4 Versatile Backyard Cottages Offer Space-Maximizing Ideas
See how these smaller-scale spaces support main homes for entertaining, hosting overnight guests or hanging out
Whether you have a full house, visiting folks who like to stay the night or kids of any age, a backyard cottage is your friend. Not only does it offer breathing room and privacy, but it has the feel of a getaway, even if it’s just a stone’s throw from the main house. All the better if it’s flexible enough to serve multiple purposes.
The four outbuildings below — whether you call them guesthouses, studios, accessory dwelling units or something else — offer lots of ideas on how to incorporate spaces for working, playing, sleeping and eating in a small footprint without creating a tight squeeze. Have a look, and if you have a backyard cottage of your own, please tell us about it in the Comments.
The four outbuildings below — whether you call them guesthouses, studios, accessory dwelling units or something else — offer lots of ideas on how to incorporate spaces for working, playing, sleeping and eating in a small footprint without creating a tight squeeze. Have a look, and if you have a backyard cottage of your own, please tell us about it in the Comments.
Using Houzz ideabooks to share ideas, interior designer Erica Peale helped the homeowners choose finishes, lighting and furniture to give the interior a modern mountain look. Slate floor tiles ground the design with their rugged vibe and subtle color variations. Leather upholstery and a cowhide wall hanging feel right in sync. A wood-and-glass coffee table offers a fetching counterpoint with its modern silhouette.
The white sofa seen here pulls out to a king-size bed, and there’s another bed up in the loft (above the workspace window).
Shop for living room furniture on Houzz
The white sofa seen here pulls out to a king-size bed, and there’s another bed up in the loft (above the workspace window).
Shop for living room furniture on Houzz
A circular patio with Adirondack chairs lies a few steps away, just before the entryway of sliding doors. An interior bar area with a sink and beverage fridge, plus a TV mounted behind, is conveniently placed for toting drinks outside to enjoy by the fire. The bigger upholstered chairs can swivel to face the patio or sofa.
The cottage has a mini-split system for cooling and heating so the temperature can stay just right all year round.
Space maximizers: Lofted bed, pullout couch, slender work desk, no kitchen
Read more about this project
The cottage has a mini-split system for cooling and heating so the temperature can stay just right all year round.
Space maximizers: Lofted bed, pullout couch, slender work desk, no kitchen
Read more about this project
Photos by Logan Irvine-MacDougall
2. Garden Victory
Cottage at a Glance
Who lives here: A family with three elementary-school-age children and a dog
Location: South London
Size: About 517 square feet (48 square meters)
Architect: Ellen Sacks-Jones of Matthew Giles Architects
At the end of a long London backyard lies this cottage by architect Ellen Sacks-Jones that beautifully harmonizes with the space. The family uses it as a kids hangout, a guest suite and an indoor resting spot during outdoor parties. When the single pocket door is open, the cottage feels even more like it sprang up from the ground with the trees.
2. Garden Victory
Cottage at a Glance
Who lives here: A family with three elementary-school-age children and a dog
Location: South London
Size: About 517 square feet (48 square meters)
Architect: Ellen Sacks-Jones of Matthew Giles Architects
At the end of a long London backyard lies this cottage by architect Ellen Sacks-Jones that beautifully harmonizes with the space. The family uses it as a kids hangout, a guest suite and an indoor resting spot during outdoor parties. When the single pocket door is open, the cottage feels even more like it sprang up from the ground with the trees.
A casual living room offers a TV and a sleeper sofa for overnighters. Potted plants and children’s artwork add simple but effective decor. And the bay window seen to the left hangs over a planted area, so someone sitting in the bay’s seat (which usually has cushions) can feel at one with the landscape.
A pool table lies just behind where the previous photo was taken from, with a window at one end offering yet another green view. The small but fully functional kitchenette also is backed by a mirrored panel (not seen), to reflect the backyard vista seen through the large glass sliding door.
Electric underfloor heating, Wi-Fi, water and waste systems and even smart lighting round out the amenities.
Space maximizers: Pullout couch, kitchenette, window seat
Read more about this project
Electric underfloor heating, Wi-Fi, water and waste systems and even smart lighting round out the amenities.
Space maximizers: Pullout couch, kitchenette, window seat
Read more about this project
Photos by Steve Hershberger
3. Companion Volume
Cottage at a Glance
Who lives here: A couple and their kids, ages 8 and 10
Location: Alexandria, Virginia
Size: 770 square feet (72 square meters); one bedroom, one bathroom
Designer-builder: Four Brothers Design + Build
Steps from a Craftsman main home across a flagstone patio lies this L-shaped Virginia cottage by architect Jeremy Tetreault. Weathered gray-brown siding and a standing-seam metal roof help create the impression that it’s been tucked into this corner of the yard all along.
Accordion doors and a pass-through window from the kitchen to a counter with seating offer a convenient connection with the outdoors. In the lower left corner here, you can see a tiny bit of a boulder fire pit; two Adirondack chairs behind it face the outdoor bar area for easy socializing.
Roof: Burnished slate, PAC-CLAD | Petersen
3. Companion Volume
Cottage at a Glance
Who lives here: A couple and their kids, ages 8 and 10
Location: Alexandria, Virginia
Size: 770 square feet (72 square meters); one bedroom, one bathroom
Designer-builder: Four Brothers Design + Build
Steps from a Craftsman main home across a flagstone patio lies this L-shaped Virginia cottage by architect Jeremy Tetreault. Weathered gray-brown siding and a standing-seam metal roof help create the impression that it’s been tucked into this corner of the yard all along.
