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David Noordhoff designed the house with large overhangs, calibrated to help reduce summertime sun while welcoming passive solar heating in wintertime.

A simple kitchen gives way to a vintage dining table, one of many pieces Zara and James found online. Sliding glass doors help bring the outside in.

The house was built near a sometimes-noisy highway, but robust insulation and windows help minimize sound filtration, as does a foyer and hallway fronting the building.

The kitchen almost blends into the background of the home, thanks to the all-over use of plywood across the cabinetry, appliances, and ceiling.

The screening room and living area is off the kitchen, and opens to the garden.

Even the windows can be concealed with custom plywood coverings.

"We bought very little and made as much as we could,

The owner and architect chose to outfit almost every aspect of the studio in Douglas fir plywood.

The clients for an existing home in Seattle approached Best Practice Architecture with a need to make space for an aging family member, but the home on-site was already filled to the brim. The firm's answer was to expand the existing detached garage into a gracious and airy living suite. The architects worked with the natural, six-foot slope of the site and built the Granny Pad into the hill to gain the needed interior height. The volume on the right is the original garage footprint, which now houses a kitchen and sitting room. The added volume on the left hosts the bedroom, as well as a bathroom beneath the loft space.

Just north of San Francisco, the Mill Valley home of former Phish manager and current restaurant owner John Paluska takes its place within its eclectic neighborhood and natural surroundings. A guest cottage flanks the family's garden. The "casita" has hosted friends, family, and even wildfire evacuees; Rachel Paluska refers to it as a "revolving door, in a fun way."

Architect Rocio Romero designs ADUs that are conceived as studios, backyard offices, guest cottages, and short-term getaways. She’s sold over 50 prefab units in 17 different states, and recently launched a series of more modestly sized, construct-it-yourself structures dubbed the Camp series. The 456-square-foot Base Camp and 312-square-foot Fish Camp will both be priced in the $20,000 range. At just over 300 square feet, the Fish Camp is the smaller of the two Camp styles, but the prototype illustrates its utility as guesthouse or office.

Spurred by the city’s generous ADU incentives and a desire to reduce their environmental footprint, a couple—he an architect and she a construction engineer—designed and built an elegant, 624-square-foot backyard home with sustainability at its core. Scott Mooney and Lauren Shumaker’s compact backyard home is located in the back half of their 5,000-square-foot lot in the Richmond neighborhood of Southeast Portland. The couple plans to track the energy use of their new-build’s electric equipment and appliances. The data will inform the size of their photovoltaic array they'll add to offset the energy costs of the ADU and the bungalow.

Built in 1894, Cornuelle’s main house was one of the oldest in Portland, Oregon’s Woodlawn neighborhood.

The kitchen cabinets are made of CVG Douglas fir plywood, which Grey stained, finished, and topped with handmade Japanese tile from California-based Wa-Kei & Company. The wall lights are original refurbished Eklipta lights by Arne Jacobson for Louis Poulsen. The ceramic bowl is by Linda Hsaio of Knotwork L.A.

Hallway storage

Hallway entrance

Modern kitchen with a minimal palette

The second level showcases built-in cabinetry and an office area crafted from cedar.

Adi and Chris chose an L-shaped, pre-permitted plan by Cast Architecture with extensive glass, and resisted two-story options to fit in better with their neighborhood.