From Bachelor Loft to Family-Friendly Home: Ilya’s San Francisco Renovation

After nearly a decade in New York City, Ilya Ginsberg, Partnerships Manager at Hover, returned to San Francisco with his wife, ready to turn the loft he bought into a true home. While the minimalist bachelor-style loft had great bones, it lacked warmth and comfort. The couple decided serious updates were needed and launched a months-long renovation. As with any project, there were hundreds of decisions, delays and a few construction curveballs.

Renovating with Intention

“I’ve owned this place for about 20 years,” Ilya explains. “It was a rental for a long time, and when we moved back to San Francisco, my wife said, ‘Let’s live here — but we need to update it.’”

To make the space more livable, they set a modest goal: new flooring, a kitchen island, and a bathroom demo— all within a budget of around $20,000.

From “No Idea Where to Start” to Clear Vision

In the early days of planning, Ilya felt completely overwhelmed. Despite a detailed floor plan, sample boards and cabinet options, it was hard to imagine what the space could look like.

“I had no idea where to start. I brought six flooring samples here and laid them out. I'd look at them at different hours of the day to see how they worked and you're still kind of shooting in the dark.”

That’s where Hover made a real difference.

“I was able to use Hover to scan my home and it gave me a nice 3D model and measurements— it saved us a couple days,” he says. “Hover allowed me to actually see what the flooring would look like, what the kitchen island would look like in my space.”

What Got Done — and What Got Delayed

Like many renovation projects, timelines stretched.

• Floors: One month
• Kitchen island: One week
• Bathrooms: Still under construction at the time of filming, estimated to be about 5-6 weeks

“We were told we had water damage in the bathroom, so instead of just redoing the floors, we had to do a full demo,” Ilya says. “It gave us an opportunity to get creative with what we wanted. We were able to play around to see what it would look like with green, and we actually liked what we saw.” 

Lessons from the Field

Between budget surprises and contractor misadventures, Ilya walked away with a list of lessons worth sharing:

• Get accurate measurements early. “Having measurements really helped the construction company understand how much material to buy, how much wood trim to buy, how much cement to buy. It definitely helped us expedite the process.”
• See before you decide. “Hover allowed me to actually see what the flooring would look like, what the kitchen island would look like in my space, so it allowed me to narrow down on what I was looking for.”
• Build trust with your contractor. “I can't stress enough how important it is to have a good relationship with your contractor. Ask all the right questions up front, get to know them, build that trust early on.”

Final Thoughts

When asked what he’s most excited about, Ilya doesn’t hesitate: “Excited to shower at home and sleep in our bed, not the couch.”

Even though the process was difficult figuring out where to start and being told different thing, Ilya shares, “the highest point of this was actually picking somebody that I trust and seeing the final product”. 

Thinking about your own renovation?
Start with a photo of your space and explore design options with Hover— so you can go from “just imagine it” to “this is what it could look like” with confidence.