Alley Cat
Contemporary Kitchen, Minneapolis
The Alley Cat ADU serves two young professionals who live there during the warm months while renting out their primary residence. In the winter, they rent out both their primary residence and their ADU while they live abroad.
The clients’ love for plants guided much of the design, including the large Catalpa tree in their yard. The ADU takes advantage of the extensive tree canopy by tucking the deck, which also serves as the 2nd level entry, underneath the branches. We paid special attention to the exterior form so that the Catalpa tree appears to envelop the ADU. Gardening is also important to the homeowners, so the ADU was carefully located on the site to maintain as much backyard space as possible.
Numerous windows and skylights create a sunlit space for the homeowners’ numerous house plants. The plants, natural light, and compact size create a cozy space full of nooks to relax in.
The kitchen, although compact, has a full-size refrigerator, dishwasher, and stove top. A creative touch is the picture-framed kitchen window, which is a continuation of the butcher block counter. To maximize the efficiency of the small space, their cat’s litterbox is cleverly tucked away into a cabinet with a cat-sized hole.
Colors and decor theme