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Room of the Week: A Crumbling Garage Makes Way for a Sleek Guest Suite
An unneeded garage was demolished in favour of a compact, economical cottage as part of a garden revamp
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 garden. And besides, living in such a walkable area near plenty of transport links, 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 lush greenery.
The Haesloops have accommodated guests in their cottage, but usually they rent it full time to PhD students and visiting faculty at the University of California, Berkeley. Because it’s fully furnished and near public transport, 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, maximise light and views of mature trees that keep the cottage private from neighbours. The Haesloops splurged on floors of reclaimed valley oak.
Interior painted in Mountain Peak White No 2148-70, Benjamin Moore. Red Poang chairs, 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, maximise light and views of mature trees that keep the cottage private from neighbours. The Haesloops splurged on floors of reclaimed valley oak.
Interior painted in Mountain Peak White No 2148-70, Benjamin Moore. Red Poang chairs, Ikea. Side table and bookcase, Bravo 20.
A small kitchen with a worktop, built-in extractor fan, microwave, sink and U-Line under-counter fridge-freezer sits in the centre 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 wardrobe, 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.
Kitchen, Ikea. Bellini dining chairs, Design Within Reach.
The skylight keeps the interior well lit during the daytime. Indirect LED uplighting hides in ledges above the kitchen and the bedroom wardrobe, 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.
Kitchen, Ikea. Bellini dining chairs, Design Within Reach.
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 unit the couple chose Ikea cabinets, and teamed it with a slate tile floor. A hinged tilt-and-turn window provides air circulation in the bathroom.
12 x 12in slate floor tiles in Steepside Fog, American Slate.
12 x 12in slate floor tiles in Steepside Fog, American Slate.
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; bedding, all Ikea.
Windows, Bonelli. Bed; side tables; bedding, all Ikea.
Here’s a view of the cottage from the side of the main house. A potato vine climbs the trellis, while Mexican sage grows at its base.
The Haesloops’ plot 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 neighbours 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 neighbours 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
Who lives here Architect Eric Haesloop, of Turnbull Griffin Haesloop, and his wife, Marianne Haesloop, rent out the cottage
Location Berkeley, California
Size About 12ft x 40ft
Year built 2014
Photos by David Wakely Photography
The skinny, long plot of land – 15.2m x 45.7m – is in an older area of Berkeley called the Elmwood District, which was largely established after the 1906 earthquake. The new cottage rests in a new sideways position at the rear of the plot, 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 garden for the main house and to create a backdrop for the garden.
The couple’s 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 (a heavy-duty fibre cement cladding material). Haesloop says the insulation and the tight seal of the construction help the structure exceed the California Energy Code by about 50%.
Additional garden plantings seen here include geraniums, white sage (Salvia apiana), Australian tree ferns (Cyathea cooperi) and Fargesia robusta, a type of bamboo.