Not a scrap of gingham

Perhaps most impressively, the house defies the notion that a pared-down modern style is inherently at odds with family living. In her first week in the finished house, Choy turned around to see her three kids tootling around the polished concrete floor -- one on a tricycle, one on roller skates and one on a scooter. "It just works," she says with a shrug.

She points to the pool. "We even added that shallow end so we don't have to swim all the time," Choy says, laughing with a hint of embarrassment. "We can just sit and drink."

Outside, the sun is lowering on the horizon. The front of the house takes on a golden glow, and vertical boards cast lengthening shadows -- widening stripes that punctuate the farmhouse vibe.

Spindly branches of the palo verde throw their own winter silhouette on the garage.

Dog walkers saunter past. Kids on bikes speed by. Chatting moms push baby strollers. Nobody seems to fuss over the farmhouse on the corner.

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craig.nakano@latimes.com

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Seven cost-cutters

Vanessa Choy and Andrew Wong's house is loaded with features: Poliform closets, a Lutron lighting system, a Russound indoor-outdoor audio system, radiant floor heating in the bathrooms, Poggenpohl kitchen cabinets and Sub-Zero, Gaggenau and Miele appliances. Yet Choy says the home was built for "significantly less" than $200 a square foot. "A sophisticated, intelligent client willing to pay an architect well enough can save so much money," says Choy, who oversaw construction. "They will work hard to make the client's investment pay off." Seven ways the couple stretched their budget:

1. Wood from the previous house at the site was saved to construct a rustic, weathered garden wall.

2. Rather than toss two-by-fours left over from construction or resell them at a loss, the couple made a patio table.

3. Old kitchen cabinets were repurposed as curios.

4. An old kitchen countertop was reborn as a long dining surface, installed atop sturdy folding tables.

5. Instead of buying an expensive vanity for the kids' bathroom, the couple repurposed a modern console purchased at a Crate & Barrel Outlet for less than $100.

6. Vintage plastic chairs that add a pop of color on a stairway landing were scored for $11 apiece at a Culver City vintage shop's going-out-of-business sale. Joe Colombo patio chairs also were bought for a song at the same store.

7. Rather than shop for garden sculpture, Choy and Wong fashioned their own -- a piece that evokes Georgia O'Keeffe's famed cow skull set atop scraps of industrial metal.

-- Craig Nakano