Budget Breakdown

When designer and artist Briana Babani began demolishing the interior of her 1953 brick bungalow in East Atlanta, she didn’t expect to fall in love with it. “It was like a cave,” says Briana, who had moved from Austin, Texas, with her husband, Dominic Cancilla, and their eight-yearold son, Cooper, for Dominic’s work in the film industry. “It didn’t scream ‘dream home,’ but I saw the potential—the lot is incredible. We thought we would keep it as a future rental property.”

The previous owner had smoked inside for decades and neglected the 1,600-squarefoot home, which needed a new roof and had suffered water damage. Briana originally envisioned a basic upgrade, but the project’s scope—and her personal investment—changed as she scrubbed the grime and smoke stains off the large windows. “There was so much light that came in, and views of the outside, and I wanted to harness that, embrace it,” she says.

Briana decided to turn the neglected building into the kind of home she’d always wanted. She subcontracted the electrical, plumbing, HVAC, drywall, roof, and insulation work but took on all the rest herself, which freed up money in the $122,000 budget for choice splurges among more affordable finishes.

Briana tore down walls to better connect the living and dining areas and added wraparound cabinetry in the entry. She combined two existing bedrooms to create a primary suite with a walk-in closet and closed off a doorway to create Cooper’s room. Here, a forest mural sets the scene for his pet geckos and other reptiles. To maximize storage, she added a built-in bed with a trundle below, surrounded by builtin bookshelves.

“I’m a huge fan of built-ins, especially when you’re living in a small space,” says Briana. “They’re in every room in the house.”

Previously too narrow, the expanded galley kitchen sports a vaulted ceiling and Ikea cabinets with bamboo fronts from Semihandmade, one of the spendier choices. This connects to what was previously a back porch, now an office. From

Years of neglect had taken their toll on the 1950s Atlanta bungalow that Briana Babani and Dominic Cancilla bought in 2017. A gut renovation, done largely by Briana (opposite, with the couple’s son, Cooper), restored original details like the gridded windows (above) while upgrading systems and reimagining the interior. In the living/dining area (below), she removed a header and wing walls to open the space.

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1. CORK WALL

Briana covered a wall between the primary bathroom and closet in cork wallpaper from Serena and Lily. Though the paper cost $200 a roll, she needed only one, and because the wall is reflected in a mirror, “it was a great bang for the buck,” she says.

2. BAMBOO FACING

Most of the couple’s pricier outlays were for practical things like foam insulation and a top-notch plumber. But the Semihandmade bamboo cabinet facings in the kitchen were an aesthetic choice. “They were just something I really loved,” says Briana.

3. WIN DOWS

The gridded windows were reglazed but otherwise kept intact. “Aside from some crumbling or broken panes, their condition was fine,” says Briana. “The only new windows we could afford would have looked terribly cheap, so it was worth the effort to refurbish them.”

BUDGET

$1,090 $1,207 $9,230 $2,491* $1,141

SURVEY + PERMITS DEMOLITION LUMBER + FRAMING ROOF + GUTTERS WINDOWS

$13,817 $12,450 $9,764 $1,695 $4,645

PLUMBING + FIXTURES ELECTRICAL HVAC SIDING INSULATION

$5,186 $3,672 $15,690 $5,863 $2,191

FLOORING DOORS + TRIM CABINETRY APPLIANCES BLINDS + MISC.

$5,782 $2,573 $6,467 $17,098 $122,052

DRYWALL PAINT + STAIN TILE + SHOWER PAN LANDSCAPING TOTAL

*Insurance paid for most of the new roof, which helped keep costs low. The outdoor areas were designed with two perspectives in mind. “Typically people focus on making the house look beautiful from the outside,” says Briana. “Because of all the windows, I wanted to also consider how we experience the outside from the inside.” In the backyard, a fire pit also serves as a grill thanks to grates that slide back and forth on steel rails. “We cook on it all the time,” says Briana. “I think it’s my husband’s favorite part of the house.”

their built-in desks, the couple can look out at the new deck, a workshop clad in stained pine, and a concrete fire pit shaded by a large oak tree in the backyard, where Cooper loves to play ball.

“I tried to use the landscape and the hardscape to create a series of exterior spaces that are as livable as our interior ones,” says Briana, who transformed the front yard with a two-level deck surrounded by conifers and shrubs. The home’s brick exterior, now stained dark, recedes into the greenery.

“Everything that I see has a touch of my own,” says Briana. “For me, the ultimate goal was for the house to be a vessel for my family’s quirky and eclectic belongings and interests. It shouldn’t feel too precious. This is a house for living in, not looking at.”

4. B U I LT -I N S

Every room has built-ins Briana designed and made herself. Cooper’s bedroom includes a platform trundle bed, an alcove desk, and lots of shelving. The wood is painted with Dove White by Benjamin Moore, and the Sektion drawers are from Ikea.