Home office retreat

Home life and work life had become far too intermixed for architect Linda Brettler. "I had an office room upstairs in our house," she says. "But once the kids started multiplying, it became impossible to work there."

The solution? Working on a budget of $25,000, Brettler transformed the family's two-car garage/poolhouse into her workspace.

Design Linda Brettler Architects, Los Angeles (323/935-3999)