Bargain Mansions

Tamara Day sees great potential in a 1938 cottage with an unusual layout, unfinished renovation and no front door. She constructs a cathedral ceiling and creates two massive cedar corbels for the entrance, but the process of installing an egress window puts a crack in her budget.

Tamara Day struggles to install a full bath and enlarge the master suite as she continues to renovate the 1938 cottage. She successfully creates a hidden playroom in the kids' bedroom, but fails to win her dad's approval on her plan for the backyard shed.

Tamara Day tackles a large 1905 Colonial with seven sun porches. She overhauls an ugly kitchen and a dining room with tacky orange carpet, but unsupported floors and a strange noise during demo slow her plans and may cost her big money.

In the second phase of Tamara's 1905 Colonial renovation, she creates a 900-square-foot master suite and converts one of the home's seven sun porches into a closet. However, her budget takes a hit when she needs to install a new HVAC unit and her plan to save a vintage fireplace might have run out of gas.

Tamara Day transforms a contemporary home on a large wooded lot that's devoid of any character. She installs huge windows to bring the outdoors inside, but she faces issues with resurfacing a fireplace veneer.

Continuing renovations on a large and bland contemporary home, Tamara Day tackles the master suite and replaces lots of dated cabinetry to make a stylish bathroom. She also creates a home theater, immense deck and patio to turn the home into an entertaining showpiece.

Tamara Day takes on a 1927 Tudor by blowing out the existing small kitchen and outfitting it with a large island and eating nook. She transforms a bedroom into a dining room, but her hopes of refurbishing the deck begin to break apart before she can even get started.

Tamara takes on a behemoth 1927 Tudor house, but while she admires the home's original details, her dad discovers a problem. She uses a kitchenette to create a bar, revamps an uneven patio and enlarges the master bathroom to transform the 5,700-square-foot home into a showstopper.

Tamara Day starts on a 1900 Kansas City Shirtwaist-style home containing a living room with a catwalk instead of a ceiling. She pulls up linoleum flooring and gives the damaged foyer staircase a facelift, but a boiler stack in the kitchen throws a wrench in her plans.

After restoring a fourth bedroom in the 3,100-square-foot Shirtwaist home, Tamara creates a reading nook and closet to complete the room. Then the Kansas City weather creates a problem in the front yard, while two brand new vanities might not fit in the master bath.

Tamara Day tackles a 1905 Kansas City Shirtwaist home that's short on bathrooms but not short on charm. She restores the front door, updates the fireplace and renovates the kitchen, but struggles with sewer and roof issues that cause her to rework her plans.

Tamara Day takes on a 1905 Kansas City Shirtwaist that has only one bathroom. She doubles the size of the walk-in closet and enlarges the master suite, but her hopes of updating the home's bedrooms start to sink when her contractor discovers a leak.

Tamara Day gets creative renovating an expansive 1950 ranch-style home. She updates the exterior with faux stone and adds another floor to the 3,000-square-foot home, but rain and an old fireplace force her to rethink her plans and budget.

Tamara Day uses her 1,400-square-foot second-story addition to create three new bedrooms in a 1950 ranch home. She guts the master suite to re-frame it for a massive closet, but her plans to reuse the shower doors in the bathroom may fracture her design for the whole room.