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Every architecture story has its own twists and turns – even those backyard cottages known as Accessory Dwelling Units that have gained popularity in recent years as a solution to the housing crisis.
While all ADUs are small, self-contained and share property with a main house, their similarities end there, as Menlo Park author Lydia Lee uncovers in her new book, “The Well-designed Accessory Dwelling Unit: Fitting Great Architecture into Small Spaces.”
Lee, a seasoned architecture and design writer, scoured the Peninsula, as well as the entire nation and Canada, to find stories about creative ways homeowners have designed backyard homes to fit their lots and fulfill specific purposes.
Meet the author at Books Inc.
Menlo Park author Lydia Lee will be celebrating the release of her new book “The Well-designed Accessory Dwelling Unit: Fitting Great Architecture into Small Spaces” during a one-hour Q&A with Architect Adam Mayberry, who has designed more than 200 ADUs for clients in the Bay Area and was featured in the book. The duo will provide guidance and tips for building an ADU.
The event takes place from 7-8 p.m., on Thursday, Jan. 23, at Books Inc.,855 El Camino Real #74,Town & Country Village, Palo Alto. Reserve a seat or find more information.
“I am continually amazed by how much wonderful architecture you can fit into one small space,” Lee said. “I tried to include an interesting mix of stories on what people did to make their ADU special to them. I hope (readers) will be inspired if they have the resources and the property and the wherewithal and can see how (ADUs) have transformed people’s lives to do something wonderfully architecturally in their own backyards.”
Creative solutions
Some of the homeowners highlighted in the book chose to add ADUs with features that would enable them to age in place, such as the Seattle couple who built their dream retirement home right behind their 1906 dark and cramped Craftsman that had a “steep and perilous” staircase leading to the old home’s only bathroom. They made sure to put the living space in the new ADU all on one level and brighten the place with skylights throughout.
Others transformed their property into multigenerational family compounds, including a city planning consultant who moved into a prefabricated ADU manufactured by Redwood City company Abodu that his parents added to their San Jose property so he could be close to them as they age. His parents took out a home equity loan, and now he makes the monthly loan payments on the home, which could become their future residence should they choose to downsize in later years. He said before the addition of the ADU, his parents’ future had been weighing on his mind.
To maximize interior space, the stairs to this ADU built above a garage in Minnesota were moved outside. Photo by Alyssa Lee Photography, courtesy Schiffer Publishing. 
The ADU includes an elevator custom-built next to the main entrance for one of the homeowner’s parents who has Parkinson’s and has difficulty using the stairs.Photo by Alyssa Lee Photography, courtesy Schiffer Publishing. 
By extending the kitchen countertop all the way to the window frames, rather than stopping at a sill, the architect created more usable counter space. Photo by Alyssa Lee Photography, courtesy Schiffer Publishing.
For Minneapolis homeowners Kirsten and Michael, their decision to custom build an ADU for one of their parents with Parkinson’s came after a fire engulfed their garage. As part of the rebuild, they decided to design a 660-square-foot, one-bedroom home above the garage equipped with an elevator and other accessibility features. To maximize space, the vanity, faucet, and toilet all are wall mounted.
Others sought to build additional space that could be used to generate rental income or provide extra living space. Many homes were custom-made to fit the special constraints of a property, such as the Austin ADU with a cantilevered section of foundation designed to protect the roots of an adjacent pecan tree that is the focal point of the property.
The challenges and path aren’t all the same, Lee explained.
This Austin ADU had to be located closer to an existing pecan tree than anticipated, so a section of the foundation was cantilevered to protect the tree’s roots. Photo by Leonid Furmansky, courtesy Schiffer Publishing. 
The kitchen island doubles as a dining table, with seating along the left side; it also has cabinets for additional storage. Photo by Leonid Furmansky, courtesy Schiffer Publishing. 
Built-ins under the stairwell make the most of the ADU’s limited square footage. Photo by Leonid Furmansky, courtesy Schiffer Publishing.
What to know before getting started
Designed as an inspirational planning and building guide, the 176-page book includes blueprints, photos and insights from architects, builders and homeowners who have gone through the ADU process, as well as other need-to-know basics, such as understanding zoning regulations and financing.
During her research, Lee said the quintessential challenge among architects and their clients seemed to be finding a balance between adding all the things homeowners want while working with the space constraints that come with building a small home.
One architect described designing an ADU as “a game of inches, not feet.”
Many homeowners also had misconceptions about the costs of building an ADU, Lee said.
“Architects say people think because an ADU is small, it will be cheap, but building an ADU is essentially like building a full house. You still need a full bath and full kitchen and have to fit in many of the same features,” Lee said.
Homeowners should expect to pay about 10% more per square foot for an ADU than a typical house since construction costs are distributed across a smaller footprint, she explained.
Old fraternity house spurs author’s interest in architecture
While Lee doesn’t have firsthand experience building an ADU herself, she has researched and written about architecture, design and sustainability for the past 20 years as a freelance writer.
Lee said she developed an interest in architecture during college while living in an old stucco building with a terra cotta roof that once served as a fraternity house. The building featured fresh-air sleeping porches, a chapel that had been converted into a TV room and an array of other common spaces and tiny rooms all designed to bring people together.
“This was my first experience feeling like a building was designed for a very specific purpose. I realized that architecture could be really powerful,” she said.
For this book, Lee said a former editor whom she previously worked with contacted her to research the ADU process. Lee had worked on another book with her about the “missing middle” – a range of housing types that fall between single-family homes and large apartment buildings – and the rise of ADUs were part of that conversation. Her new book expands on that.
ADUs are one of the biggest developments in housing, according to Lee.
While the majority of ADU owners in her book are from the West Coast, which seems to be leading this trend, she believes these small homes are on the cusp of taking off big across the country.
She said legislation in many states hasn’t caught up yet, and that can make a big difference.
Since California significantly loosened restrictions for building ADUs on most residential lots in 2016, more than 60,000 ADUS have been permitted across the state, according to her book.
“ADUs can be life transforming,” Lee said. “They enable people to add extra space, age in place and downsize.
“Maybe someone likes where they live, but their current house isn’t going to work for them. Building an ADU allows them to live on their property in the future. They can build an ADU to be ADA-compliant, have zero thresholds and many of the things they might need in the future to make sure they can age in place someday. It gives somebody a lot of psychological peace of mind.”
