Budget Breakdown: With $89K, an Architect Expands His L.A. Home for Three Generations of Family

Dwell
·2 min read

Danny Lim dons multiple hats as architect, contractor, and client as he transforms his Highland Park bungalow with a new ADU for his in-laws.

Danny envisioned the space between the ADU and the house as an informal place to gather. "It creates a sort of courtyard sensibility, which works for our intergenerational family dynamics."
Danny envisioned the space between the ADU and the house as an informal place to gather. "It creates a sort of courtyard sensibility, which works for our intergenerational family dynamics."

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 modern feel and installed limestone on the porch and steps.
At the front of the main house, architect Danny Lim framed one of the original windows with new trim to give it a more modern 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 leads to the new ADU at the rear of the house. "We wanted everything to feel as natural as possible,
A gravel path with flagstone leads to the new ADU at the rear of the house. "We wanted everything to feel as natural as possible,

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
In contrast to the bungalow, the ADU's cedar siding will weather and patina over time

See the full story on Dwell.com: Budget Breakdown: With $89K, an Architect Expands His L.A. Home for Three Generations of Family
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