Felipe and Ash were growing disillusioned with the LA real estate market. In search of a two-bedroom, one-bathroom home, they found that move-in-ready listings were being snapped up, often for double the asking price. So instead they started looking at fixer-uppers, and, in 2022, purchased a 1950s hillside duplex with a trove of original, if not exactly in-vogue, features. One of the units, a basement apartment, had the potential to evolve into a warm, inviting space for guests or renters—if the couple could do something about its dark, cramped interiors. “It was a little dungeon-like,” says fbglima, a creative director. Still the couple was determined. afentwin, a production designer, drafted a $40K budget to transform the unit. But as they soon found out, that figure was something of a pipe dream, with the renovation coming to a total of $98K. Despite the much larger figure, the couple saved substantially by calling on family and doing much of the work themselves. Felipe’s architect ...