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In the kitchen, a glass backsplash is one of many connections to the outdoors. The Hee barstools are by Hay and the Highline pendant light is by Rakumba Lighting Australia.

A concrete block wall (above) separates the entry from the living area, where an Arne Norell Kontiki easy chair joins an Eames lounge chair.

The house is clad in Western red cedar.

The dining area features a vintage Eero Saarinen Oval dining table, Omar De Biaggio Bacco chairs from Design Within Reach, and an Acorn pendant by Atle Tveit for Northern.

“We shared the planting beds with the owner who lived in the main house. We would meet her in the garden and grab tomatoes. It was a nice feeling of community,” says renter Alexandra.

Why Now, More Than Ever, the ADU Is the Future of Home: Whether it serves as an investment, backyard office, or intergenerational housing, the accessory dwelling unit (ADU) has never made more sense.

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.”

Skylights throw pink and yellow tones across the 850-square-foot unit’s stepped ceilings. “With small spaces, we try to play with clerestory windows, skylights, and ceilings. It makes the architecture feel spacious, almost as though it’s levitating.”

The ground-floor living space looks inward to the courtyard and is protected on all other sides by the mass of the building and the blank brick facade.

The monolithic brick home in Mexico City by Esrawe Studio looks imposing from the street, but its enormous pivoting door opens to a courtyard that feels like a lush oasis.

The modern structure — a cube topped by a rectangle — houses a unique floor plan with a first-floor covered terrace, dining room and kitchen. And on the top floor, the combined living room and studio space has expansive views of the coast, perched high above the neighboring homes.