“I wanted to move to the Bay Area,” Mr. Cohen backpedaled.

“I wanted to stay in New York because I wanted to work on Wall Street,” Ms. Tatarko said. “You see who wins.”

Mr. Cohen smiled. “Ask everyone else, they’ll tell you a different story.”

What neither disputes is that not long after moving, in 2006, they bought a 1950s-style ranch house that needed major work.

“What we got was a house from 1955 — period,” said Ms. Tatarko, a no-nonsense businesswoman who previously worked for several tech companies, both with her husband in their native Israel and in New York. “The kitchen, the bathroom — nothing had been updated.”

They may speak the language of home renovation now, but initially Ms. Tatarko and Mr. Cohen struggled. For three years after moving in they barely changed a bulb, making do with the small, dark rooms, an ugly dropped ceiling and a pink bathroom to save money.

“Budgets are very important in a renovation,” Mr. Cohen said. “Maybe for people involved in the Facebook I.P.O., money is not an issue, but for most people it is.”

During that time, the couple searched for an architect sympathetic to their vision and tried to clarify just what that vision was, because Mr. Cohen likes stark, modern spaces, while Ms. Tatarko favors more fanciful interiors.

“We thought it would be fun,” Ms. Tatarko said of the renovation process. “Then we faced reality.”

Eventually, they found an architect they liked and settled on a plan. Then, for three months, while the main living spaces were being done, they lived in the bedroom wing with their sons and went without a working kitchen.