Sabrina Soto's Star-Powered Los Angeles Home

Sabrina Soto doesn’t need a big budget to make a house look show-worthy. When the HGTV designer, known for her money-saving decorating ideas, and her partner, Steven Grevemberg, bought a 1930s Los Angeles, CA, ranch home for their growing family last year, they decided not to splurge on a major renovation. But its interior, almost entirely painted yellow and with honey-color oak floors, “felt so not me,” says Sabrina.

For a low-cost update, the couple relied on three ingredients: light gray paint (Horizon by Benjamin Moore) throughout the house, refurbished hardwood floors and Sabrina’s resourceful shopping skills. “Being the biggest bargain hunter in the world takes patience, so it’s still a work in progress,” says Sabrina, who constantly incorporates new finds into the mix. “Steven thinks we’re done, but sometimes I tell him I’m buying pillows for other projects when they’re actually for our house!” 

Sabrina and her partner, Steven, enjoy their patio with their daughter, Olivia, and labradoodle, Harper.

The existing white cabinets, subway tile and gray quartz counters got a reno-free pick-me-up with mint green stools found on overstock.com, an oversize clock from CB2 and a two-piece yellow light fixture Sabrina bought years ago from Iacoli & McAllister. The Room & Board dining table, which the couple had in their old apartment, came with a wood top. Sabrina replaced it with a glass one to better suit its new sunny spot. The white molded-plastic chairs are from Design Within Reach. 

A potpourri of materials — leather-and-metal chairs by Gus Modern, a Room & Board sofa upholstered in gray Sunbrella fabric and a reclaimed-wood coffee table bought on sale at HD Buttercup — give this much-used room its collected feel. “I saved a picture of that coffee table before we even bought the house,” says Sabrina. One of her favorite design moves: mixing black-and-white (the West Elm rug, the IKEA pillows) with splashes of color (the geometric Deny Designs pillows from Target, a throw from Sabrina’s collection there). She commissioned the art above the sofa—it originally had a mustard yellow backdrop. “I thought the mustard was great at first but then wanted to make it blue,” she says. “Since I picked the colors in the first place, I felt OK painting over it.”