Renovation · Before & After

The Whole-Home Renovation

A collection of full-house transformations, each told in three acts: the house at purchase, the renovation in progress, the house as it lives now. With the design brief, the GC, the final cost, and the honest lessons learned.

Feature Transformation

A Pasadena Bungalow, Reborn

Before · 2024
PASADENA · BEFORE

Original 1920s Craftsman, Untouched Since 1987

Dark wood paneling. A kitchen cut in half by a load-bearing wall. Three small bedrooms with closets the size of cabinets. The bones were extraordinary — and almost entirely buried.

After · 2026
PASADENA · AFTER

Craftsman Bones, Modern Life

Every inch of original millwork preserved, the kitchen wall removed with a steel beam, three bedrooms restructured into two with actual closets, and a primary suite where the rear porch once was.

The Project File

The Full Before & After Library

Brownstone · $340/sqft

A Brooklyn Four-Story, Top to Bottom

A gut renovation across 3,600 square feet. Eighteen weeks. Four design changes mid-project. One beam-induced schedule slip. The full project log, annotated.

See the project
Ranch · $210/sqft

A 1970s Austin Ranch, Opened Up

Three walls removed. Floor-to-ceiling windows installed. A rear porch extension. The renovation that made a generic suburban ranch feel like an architect’s home.

See the project
Tudor · $290/sqft

A Denver Tudor, Respectfully Modernized

The hardest Tudor renovation is the one that tries to stop being a Tudor. This one didn’t — and the result is a Tudor you actually want to live in.

See the project
Mid-Century · $380/sqft

A Palm Springs Original, Preserved

A Krisel-era house that arrived with the right bones and the wrong decade of finishes. A restrained, expert reset that turned it back into an icon.

See the project
Farmhouse · $220/sqft

A Vermont Farmhouse, Winterized

The farmhouse renovation that treats insulation, windows, and heating as the design story — not the finishes. Why it matters, and what it cost.

See the project
Victorian · $410/sqft

A San Francisco Victorian, Quietly Reset

Color revision, millwork restoration, a mechanical overhaul. A Victorian redo that does not end up as a museum — and doesn’t pretend the house is modern.

See the project

See the Full Project File.

Every Before & After on our site comes with the full project file — design brief, contractor, timeline, line-item cost, and a homeowner Q&A. Subscribers get access to the full archive.

Subscribe for Access