From Falling-Down Garage to Tidy Guest Quarters
An unneeded structure makes way for a compact, economical cottage as part of a backyard overhaul in California
Eric and Marianne Haesloop’s garage didn’t have a lot going for it. The decaying structure took up a prime sunny spot at the rear of the lot. And besides, living in such a walkable neighborhood near plenty of transit lines, the Haesloops didn’t even need garage space. So they said goodbye to the building, demolishing it to create a one-bedroom rental cottage surrounded by a lush garden.
The Haesloops have accommodated guests in their cottage, but usually they rent it full time to postdocs and visiting faculty at the University of California, Berkeley. Because it’s fully furnished and near public transit, it’s an ideal fit, Eric says.
The cottage consists of a small living room, shown here, a kitchen with eating area, a bathroom and a bedroom. Large windows on both ends of the cottage, here and in the bedroom, maximize light and views toward mature trees that keep the unit private from neighbors. The Haesloops splurged on floors of reclaimed valley oak.
Paint: Mountain Peak White No. 2148-70, Benjamin Moore; red chairs: Poang, Ikea; side table and bookcase: Bravo 20
The cottage consists of a small living room, shown here, a kitchen with eating area, a bathroom and a bedroom. Large windows on both ends of the cottage, here and in the bedroom, maximize light and views toward mature trees that keep the unit private from neighbors. The Haesloops splurged on floors of reclaimed valley oak.
Paint: Mountain Peak White No. 2148-70, Benjamin Moore; red chairs: Poang, Ikea; side table and bookcase: Bravo 20
A small kitchen with a cooktop, built-in exhaust hood, microwave, sink and U-Line undercounter refrigerator-freezer sits in the center of the cottage. Along with the bathroom, it creates a central block that separates the bedroom from the public spaces.
The skylight keeps the interior well lit during the daytime. Indirect LED uplighting hides in ledges above the kitchen and the bedroom closet, illuminating the ceiling at night.
Heat is dispersed through a split-system heat pump, using forced air from vents tucked out of sight behind the LED uplights. The return air diffuser is in the lighting slot. All these design moves make for a cleaner, sleeker appearance.
The top of the dining table was made from flooring remnants. The table is paired with two Bellini chairs from Design Within Reach.
Cabinets: Ikea
The skylight keeps the interior well lit during the daytime. Indirect LED uplighting hides in ledges above the kitchen and the bedroom closet, illuminating the ceiling at night.
Heat is dispersed through a split-system heat pump, using forced air from vents tucked out of sight behind the LED uplights. The return air diffuser is in the lighting slot. All these design moves make for a cleaner, sleeker appearance.
The top of the dining table was made from flooring remnants. The table is paired with two Bellini chairs from Design Within Reach.
Cabinets: Ikea
Seen from the bedroom, a glazed partial wall and door lead to the bathroom. The glass is integrally frosted to provide privacy while still diffusing light through the bathroom into the hallway.
For the vanity, the couple chose Ikea cabinets and a slate tile floor. A hinged tilt-and-turn window provides air circulation in the bathroom.
Flooring: 12-by-12-inch American Slate tile in Steepside Fog
Flooring: 12-by-12-inch American Slate tile in Steepside Fog
One of the benefits of SIP panels is that they span the length of the room and allow for a clean expression of the gable on the interior, Eric says.
Windows: Bonelli; bed, side tables and bedding: Ikea
Windows: Bonelli; bed, side tables and bedding: Ikea
Here’s a view of the cottage from the side of the main house. A potato vine climbs the trellis attached to the main house; Mexican sage grows at its base.
The Haesloops’ lot is shown here in blue with the cottage highlighted in yellow. Previously, a driveway ran alongside the house to the garage, which was situated in front of and turned 90 degrees from where the cottage is now.
With such close proximity to neighbors in their dense community, the thoughtfully designed cottage offers visitors a private refuge with style.
Architectural design: Eric Haesloop, Amy Hu and John Kleman of Turnbull Griffin Haesloop
General contracting: Sawyer Construction
Structural engineering: Fratessa Forbes Wong
Landscape design: Patrick Haesloop
With such close proximity to neighbors in their dense community, the thoughtfully designed cottage offers visitors a private refuge with style.
Architectural design: Eric Haesloop, Amy Hu and John Kleman of Turnbull Griffin Haesloop
General contracting: Sawyer Construction
Structural engineering: Fratessa Forbes Wong
Landscape design: Patrick Haesloop
Cottage at a Glance
Who lives here: Architect Eric Haesloop, of Turnbull Griffin Haesloop, and his wife, Marianne Haesloop, rent out the cottage
Location: Berkeley, California
Size: 432 square feet (about 40 square meters), about 12 by 40 feet; one bedroom, one bathroom
Year built: 2014
The skinny, long lot — 50 feet by 150 feet — is in an older Berkeley neighborhood called the Elmwood District, which was largely established after the 1906 earthquake. The new cottage rests in a new sideways orientation at the rear of the lot near where the old garage stood. The main home — built in 1908 — sits streetside at the other end. The cottage’s position creates an expanse of garden that connects the two structures. Its facade is windowless to conserve the privacy of the backyard for the main house and to create a backdrop for the garden.
Son Patrick Haesloop, a landscape designer, designed the garden as a integral part of the project, including areas for sun and shade, a picnic table, and an edible garden in the low steel planter. He specified permeable surfaces, such as pea gravel, and drought-tolerant and native plantings. Shown here is a Japanese maple in the middle, with fig, lemon and orange trees to the left.
The priority was to balance quality and cost throughout the project. The walls and roof are made of structural insulated panels, or SIPs, and the exterior is sheathed in HardiePanels. Eric says the insulation and the tight seal of the construction help the structure exceed the California Energy Code by about 50 percent.
Additional backyard plantings seen here include geraniums, white sage (Salvia apiana), Australian tree ferns (Cyathea cooperi) and Fargesia robusta, a type of bamboo.