Home Visit: Detached Two-Story ADU

Evelyn Brom’s plan was to build a backyard cottage and rent it out. She would keep living in her two-bedroom home.

AH-HA MOMENT: As the design developed, Brom realized that she wanted to live in the stunning wood-and-glass ADU. It was a good decision. A week before moving in, Brom was laid off from her job.

REAL LIFE: The $3,000 a month Brom receives in rent for the main house (which is occupied by a three-generation family) provides a needed income. “Being laid off has made this arrangement a lifesaver,” Brom says. If the stairs in the cottage ever become too hard to navigate, she can move back into her original one-story house and rent out the cottage instead. “Now I have options,” she says.

Design: Chrystine Kim, NEST Architecture & Design
Builder: Ian Jones, Treebird Construction
Cost to build: $250,000 in 2014

^{Adapted from the AARP publications Where We Live (2018 edition) and The ABCs of ADUs.}