Diane Owen’s ADU: A Carriage House at My Daughter’s Place
A few years ago, Diane Owen was sharing a house in Denver, CO with her daughter Mara, and Mara’s partner Andrew. Diane’s one bedroom, one bathroom multi-generational household also included three dogs, so it was a full house! Diane had been living with Mara and Andrew for three years and they got along really well, but there were moments that a little more wiggle room would be nice.
Bertha’s ADU: A Tiny Cottage in My Son’s Backyard
Bertha and her son John had always been fairly close, but they lived their separate lives in different parts of St Petersburg, Florida. Each of them owned their own home and neither had plans to sell, but all that changed in 2016 when Bertha received a surprise offer from someone who wanted to buy her house.
Walt Drake’s ADU: A Father-in-Law Unit in My Own Backyard
When Scott Drake bought his father Walt’s property in Decatur, GA they struck a deal. They’d build a carriage house for Walt so that he could remain on the property and have Scott and his wife and kids move into Walt’s old house.
Now Collecting ADU Stories from Across America
Calling ADU Owners, Dwellers, Designers, and Builders from across America to share ADU stories for an exciting new project with AARP. The many benefits of ADUs – especially for multigenerational families – have caught the attention of AARP. They’ve commissioned a publication about ADUs, which will feature half a dozen case studies of ADUs with various configurations and uses. If you’re an ADU owner, dweller, designer, builder, or city planner and you believe you can help with this project, we’d love to hear from you! Just send me an email at accessorydwellings@gmail.com by February 28th, letting us know which of the four items above you’d like to assist with and send along a photo!
ADUs Work for Multigenerational Families: The Hidden Value of ADUs
The hidden value of ADUs is particularly evident in the conversations I’ve had with multigenerational families who use an ADU to create greater housing flexibility and security. There are so many tangible and intangible benefits of creating a multi-generational housing situation that I can’t possibly catalog them all here. But I’d like to give you a sense of how ADUs are working for multigenerational families.
Accessory Dwellings 