ADU

Lookofsky outfitted the bedroom with built-in pine plywood bunkbeds, walls, and a ceiling. The bathroom and a closet are also wrapped in plywood.

Located in a forested, countryside area near a lake and vegetable garden, the cabin was designed by São Paulo architect Silvia Acar as a simple space for sleeping, cooking, and reconnecting with nature.

Stefanie sits on a Resource Furniture Murphy bed. It conserves space and 82-year-old Irmhild Liang finds it easy to open. “Building the ADU made sense because we wanted to be closer to my mother. You don’t realize how lonely your parents can be—and how much more they might be doing,” she notes.

With his mother moving from Massachusetts to California to be closer to family, architect Peter Liang created a 265-square-foot tiny home, dubbed the Kleines Haus, behind his sister’s residence in Oakland for the matriarch to land in. “Since we are a mixed family, it’s key that my kids are close to their grandparents,” says homeowner Stefanie Liang Chung. “Now their German grandmother is teaching them, and I’m grateful that I have an Asian partner who knows that you take in your in-laws.”

“We had a child and made a commitment to take care of my mother. We had to figure out a solution for housing us all with the right privacy and comfort,” says Ilga Paskovskis, owner of the Granny Pad.

Behind a facade of stained-black cedar, plywood walls and exposed rafters lend a casual, loft-like feel to the space, while strategically placed windows and skylights bring in ample day-light.

With a new baby on the way and the soon-to-be grandmother moving in, Seattleites Ilga Paskovskis and Kyle Parmentier asked Best Practice Architecture to expand their detached garage into a 570-square-foot ADU, which they now call the Granny Pad. “We can see the joy it brings Grandma when the baby comes over to visit,” says Kyle. “It’s the best part of her day.”

Floor Plan of Saltbox Cabin by Jeff Waldman & Molly Fiffer of Elevated Spaces

“Our design fee was very, very little,” says architect Cristian Stefanescu. “That was part of the arrangement. It’s also why we tried to design something very simple—there was less demand to spend time detailing complex intersections.”

The use of the stone as a foundation allowed the budget to be reduced as it minimized the amount of work and materials.