The ADU is located on a steep hillside. Photo © Bruce Damonte, click to enlarge.

The primary living space, opening onto an expansive balcony makes for a sizable and flexible room, with a movable kitchen island and a Murphy bed. “The kitchen island is placed on casters that allow it to roll around, so they can create additional space to have kids playing on the floor,” explains Mork-Ulnes project lead Robert Scott, “or it can be set up as a dining table or placed against the wall when not in use.” The fixed kitchenette along the wall is topped by a 10-foot-long sintered-stone countertop and a white tile backsplash.

A Murphy bed helps maximize space. Photo © Bruce Damonte

Floor-to-ceiling green tile brings the outside in. Photo © Bruce Damonte

Unvarnished ply boards clad the interior and face the cabinet banks above and below the counter; their soft hue is complimented by abundant daylight that flows from a yawning clerestory window. “Combining the casework with the wall finishes instead of having drywall further decluttered the space,” notes principal Casper Mork-Ulnes. The clients are audiophiles, and the design team seamlessly tucked concealed speakers to the left and right of the clerestory-adjacent cabinets. A half bath, also finished with plywood, is folded into the southwest corner of the ADU.

The shower room, like the primary living space, makes use of its surroundings to visually elongate a limited volume. To the south, the shower opens to the abutting hillside and its tree canopy; that window to nature is emphasized by floor-to-ceiling pine-green tiling and then multiplied by a bathroom-door mirror. On the other side of the room, an acid-etched glass door ensures privacy while allowing a view of the color outdoors.