I’d like to take this opportunity to show a couple of recently completed projects. The first is a Backyard Cottage, my second completed since Seattle’s Backyard Cottage Ordinance was approved 3 years ago (I have two more in the planning stage). The second project is a modern addition to an old Tudor style house.
Green Lake Backyard Cottage
This project is a new Detached Accessory Dwelling Unit (DADU) in the backyard of a house in the Green Lake neighborhood of Seattle. Driven by the program, this cottage had to completely max out the allowable square footage (800 s.f.), and the maximum roof heights (16′ on the low side, 20′ on the high side). Spatially, the building was shoe-horned into the allowable building envelope, and just barely allowed comfortable ceiling height at the top of the stairs. In the end, what was created was an efficient but comfortable open living space, with gracious bedrooms and baths.
The cottage includes 2 bedrooms, 2 baths, a kitchen and family/dining room. It can be re-configured as needed to provide a separate one-bedroom rental for a tenant, and an extra bedroom for the main residence. The project had a modest budget, but because of the small size allowed the owners to splurge on the bathroom and kitchen finishes, and exterior elements such as the galvanized steel canopies.
The siding is a mix of cedar, and cement-board siding, installed in a rain-screen fashion over rigid exterior insulation, which acts as a thermal break. The outdoor court is technically a parking spot (accessed from the alley), but is not used as such for the current tenant. A mechanized sliding gate can close off the court from the alley.
The main floor bedroom includes a space-saving Murphy bed, with a fold-down table to make the space even more versatile.
Ravenna Addition
This project was a rear yard addition to an existing 1920’s era house in the Ravenna neighborhood. The addition included a master suite downstairs, and a family room off the existing kitchen and dining areas upstairs. The existing kitchen was remodeled too. A roof terrace was added off the family room. The work to the existing portions of the house was kept to a minimum to help stay within a limited budget.
The homeowners wanted their addition to be in the modern style, but did not want to change the appearance of the house from the street. On the interior too there is a striking change in style between the old and new portions, delineated by the new beam separating the two.
A frosted glass railing helps diffuse the light, both natural (during the day) and artificial (at night – a pendant light is centered in the stair well behind), throughout the space.
The stair wall consists of a cabinet that provides dense storage on all sides – at the main floor, on the stairwell side, and at the bedroom below.
The basement floor is a heated concrete slab. A sliding barn door shuts off the bedroom from the stairway.
It’s been a few weeks since my last post, due to a combination of a flurry of new work, and some technical glitches I’ve had to work through. I apologize – it won’t happen again!
