Paul and Caroline built a 400-square-foot accessory dwelling unit in their Seattle backyard, moved into it, and began renting out their main house. The cottage features a murphy bed that transforms the living room into a bedroom at night, maximizing the usable space during daytime hours. The couple incorporated recycled and reclaimed materials throughout, including repurposed kitchen utensils as cabinet handles and a cheese grater converted into a light fixture.
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Backyard ADU Cottage Exterior
Images via Tiny House Giant Journey/YouTube
Living Area with Murphy Bed Folded
Images via Tiny House Giant Journey/YouTube
Murphy Bed Deployed
Images via Tiny House Giant Journey/YouTube
Compact Kitchen with Recycled Hardware
Images via Tiny House Giant Journey/YouTube
Upcycled Utensil Cabinet Handles
Images via Tiny House Giant Journey/YouTube
Open Living and Dining Space
Images via Tiny House Giant Journey/YouTube
Video Tour: 400-Square-Foot Backyard Cottage
Design Details
- Type: Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) / Backyard Cottage
- Location: Seattle, Washington
- Interior Area: 400 square feet
- Owners: Paul and Caroline
- Bed: Murphy bed (folds into wall)
- Layout: Open floor plan
- Kitchen: Compact with full functionality
- Materials: Recycled and reclaimed throughout
- Cabinet Hardware: Repurposed kitchen utensils as handles
- Light Fixture: Upcycled cheese grater
- Use Strategy: Owners live in ADU, rent main house
- Zoning: Seattle ADU regulations
Lessons from This Build
- ADUs Can Generate Income While You Downsize: Building a small cottage and moving into it allows owners to rent their larger home, creating rental income while reducing their own living space and expenses
- Murphy Beds Double Room Functionality: A fold-up bed transforms a single room from bedroom to living room daily, effectively doubling the usable space in a 400-square-foot home
- Recycled Materials Add Character at Low Cost: Using repurposed items like utensils for cabinet handles and cheese graters for light fixtures creates unique design elements while saving money on finishes
- Seattle ADU Regulations Enable Backyard Cottages: Local zoning laws that permit accessory dwelling units make this housing strategy possible in certain jurisdictions
- Small Living Reduces Ownership Burden: Moving from a large house to 400 square feet eliminates the maintenance, cleaning, and utility costs of unused space
Learn More
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Alex
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Beautiful details.
Amazing and beautiful. Excellent job.
Actually surprised it cost $70,000. Because I recently had a 450 sq ft house built for less then that and I paid people to build it and I live in Hawaii where everything is more expensive. And this guy is a builder so he built it which saved some money. Don’t know if he had help building
Hawaii can be expensive but it’s not alone in that regard. Most of the west coast states are included, as well as major cities like NYC, for an example on the east coast, though Hawaii does top them in most things but not everything and even Hawaii can have a fairly broad range of costs depending on which island, community, etc. area that the property is located.
A lot of the costs come from all the fees, permits, planning approval, impact fees, inspections, etc. and can vary by the location, how far to connect to utilities, type of structure, possible additional costs dealing with HOA’s and other requirements that may need to be met.
Much of that is before anything even gets built, accounting for up to tens of thousands depending on the specific project being done, but the structure itself will also vary by location because of different available resources vs what has to be imported, and constructing for different climates can make a significant difference in construction costs. Like if you need double to triple pane custom windows for much colder climates then that can add thousands per window, for just one example of how prices can be significantly effected.
So size is only one of many factors on cost and you often have to dig into the details to really compare prices from different parts of the world, etc…
I don’t like the open drawers in the kitchen. The openings allow dust and debris to infiltrate the storage areas. I do like the interior paint color choices. The yellow gives the interior a bright, cheery ambiance.
Dust etc penetrates everywhere… even with closed drawers. Admittedly not to the same extent as open drawers. The advantage of open drawers is you can see at a glance what you’ve got. And it works for them.
Personally, I’m not a fan of them. But that’s me.
Great concept and beautiful result. Not sure I’d be able to share a space with someone without having a more private space to retreat to than a corner desk though. That garage space would make a great workshop or studio for a home based business.
Lovely home. Good for them! I would like to know from readers that regularly use them if they find Murphy beds comfortable. An informed regular contributor to this website advises that the answer depends on the mattress that one chooses for the Murphy bed. Other peoples’ advice would be welcome. Respectfully submitted, Stephan of Arkansas
I wish I knew someone with a Murphy bed to direct you to, but I do agree that it would be up to mattress. There’s so reason a Murphy bed would be less comfortable as long as the mattress was what you like.
The house cost $70K? Good going. The last time I saw anything for $70K it was a parking spot in a condo building in Vancouver. In some buildings they go for $25K. It depends upon how tight the parking is in an area.
Building the small house and renting out their large one is a great idea. It enables people who do not have a pension to finance their retirement. Also as inflation hits the economy, renting out the house will enable them to continue to finance their retirement lives, by simply raising the rent,.
Personally I’m not crazy about fold away beds, but then I’m lazy and don’t like to have to do anything to go to bed, except hop in. Beds such as this one, are a great way to save space.
I would like to know how to contact or get in touch with Paul for some Info how to start the project because I have a house in South Seattle which I’m also planning to build a studio on top of the garage as my retirement house since I ‘m turning 62 next year . I don’t have a big budget since am low income , I really like what & how he did with his house!