The show's latest episode, "Dan Cave", is a particularly daunting challenge as Alix must remodel the home of a single father whose pair of teenage daughters will soon be off to college. As a result, he basically wants to take his home back.

"I wanted the house to grow with me while the kids were in school," he explains." I want it to be a place I love now and want it to be a place they want to come back and visit as their own family grows."

Dan's budget was $40,000 to redecorate the great room, front door, upstairs family room plus some additional bonus space. That may not seem like a huge amount compared to the $100,000 or so people spend on other renovation shows, but Alix accomplished this by sticking to some signature rules.

Here's how she kept costs and time spent without sacrificing style, with plenty of lessons that might inspire you to start your own weekend DIY projects.

One of Alix's secrets to keeping renovation costs to a minimum is that she never tears down walls. Instead, she works with the layouts she has.

Because I'm just adding space and I don't have to tear down any walls, it's really easy to make this budget go farther," says Alix. The project will mostly involve adding design elements to the home, rather than actually expanding it.

"You literally have a trampoline in your front yard that you have to walk around to get to your front door," observed Alix when she first entered Dan's home.

"Now it's time," Dan said.

Later, once Dan had left, Alix said, "We should revamp this whole outdoor area. If he's bent on entertaining, this space will become empty. So why don't we go ahead and fill this space for him? Updating this space will have a direct impact on Dan's life. This area is the first space his guests walk through. We have to make it beautiful."

Since the courtyard is right in front of a street, you can't help but notice the cars passing by.

"I will start by removing the trampoline, adding comfortable outdoor seating and surrounding it with a whole new landscape design," says Alix." I plan to put these very dense, tall plants around his yard to create an environment that almost acts like a sound barrier, blocking out traffic noise from the street.

But the most important thing is the fountain.

"I will finish the space with a water feature to drown out the street noise in his new private oasis," she concludes.

Install a 'laundry' for folding clothes and mixing drinks.

We admit we were a little dubious when we heard Alix was creating a laundry-folding station/drink bar combo. But there's a method to her madness.

"His laundry room," she says, "is in the hallway [outside the master bedroom], and there's no place to fold his clothes." There was this little corner on the first floor. I thought we could build a built-in bar there, but we also made it dual-functional, and we made the bar extra wide so it could also be a place for him to fold his clothes."

While the built-in clothes cupboard under the bar convinced us of the idea, the mini fridge that makes it into a drinks bar is subtle and hidden. It exists so that "he doesn't have to run downstairs for a drink in the evening," Alix explains.

Alix placed great importance on decorating the ceiling to add an extra dimension to the room, and she really outdid herself in the upstairs family room, transforming it from a playroom into a cosy home cinema.

She built a floating ceiling out of wooden panels and then installed LED lighting around the perimeter.

It took quite a bit of time and effort, but "this ceiling will be worth every minute", she exclaims.

And once Dan saw his newly renovated home, it was clear that Alix's idea was a hit.

"I feel like I'm in a resort," he exclaims." It totally exceeded my expectations. I'm really happy to be here for the next phase of my life!"