SoCal small-space living: 27 homes that inspire

Small-space living doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice style or succumb to clutter. It just requires creative thinking.
Whether you live in an apartment, loft, bungalow, ADU — or even a trailer — living small can be an empowering opportunity for you to think big while living with less.
Southern California homes are known for their architectural variety — Craftsman, Spanish and Midcentury Modern among them. Here are some inspiring homes from our archives that are noteworthy not just for their design, but for their small footprint.
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Situated behind grandma’s house, this Eagle Rock ADU is perfect for a young family of three.
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A soundproof Silver Lake recreation room with massive windows channels the Midcentury Modern designs of Richard Neutra.
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This garage-turned-ADU feels like a luxurious getaway just steps from the E Line (Expo) train.
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This eco-friendly ADU is a simple solution to limited space: It’s just 320 square feet. The result? A WFH retreat that also houses guests when needed.
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Design, Bitches transformed a garage into a stunning ADU in Atwater Village. It is one of more than a dozen designs through the city’s ADU program.
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In an innovative take on backyard “granny flats,” architects Melissa and Amanda Shin design an ADU that faces the street, while a two-story main house is installed in the back.
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A Craftsman-inspired house in Elysian Heights gets a whimsical expansion: A writing studio with a hidden rooftop deck that offers views of downtown Los Angeles.
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Designed as a two-story building, this Craftsman-inspired accessory dwelling unit (ADU) occupies the top floor, leaving room below for outdoor living. She says it saved her from financial ruin during the pandemic.
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Architect professor Alexis Navarro designed and built an accessory dwelling unit that is affordable and attractive. The result is inspiring.
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Arden Myrin’s ‘cheap and cheerful’ tiny bungalow will cure your COVID-19 blues.
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Off-black walls, African-inspired murals and comfortable vintage furnishings make Adrien Beard’s DTLA loft an inspiring place to hang. That’s the point. They call this fresh, unique style Neo Afro Eclectic.
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Megan Henderson had to deal with the inevitable “What do I keep?”
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For Heidi Hansing, the last three years felt as if she were moving backward.
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After raising three kids in Texas, education consultant Ellen Sanchez missed the outdoor lifestyle she remembered from her childhood in Westwood.
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Looking to downsize from her four-bedroom home in Beverly Hills, designer Amy Shock longed for a coastal live-work retreat.
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Actress Carlson Young knows a lot about drama.
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When architects Bo Sundius and Hisako Ichiki decided to build a guest cottage on their property in Elysian Park, they wanted the scale of a loft but the feel of a cabin.
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When Los Angeles interior designer Tommy Chambers decided to tackle a full-scale renovation project in West Hollywood, he was faced with an uncompromising client: Himself.
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There are walk-in closets in Malibu larger than Steven Jones’ Laguna Beach home.
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If you’ve ever chosen to downsize, you know the benefits of living with less.
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Living large in a small space is not only possible, it can also be beautiful — if Tamra Fago’s 900-square-foot home in the Garvanza neighborhood near downtown L.A. is any indication.
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Todd Segal’s tiny 1919 Highland Park home — a 624-square-foot cabin that rests on a 7,500-square-foot hillside lot — was inhabited by squatters when he purchased it five years ago.
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Matty Pipes had a goal when he moved into his new home in Hollywood: Create a bachelor pad with a well-traveled look that did not look “decorator done.”
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When work beckoned UBS financial services executive Ronald Meraz to Los Angeles, he and wife Denise, recent empty nesters, sold their 7,000-square-foot, eight-acre Murrieta home and started searching for “something different,” Denise says — something like a downtown industrial loft.
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Carlos Anthony Lopez helps set the scene and vibe at some of the city’s hottest restaurants and bars.
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“What do you love about your apartment?”