Down-in-the-Dumps Bungalow Revival

Restored and expanded a chopped-up, unloved 1911 Craftsman bungalow into a polished beauty.

Remodeling cost: $330,000
Time frame: 2 years 2 months
Where we saved: Finishing all the woodwork and doing all the landscaping ourselves.
Where we splurged: The kitchen, first and foremost.
What we would do differently: Install radiant heating in our daughter Walker's bath. The marble gets very cold. Our biggest challenge: Living through a killer heat wave in an unfinished but insulated house with no air-conditioning.
How we solved it: Going to the movie theater to cool off whenever we thought we had reached the end of our rope.