Backyard villas are among the top ways homeowners can expand their living space within the confines of the property. Driven greatly by the pandemic, the affordable housing shortage has been exacerbated by an increase in the number of people working from home.
As homeowners find they require additional space for work, a place for aging relatives to live, or as an income-generating property, the backyard villa is the newer, more interesting solution. As you design an accessory dwelling unit or ADU, it is essential to ensure the space is versatile and can fully function as a living space. Your self-contained unit should include a living room, sleeping area, kitchen, and bathroom with design considerations so that the exterior blends harmoniously with the main home on the property.
Flexibility, efficiency, and functionality are crucial. Often, the purpose of your ADU changes. What may have begun as an office, children’s playroom, or artist’s studio could later be needed for something different.
Natural light helps to make tight interior spaces feel more spacious, including large windows, sliding glass doors and skylights really open things up. In private areas like the bedroom or bathroom, high clerestory windows let in light without diminishing your privacy. Recessed can lighting allows you to create the illusion of a bigger space in areas where natural light isn’t an option.
Ceiling height opens up a room. Vaulted and gabled ceilings are both architecturally interesting and create vertical space. They also allow for a loft level, increasing your usable square footage, opening storage space or creating a cozy sleeping area for guests.
Other space-saving ideas include built-in shelves, cabinets, and under stair storage. A built-in banquette can serve as a place to dine with storage compartments hidden in the seating. Design-wise clean lines and minimal clutter is paramount to opening up a room. Murphy beds are perfect, as they can be tucked away when not in use.
Parking, access to the ADU, and privacy are other items you should consider when deciding on a design. If you are planning to rent out the space, you want to make sure there won’t be any parking conflicts and that there is clear ingress and egress to this detached building. If the people staying in the backyard villas aren’t close family members, you’ll want to situate the unit so that they won’t have views into the private areas of the main house or the pool area.
As you begin to design your backyard villa, consider how your space will be used before you get too deep into the project. This will help you to design your living space for maximum usability.
Harbor Classic Homes can help you design the perfect backyard villa.