Garage

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.

Exterior from the backyard

A built-in ladder connects to the small attic space, which has become popular during kids' sleepovers.

The main floor of William and Yuki French's addition is a flexible, family-room space that can be used as an apartment with a small kitchenette. The cumaru-clad outdoor deck, which connects to the main house, also includes a hot tub.