Two years ago, Lyndsie and E.J. Adams and their infant, Archer, were living in a 1990s two-story Craftsman-style home in suburban Shakopee, Minn., near a golf course.

“It was 4,000 square feet, and we only used about a third of it,” Lyndsie said. “It felt like I had to walk half a mile to grab a diaper.”

The home's size — including four bathrooms to clean — and the utility costs to heat and cool unused spaces prompted the couple to make a dramatic lifestyle change.

“We decided to downsize at a time when our family and careers were growing,” Lyndsie said.

E.J. had read the book “Rich Dad, Poor Dad,” which inspired the pair to look for a multi-unit investment property to buy. The family could live in one half and rent out the other. And Lyndsie, a full-time marketing manager and part-time interior designer, could restyle and update the spaces.

While house hunting, they ruled out split-entries and tuck-under garages and narrowed the search for that rare one-level, two-unit dwelling with a big yard.

In the span of six months, they scrutinized 10 properties that were either run-down, awkwardly configured or too costly to remodel. Finally, their real estate agent found a side-by-side duplex built in 1960, surrounded by a wooded lot on a dead-end street.

“We were inside for three minutes,” Lyndsie said, “and I was ready to make an offer.”

Among the selling points: beautiful hardwood floors hidden beneath carpet, and space to add a bedroom and a family room in the walkout basement.

“It had so much potential, and we could see that it had been taken care of over the years,” E.J. said.

The duplex, in Excelsior, Minn., was listed for $300,000 and attracted multiple offers. The couple gambled and offered $330,000, which the sellers accepted. They agreed that one of the current owners could continue to live in his side of the duplex and pay them rent.

The Adamses sold their Shakopee home in 90 days and were ready to roll on the duplex remodeling. The couple started with cosmetic improvements, such as removing worn carpet and refinishing hardwood floors, as well as installing new electrical and energy-efficient windows throughout the home.

Lyndsie reconfigured the main floor, placing the brand-new kitchen in the former family room. One difficult decision was whether to keep the original, massive, two-sided wood-burning brick fireplace, which divided the living and family rooms.

“At first we painted it white but realized it was taking up too much space in an already small house,” Lyndsie said. “We had to give it up.”

But it was worth it. The family gained about 40 square feet in the living room, which helped open it up to the new kitchen. Now they could watch 2-year-old Archer play while they prepared dinner.

For the kitchen's black-and-white color scheme, Lyndsie chose durable Dekton on the island and countertops and white appliances, to better blend with the cabinets and oversized subway-tile backsplash. Walking into the home's front entry, a guest's eye is drawn to the star-patterned tile on the island front, rather than a huge stainless-steel refrigerator, Lyndsie noted.

The stitched leather saddle chairs for casual meals add warmth and contrast with the modern straight lines.

In the adjacent dining room, Lyndsie removed the dark-laminate woodlike paneling and covered the walls with a fresh coat of white paint, accented with a large mirror leaning against a wall. “Light from the new French doors bounces off the mirror and makes the space feel larger,” she said.

Finally, the Adamses closed off a doorway and converted the original narrow galley kitchen into a multifunctional flex space that serves as Archer's playroom, Lyndsie's home office and a mini-mudroom with coat hooks on a far wall.

Lyndsie strung lights across the cheerful primary-colored playroom, which is furnished with a cowhide-covered toy box below framed pages from a vintage storybook.

Like the playroom, the other interiors are “fresh, fun and modern,” Lyndsie said. She painted the walls gallery-white as a backdrop to vibrant jewel tones and pale pastels in furniture, artwork and accessories.

For eye-catching interest, Lyndsie juxtaposed rustic reclaimed barn wood and bold rooster artwork with sleek modern elements, such as Tom Dixon-style copper-shade pendant lights.

The pair spent $80,000 on the remodeling, which adds undeniable value to their duplex investment. That doesn't include sweat equity.

Downsizing to a home half the size of their previous one was not without challenges. For example, the small master bedroom doesn't have a walk-in closet, and the family shares one main-floor bathroom. But the Adamses are at peace with their new place.

“Just about everything that made us comfortable in the old house, we have that here,” Lyndsie said.