak flooring below. In the kitchen, they selected veneer oak cabinetry to seamlessly match the flooring and the living room’s built-in shelves. The bedrooms are wrapped in neutral tones, the two bathrooms are accented by terrazzo floors and cement tiles, and the windows frame views of the treetops.

Before: Primary Bedroom

After: Primary Bedroom

James and Andrea officially moved in at the start of this year, and they feel that the multiyear project was worth the wait. “I never imagined being able to own a home like this,” James says. “I start my day with a coffee or tea and sit in the kitchen nook, looking out the window thinking, ‘I can’t believe I get to live here.”

Before: Primary Bathroom

After: Primary Bathroom

More Budget Breakdown stories:

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It Took $1.6M and Less Than a Year to Reboot This ’70s Ojai Ranch House

Project Credits:

Architect of Record: Yan M. Wang, Cover Architecture / @cover_arch

Builder: Sulgatti General Contractors

Structural Engineer: AramArk Concepts

Lighting and Interior Design: Cover Architecture

Cabinetry Design: Mario Magro / Dot USA Millwork

Staging: Jessica Heaphy / Left Branch Designs

Styling: Jillian Kasimow

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Budget Breakdown: With $312K, They Made a Worn-Down Midcentury “Feel Like a Tree House”