It was an antique stained glass window that kickstarted the renovation. Shaped like a half moon, the decorative casement features a central quatrefoil made of four yellow squares surrounded by turquoise semicircles, with a few pink triangles around the edge and two terra-cotta dots punctuating the corners. For furniture designer Ash Dipert, this was the perfect jumping off point to showcase his creative talents in the complete transformation of three adjacent structures behind the four-bedroom Craftsman home his parents bought two years prior in Bakersfield, California.

Ash and his sister, interior designer Jeran McConnell, had already helped their parents update the main house—they renovated the kitchen and restored original details like crown molding throughout—knowing that they’d need to tackle the unused space adjacent to the garage at some point. No more than 200 square feet, the backyard unit was made up of three compact volumes: a former pool pump house, a changing room, and an unfinished bathroom that had been built at different times and were poorly connected, leaving different ceiling and floor heights.

To make the space more cohesive, Ash took out an interior wall that separated what’s now the sleeping space and kitchen and removed a door that led to the garage. He also shifted the front door to work better with the new layout, replacing it with a glass panel door to let in more light. He gave the stained glass window pride of place on the pool-facing side of the suite, putting it where the front door had been.

The goal was to turn the space into a guest suite that “feels like an out of body experience; a Willy Wonka vacation hideaway,” says the designer, who now lives in the accessory dwelling unit. The “fun house” vibe starts on the exterior, with each elevation painted in a different shade from the playful palette of pale pink, forest green, mustard, and terra-cotta, influenced by the shades of the stained glass window and Ash’s upbringing in Papua New Guinea and Ghana.

Whimsical, geometric murals on the facade nod to interior details. A tall, painted arch is like a trompe l’oeil doorway, while a circular, black-and-white graphic calls to mind an optical illusion from the Magic Eye books. Inside, the same striped pattern appears in the tile floors, and the arch motif repeats throughout the rooms.

Ash maintained the front room as a large changing space that can be used by pool guests. He cut arches into the sides of the original slab benches and painted them with hues from the exuberant palette. He also coated an existing storage cabinet with pale-pink paint and added a yellow, arch-shaped topper painted to make the unit feel custom.

In the bathroom, brass shower knobs with inlaid stained glass, pill-shaped mirrors, and an asymmetrical, U-shaped light fixture—all made by Ash—are impressive, but it’s the semicircular vanity, with four drawers and a cabinet topped with pale-pink terrazzo from Concrete Collaborative, that’s a true work of art, every square inch maximized for storage. “I like to make things that are going to make someone think about how it was made,” Ash says.

The bedroom and living space is layered with small-space storage solutions, each an Easter egg waiting to be discovered. There’s the queen-size Murphy bed, which Ash retrofitted with articulating legs that can be adjusted to work with the uneven floor. He also added a USB port and a reading light inside the bed cubby so they’re only visible when the bed is pulled down.

The kitchen has a long, curved terrazzo counter that offers more storage than many New York City apartments. The pink-tile backsplash hides two pull-down compartments: one for an induction cooktop, the other—with a rounded top to match the arch motif—for a knife block and cutting board, complete with an automatic light. “It’s pretty James Bond,” says Ash, adding that it’s one of his favorite features.

There’s a pull-out coffee station above the sink, while the terra-cotta cabinets below the counter hold a convection microwave and a mini-fridge disguised by a custom panel. The wedge-shaped bench seats for the rolling table double as storage, with the one closest to the Murphy bed pulling triple duty as a nightstand.

“I try to make things that are not only nice to look at, but also useful and that have a complexity to the manufacturing,” says Ash, who notes that he’s hosted 10 people comfortably in the space. Every whimsical detail serves a purpose. It’s a real-life Dr. Seuss world that marries form and function in the most delightfully playful way.

An Architect Couple Turn Their Apartment Into a Venn Diagram of Iconic Design

Project Credits:

Designer/Carpenter: Ash Dipert / @coffeesanscigs

Design Consultant: Jeran McConnell / @oleanderandpalm

Countertop Installation: Pat Callahan Tile

Tile Contractor: Shane Beach Tile and Marble

Photography: Benjamin Rasmussen / @benjaminras

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