ADU

Compact apartment with versatile custom-made carpentry furniture.

Compact apartment with versatile furniture made from custom carpentry.

Ultra-compact apartment with versatile custom-made carpentry furniture.

To prepare for the day she can longer use stairs, Roberta installed a lift that connects the garage with the entry garden. It’s concealed with a door that matches the home’s siding.

The kitchen is customized for Roberta, an avid cook. Easy-to-reach pots hang from a custom rack by Bjørn Design. Its hooks can be lengthened if she has to reach from a wheelchair someday; a lowered counter where she likes to work, read, and play cards can accommodate a wheelchair, should she need one. Oak veneers for the ceilings, floors, and cabinetry were a splurge, but Roberta loves their warmth and texture.

Practical, long-lasting finishes throughout meet Roberta’s dictum that everything should be easy to use. Stone-like Cambria quartz backsplashes and seamless countertops don’t have grout, making it easier to keep things clean.

The desk folds up and the installation swivels to pull down the bed.

An LGM wall bed from Resource Furniture is a convenient work-from-home spot. After the pandemic, the Paulas wanted to incorporate plenty of work stations in their home, as before the carriage house, “We had four of us all sitting at the dining table working,” remembers René. “It was super loud, like a trading floor at an investment bank, because all four of us would be talking at the same time.” With desks in the kids’ rooms and two offices, every family member can work in quiet.

Technically, this small building is not a tree house, since it’s braced at the ground by supports, but Grey didn’t want to compromise the tree, which “doesn’t have a very long lifespan,” the designer says. “So, I didn’t want to jeopardize however long that tree had with any excess baggage.”

The residence receives all-day sun, which is particularly captivating when bathing the rooftop area in a late afternoon golden glow.

View into the rooftop greenhouse with its outdoor kitchen and pedal bin from Vipp.

The shed, accessed via new exterior walkway, received new windows and new matte black corrugated metal roofing. The quaint accessory structure is now a guest sleeping space and flexible yoga room.

A guest bedroom, with furniture from Room & Board, overlooks the bridge above the dining courtyard. The home’s landscape architecture is by Ventura, California–based Jack Kiesel. Photo by Coral von Zumwalt.

BEFORE: The kitchen featured vintage cabinets and black and white tile.