Accordion doors and a pass-through window from the kitchen to a counter with seating offer a convenient connection with the outdoors. In the lower left corner here, you can see a tiny bit of a boulder fire pit; two Adirondack chairs behind it face the outdoor bar area for easy socializing.
Roof: Burnished slate, PAC-CLAD | Petersen
The seating indoors is set up to foster conversation, whether it involves the homeowners, their kids, their friends or visiting in-laws, but the comfy couch by the big front door also is a great place for curling up solo with a book or taking a nap.
A vaulted ceiling plus lots of white paint and natural light create a feeling of spaciousness in the compact space.
A vaulted ceiling plus lots of white paint and natural light create a feeling of spaciousness in the compact space.
A full kitchen — complete with cooktop, oven, fridge, wine chiller, ice maker and dishwasher — allows for whipping up full meals. The pass-through (over the countertop on the short part of the “L") makes serving everything outdoors a breeze.
Upstairs lies a cozy bedroom for overnight guests. And that’s the main home seen through the window, so guests here get plenty of privacy without going far.
Space maximizers: Vaulted ceiling, accordion doors, attic-style bedroom
Read more about this project
Upstairs lies a cozy bedroom for overnight guests. And that’s the main home seen through the window, so guests here get plenty of privacy without going far.
Space maximizers: Vaulted ceiling, accordion doors, attic-style bedroom
Read more about this project
Photos by David Patterson Photography
4. Fab Cabin
Cottage at a Glance
Who lives here: A couple whose kids have left the nest
Location: Downtown Steamboat Springs, Colorado
Size: 800 square feet (74 square meters)
Designers: Sierra Fallon and Lindsey Jamison of Rumor Design + reDesign (interior design) and Mountain Architecture Design Group (architecture)
Contractor: Dobell Contracting
Bordering a park, overlooking a creek and with a tiny historic cabin on its right (not seen), this Colorado cabin by Mountain Architecture Design Group feels plucked from a mountainside. But it’s actually downtown and shares a cul-de-sac property with a bigger main home to the left (also not seen), so all the conveniences of city living are close by.
Check out our beginner’s guide to get started on your home project
4. Fab Cabin
Cottage at a Glance
Who lives here: A couple whose kids have left the nest
Location: Downtown Steamboat Springs, Colorado
Size: 800 square feet (74 square meters)
Designers: Sierra Fallon and Lindsey Jamison of Rumor Design + reDesign (interior design) and Mountain Architecture Design Group (architecture)
Contractor: Dobell Contracting
Bordering a park, overlooking a creek and with a tiny historic cabin on its right (not seen), this Colorado cabin by Mountain Architecture Design Group feels plucked from a mountainside. But it’s actually downtown and shares a cul-de-sac property with a bigger main home to the left (also not seen), so all the conveniences of city living are close by.
Check out our beginner’s guide to get started on your home project
Designers Sierra Fallon and Lindsey Jamison allowed for a flexible furniture arrangement, which is a boon because of the cabin’s multiuse nature. When the homeowners’ adult children or parents are visiting, a table and chairs by the fire make for cozy conversations and casual meals. One of the homeowners also likes to play cards with friends here.
A wine cooler with two refrigerated drawers below sits conveniently nearby in a small kitchen, joined by an ice maker, a 24-inch range and a microwave drawer. No need for bigger appliances, because family dinners happen in the main house.
A wine cooler with two refrigerated drawers below sits conveniently nearby in a small kitchen, joined by an ice maker, a 24-inch range and a microwave drawer. No need for bigger appliances, because family dinners happen in the main house.
When guests stay the night, a sleeper sofa and cushy chair can take that spot in front of the fireplace, as this flipped-orientation view shows. Or folks can sleep in the actual bedroom, which is down the hallway to the left in the previous photo. When the weather is nice, they can hang out on the covered patio, which has a dining area and lounge chairs. And when it’s cold, radiant heat warms the flooring.
While the interior style is based on modern mountain, the design team included contemporary and eclectic touches, such as a marble tile surround in a herringbone pattern for the fireplace, a brightly colored vintage Moroccan shag rug and a chandelier with speckled glass shades. The design also incorporates some ADA-compliant standards.
Space maximizers: Pullout couch, no fridge, 24-inch range, flexible-use bench
Read more about this project
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While the interior style is based on modern mountain, the design team included contemporary and eclectic touches, such as a marble tile surround in a herringbone pattern for the fireplace, a brightly colored vintage Moroccan shag rug and a chandelier with speckled glass shades. The design also incorporates some ADA-compliant standards.
Space maximizers: Pullout couch, no fridge, 24-inch range, flexible-use bench
Read more about this project
More on Houzz
Read more stories about outbuildings
Hire local design and remodeling pros
Shop for your home
1. Family Plan
Cottage at a Glance
Who lives here: A blended family of six
Location: Arlington, Virginia
Size: 513 square feet (48 square meters)
Designers: Harrison Design (architecture) and Erica Peale Design (interior design)
Contractor: Dasha Cunningham of FineCraft Contractors
When you have four kids in the family, extra space is a blessing. Inspired by neighbors, these Virginia homeowners hired architecture firm Harrison Design to build a backyard cottage where their newly blended family of six could hang out and entertain friends and relatives and where overnight guests could sleep. Then a loft and a workspace joined the fun, and this little home right near the main home was complete.
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