Budget Breakdown: With $89K, an Architect Expands His L.A. Home for Three Generations of Family
Danny Lim and Jennie Lee are proof that if you can survive living in a 400-square-foot studio for four months with newborn twins and a six-year-old, you can survive pretty much anything. While it’s not an experience they’re keen to repeat, they got through it with their humor and sanity intact.
The couple considered themselves lucky when they purchased a 1921 Craftsman in the Highland Park neighborhood of Los Angeles. With just two bedrooms in a little over 1,200 square feet, the house had its shortcomings—but the 7,000-square-foot lot offered something more: the opportunity to create a multigenerational property for themselves, their growing family, and Jennie’s parents.
At the front of the main house, architect Danny Lim framed one of the original windows with new trim to give it a more contemporary feel and installed limestone on the porch and steps.
As an architect, Danny felt confident about assuming general contractor duties in addition to planning a renovation that would right some wrongs undertaken by previous owners. He would also design and build the home’s 600-square-foot addition and a standalone ADU—all while keeping his day job working for the architecture and design firm Gensler.
A gravel path with flagstone steps leads to the new ADU at the rear of the house. "We wanted everything to feel as natural as possible," Danny says. "All the hardscaping was done using timber, decomposed granite, and gravel, and the fencing is cedar."
And then the reality of what he’d taken on set in. "I’ve had experience working with contractors, but I underestimated how hard this was going to be," Danny says. "And as much as I tried to phase it perfectly, when the twins were born, the house wasn’t done, and we had to live in the studio first."
| $14,200 Concrete Slab | $14,750 Rough Framing | $2,100 Insulation |
| $2,300 Roofing | $6,500 Plumbing | $5,700 Electrical |
| $2,850 HVAC | $3,800 Doors & Windows | $5,200 Wood Siding |
| $4,300 Drywall | $4,100 Painting | $3,100 Kitchenette Counter |
| $500 Shower Hot Mop | $5,700 Shower Tiling | $2,100 Concrete Finishing |
| $2,200 Kitchen Cabinets | $3,100 Custom Shelving/Carpentry | $1,710 Appliances |
| $2,100 Lighting | $130 Hardware | $2,990 Kitchen/Bath Fixtures |
| ADU Grand Total: $89,430 | ||
In contrast to the bungalow, the ADU’s cedar siding will weather and patina over time
"My hubris was not unfounded," he adds wryly, "but it didn’t quite play out the way I expected. I was fortunate to build relationships with so many wonderful subcontractors who were experienced, patient, and willing to partner with me on all my crazy ideas, but also push back when necessary."
Flagstone pavers and drought-tolerant plantings mark the rear facade of the house.
Though he relied on builder Konrad Ilnicki for the big moves, like the foundation, grading, framing, and roofing, Danny oversaw the other trades, from the plumbing to the painting. It helped, Danny says, that his and his wife’s visions for the property aligned. "We’re both Korean-American, and taking care of your parents is part of our culture. We knew we had to expand and create an ADU for them."
Danny envisioned the space between the ADU and the house as an informal gathering place. "It creates a sort of courtyard sensibility, which works for our intergenerational family dynamics."
It also helped that they were able to complete the project over the course of nearly four years. "We had what we had financially, and there was no going over it," he says. "Because everything took so long, and the pandemic happened at the tail end, the final touches took a while. Some of them I took on myself, while for others we hired people as they became available. At that point, we were able to get more loans because we’d added square footage and there was more equity. That’s how we were able to do the pool at the end of it all."
North-facing sliders, from Milgard, fill the ADU interior with natural light. The Benjamin Moore wall paint was customized to match a swatch of nude leather. The desk at left is from Akron Street.
The property’s transformation began at the front, where Danny sensitively streamlined original details (like the windows) while retaining the home’s bungalow credentials. "I gradually modernized the language of the exterior as you move to the rear of the property," he says.
Danny fitted the kitchen into an alcove outfitted with Ikea cabinets and Semihandmade fronts. The refrigerator is by LG. On the jute rug by Armadillo, chairs from Threshold join a table from Inside Weather.
For the ADU itself, he leaned into a more contemporary aesthetic, complementing the main home’s lap siding with cedar siding laid vertically. "I changed the orientation of the siding, but it maintains the design language of the house."
The living/sleeping area feels surprisingly spacious, thanks to the vaulted ceiling. The sleeper sofa is from West Elm and the TV cabinet is from Ikea. The leather lounge chair is from Dwell Studio. The wall hangings are by Block Shop Textiles.
To save money, Danny set the kitchen and the bathroom back to back to consolidate plumbing lines, paired Ikea cabinets with Semihandmade fronts, and added trim to update existing windows. Rather than install costly flooring, he had the concrete slab ground down to expose the aggregate.
Danny kept things streamlined in the bathroom with a Duravit sink and a toilet by Toto. The sconces are from Cedar & Moss.
A vaulted ceiling and north-facing sliders lend a feeling of airiness to what is essentially one large room. The diminutive kitchen is all about efficiency, with smaller appliances and built-in cabinetry. There’s room for a dining area, and beyond that a living area that doubles as the bedroom thanks to the sleeper sofa.
New steps on the home’s addition pair garapa wood planks with concrete forms. "I did research and got advice to make it work without warping," Danny says. "Expressing the thinner edges of materials became a leitmotif for the project." The chaise and table are by Norm Architects, and the concrete firepit bowl with cedar top is from Potted.
Along the way, Jennie designed landscaping that would respect the family’s need for privacy while making everything feel as natural and organic as possible. Complementing the decomposed granite and gravel used for the hardscaping, she selected an array of drought-tolerant plants and trees in various shades of green.
The home’s gabled roof peeks over a screen of acacia trees in the front yard. "Although we love being in a walkable, ‘semi-urban’ neighborhood, we wanted to create a haven for our family," says Danny. "Once all the spaces were carved out, my wife picked a monochromatic palette of green, drought-tolerant plants at various scales that we then layered in, playing off their different tonalities and textures."
Looking back, Danny, who launched his own firm, Holdstead Design, about a year into the project, says the challenges were an undeniable learning experience. "As an architect, you have standards. One of the biggest psychological challenges was being the designer and having these standards—but also being the builder, as well as the owner with a budget."
Asked if he would offer any advice to other architects considering a similar project, he laughs. "Don’t let your hubris lead the way."
Floor Plan of Campus House ADU by Holdstead Design
More Budget Breakdown stories:
In a Pandemic Pivot, a Couple Take Up Carpentry and Build Their Own Home for $35K
In Norway, a $91K Garden Studio Teeters Atop a Boulder
How a Couple Built a 480-Square-Foot Home for $68K in Cash
Project Credits:
Architect and General Contractor: Danny Lim, Holdstead Design / @holdstead_design
Builder: Konrad Ilnicki, Konrad I. Inc.
Structural Consultant: Patrick Bambrough, Smits + Bambrough / @smitsbambrough
Interior and Landscape Design: Jennie Lee
Landscape Installation: Carmen Orozco, Barranca Landscape
Pool Contractor: Cody Moore, Artistry Pools Los Angeles
Cabinetry and Millwork: Arturo Morales, Morales Custom Cabinets / @mcc_custom_cabinets
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