Backyard cottage is a creative home addition
Energy-efficient space makes room for family and a home business
SEATTLE— Small but mighty, a little DADU saved the day for a seriously space-cramped family.
Will and Yuki French, along with teenagers Alex and Erika, dog Jax and Tesla the cat, were seriously confined in their century-old Craftsman bungalow.
The kids shared a room and Yuki’s business, selling furniture on Etsy, was booming right out of its basement storage area. “I started to occupy the living room. When you opened the front door, it was like a warehouse,” she says.
They figured there was nowhere to go but up and considered turning the attic into a bedroom or two, or raising the roof and adding another floor.
And then arrived the option of a DADU — a detached accessory dwelling unit — resulting from a burst of creativity and an inspired, out-of-the-bungalow idea.
“We had a roundtable,” says Living Shelter Architects project designer Roy Stark McGarrah. “There was whiskey involved. We started talking: ‘Is there any other option?’ We started thinking DADU — and how it wouldn’t disrupt Will and Yuki’s life in the main house, and it would get them a lot more space.”
The Frenchs’ lot was just big enough to accommodate such a structure that could be used for storage, for sleepovers, for visitors and someday even bonus rental income.
It also could make history: the sleek backyard cottage was designed to be one of the first carbon-neutral DADUs in the country, says Living Shelter founder and principal architect Terry Phelan.
“From the foundation, insulation and waterproofing to the floors, paints and roof, nearly everything in this DADU was chosen because of its low environmental impact and high performance.”
“We made sustainable choices as we went,” said McGarrah. “We used sheep’s wool for insulation, with additional insulation on the outside of walls. LEDs. Low- or zero-VOC paint. A low-flush toilet. Infrared heating panels powered by electricity — they’re efficient, improve indoor air quality and save square footage.”
The 620-square-foot DADU — connected to the Frenches’ main home by a new deck with hot tub — is a mini-marvel of energy- and space-saving ingenuity, including its creative siting that is partially below grade and allowed additional square footage.
The lower level has a guest bedroom/workshop and bathroom. On the main floor, an open living area with kitchenette faces south and west. “Having daylight on multiple sides makes it feel so much bigger,” said Phelan.
“The centre window opens, for really good cross-ventilation.”
Behind the kitchenette, over the stairs leading down is a foldaway staircase to the upper-level loft space — and a rooftop deck with views of Mount Rainier and Lake Washington.
“When I was looking at getting extra space, with the shape of this roof, I thought: ‘How do I get up here?’ ” said McGarrah. “I know you could get up to an attic with pull-down stairs that fold … I started folding cardboard and building models. We saved square footage by overlapping the stairs.”