From Garage to ADU

Berkeley, CA

New ADU French doors leading to a small deck facing the main home.
ADU interior with vaulted ceiling, skylights, French doors on two sides, living/ding area and Kitchen along one wall
ADU Bedroom corner with Murphy bed out for sleeping. Bathroom is behind the bed, which has a nice view to the yard through more French doors.
ADU sleeping area with Murphy bed out of sight. Floors are stained concrete to keep construction costs lower.
ADU main space with Kitchen wall at the left, vaulted, skylit ceilings, Entry door, stacked Laundry, Bathroom beyond and open living space with Murphy bed.
ADU Kitchen wall featuring tall custom cabinets in natural wood that extend to the top of the wall to maximize storage. Abundant natural light via windows, doors, and skylights.
ADU Bathroom featuring a shower with vertically installed rectangular turquoise blue tile, a window and niche in this fully-sized and functional space.

From Garage to ADU

Berkeley, CA

  • Year Built: 2021

    Made a Garage into a 350 SF Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) with a Studio layout. Includes Living/Dining/Bedroom area, Kitchen & Bath.

    The Owners, for whom we’ve done other projects, came to Levitch needing a fairly quick solution to create more space for family. They asked us to transform their detached Garage into an Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU).

    • What you see in the photos is a completely new building in the footprint of the old Garage, which was in poor condition.

    • The old Garage doors became French doors opening to a small deck, with another set of French doors on the right wall to bring in lots of light.

    • The new ADU, while compact at about 350 SF, has a Studio layout with zones for living/sleeping, bathing and cooking:

      • The main space converts to a Bedroom with the Murphy bed folded down, and back to a Living space with the bed folded up and bookshelves showing.

      • The floor in this area is stained concrete of the new slab, which saved the cost of separate flooring.

      • The Bathroom is in the corner behind the bookshelves/Murphy bed.

      • The Kitchen area has two skylights to allow natural light to enter, and Laundry is tucked between the door (also with lites along the top to admit daylight) and the closet. Kitchen cabinets are custom by Levitch.

    Photography by Treve Johnson

  • See how things looked before we started, below.

Process

Carriage doors at front of old garage
New ADU in framing. Garage was completely rebuilt for the ADU.
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