My Favorite Room: Katee Sackhoff loves her Westside home, finally

Seven years ago, actress Katee Sackhoff bought her “first big-girl home,� a beach house on the Westside.

But it took a long time for it to become her dream home.

“It was gorgeous, but it wasn’t me,� she said. “People had done little remodels to it as they moved in and out, so there wasn’t a uniform feel to it. The house was completely confused.�

Sackhoff — known for playing Lieutenant Kara “Starbuck� Thrace on the Sci-Fi channel’s “Battlestar Galactica� — wanted to do a major overhaul but kept putting off the project out of concern for her elderly dog, Meatball.

“He lived down here because he couldn’t do stairs,� she said of the ground floor of her 4,000-square-foot home. “I went to Home Depot and bought disposable runners because he couldn’t get traction on the hardwood floors. I didn’t see that floor for years. I put him down in the house, and it was really beautiful. That was the catalyst for renovating. It was time.�

In March 2015, Sackhoff began getting rid of the home’s “1986 flair,� which included maroon and pink speckled granite countertops and yellow hardwood floors. She plans to add a fifth bedroom to the house, which has 4.5 bathrooms.

Now “I really love my house,� said Sackhoff, 36, who plans to continue the renovation while she stars in the Netflix crime drama “Longmire� next year. “It’s the best money I’ve ever spent.�

What’s your favorite room?

It’s sort of like a three-in-one family room, dinette and kitchen. It’s one big room. It’s where I spend most of my time other than in my bedroom. It’s where I entertain, where people come over and I cook and we all have drinks.

What was your design inspiration?

I chose not to work with a designer — I met with a couple of them but found them trying to convince me that I was wrong. So I decided to go it alone, which made it harder because I had to source everything myself. I went with my gut, and it came out exactly the way I wanted.

And that also allowed you to better control your budget?

I had custom couches made — I had found some at HD Buttercup that were $10,000 each and I needed two. I was like, “That’s a car.� So I went to Sofa U Love, and they made a couch for an eighth of the cost, if not less.

Did you have any outside input?

My sister helped me pick out an aqua rug — I was terrified, almost had a heart attack. But she was right. It makes the room — injects it with this element of beachy cool, soft fun.

What’s with the action figure of your boyfriend [actor Karl Urban of “Lord of the Rings,� “Star Trek� and “Dredd� fame] on the bookshelf?

When we first started dating, I went to Paris with two of my girlfriends and one of their husbands. He couldn’t go, so I took one of his action figures and have images of it, like in front of the Eiffel Tower with me. I never intended to keep his action figure, but you can’t throw it away. It’s bad mojo for a relationship.

What’s the most expensive item?

My oven. It’s so stupid. My father thought I was out of my mind. I cook a lot. I was staring at this oven for seven years. I wanted it so badly. It’s an American Range double oven with French doors [priced at $8,500].

I hired and ultimately fired some contractors. They broke everything. They didn’t put grounding in with the oven, and it fried out the whole thing. I spent nearly half of what the oven was worth getting it to work again. It’s one of those things where you live and you learn.

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