Before & After: You’d Never Know This Maryland Cottage Nearly Doubled in Size

Sometimes the best things are right under your nose. That was the case for Liz Hottel and her husband, Ryan Hadley, who, when searching for a larger home for their family of three (four, counting the dog), wound up buying the house Liz’s mother, Catherine, had lived in for the past 25 years. The Cape Cod–style home in Silver Spring, Maryland, had everything the couple were looking for: something in the D.C. area with great schools for their son, proximity to the metro, walkability, and, as a bonus, the potential to renovate to include an ADU for Catherine.