SoCal small-space living: 60+ homes, lofts, ADUs and apartments that inspire
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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.
A 230-square-foot ADU was meant to be a music studio. It’s now a “lifeline” for this South Pasadena family.
Al and Nenette Alcazar lived in their New Orleans home for 54 years. Now, they’ve downsized to a one-bedroom ADU in their son’s backyard in Los Angeles. “We love it,” says Nenette.
Inspired by his cats, a doctor created a warm and elegant refuge out of a modern “white box” in L.A.
Designer Ben Warwas renovated a dated two-bedroom home and detached garage in Los Angeles to better reflect the colorful sensibilities of its owner, artist Antonio Adriano Puleo.
Chris Rose, an L.A. writer, producer and director, created his own video library, which includes more than 250 titles.
They brought their 412-square-foot, rent-controlled apartment to life with bold patterns on the furniture and colorful artwork on the walls.
When a couple found their dream apartment in Beachwood Canyon, they discovered a community of dog lovers outside their fourplex. “Everyone knows our dogs’ names,” Natalie Babcock says with a smile.
A two-story ADU with movie theater touches in the garage, a rooftop deck and whimsical decor in the living space offers new opportunities for fun-loving Venice family.
After years of renting in Los Feliz, 68-year-old artist Debra Weiss was forced to look for a new place to live after she was evicted from her longtime apartment.
A couple remodeled their Manhattan Beach home and ADU to create a modern, airy compound that connects to the outdoors without adding additional square footage.
Two homes. Two backyards. A striking ADU appears to float above traffic on a hillside lot in Silver Lake.
A magical Mediterranean-style penthouse, rumored to have been rented by Stevie Nicks in 1971, offers a safe place to land for entrepreneur Caitlin Villarreal.
With its colorful charm, Abraham and Cecilia Beltran’s Long Beach apartment is a welcoming hub for their family.
For a lover of historical fiction and classic literature, Catie Brown creates a cottagecore aesthetic that brings warmth and character to her 1963 apartment.
Architect Susan Nwankpa Gillespie designed the exterior of the second floor of the ADU with kente cloth in mind. Part of the facade resembles the handwoven textile.
Art director Mary Kenny transformed her 600-square-foot apartment in L.A. with budget-friendly DIY projects and thrift store finds.
Working with Japanese American woodworker Toshi Kawabata of Barrban Woodworks, Lizabeth Altounian realized her dream of living in a Kyoto-style dwelling, on a small scale.
In housing-strapped Los Angeles, a single mom adds an ADU to accommodate her three teenagers and aging parents.
Isabel Janken lived in her Westwood duplex for more than 40 years. Today, the garage of her duplex has been transformed into an ADU, creating a community of three rental units.
After a decade of working out of coffeehouses and co-working spaces, Oscar-winning filmmakers Jaime Ray Newman and Guy Nattiv turned their broken-down garage into a creative live-work hub.
A tiny bungalow in Los Angeles nearly doubles in size thanks to a modern addition and ADU. When the homeowners looked to move, the real estate market was unaffordable.
There comes a time in every ADU story when you think you’ve made a terrible mistake.
Worried about housing for her 89-year-old mother after apartment headaches, a Los Angeles teacher built an accessible ADU where Mom can safely age in place.
Building a stunning ADU out of a two-car garage takes ingenuity, time and money. But for these architect-owners, there were also big gains to be had.
A two-story Craftsman ADU in Hollywood — formerly a rickety garage — is designed to provide office space, a gym and housing while preserving a lush garden.
Los Angeles architect Cameron McNall converted the garage behind his Los Angeles home into a bright and airy 500-square-foot ADU. He and his wife now rent out both properties and are embarking on a world tour.
L.A. architects making the case for communal living built a tiny ADU above their garage. Design choices make the most of 300 square feet with soaring ceilings and inventive storage.
Is vertical development a possible solution to the housing crisis? A slim, two-story ADU on a tight infill lot in Venice makes the case.
A 380-square-foot ADU with plenty of storage offers flexibility for a Los Angeles couple and their extended family, including working from home and housing.
Two commercial actors in L.A. add an income-generating companion to their 1923 bungalow. They hope the rent from their ADU will help them qualify for a new mortgage someday.
Simon Storey of Anonymous Architects has become the go-to for seemingly impossible L.A. lots. Building his own home on a Silver Lake hillside took some unexpected turns.
Priced out of the Bay Area and South Pasadena, a couple bought a Spanish fixer-upper in Eagle Rock, assisted by the earning potential of an ADU.
Two sisters, one boyfriend, a roommate and a beloved rescue dog share a compound in L.A., thanks to a 500-square-foot ADU.
A prefab ADU by Cover allows a family to preserve their historic William Kesling home while adding space for their extended family.
A 1,426-square-foot traditional home in Larchmont Village is now a 1,950-square-foot contemporary family compound with a pool, drought-tolerant garden and ADU.
A 1926 Spanish bungalow has housed this Pacific Palisades family for nearly 30 years. Can a small ADU help shelter them for 30 more?
Nestled behind a 100-year-old Craftsman in L.A., a 700-square-foot ADU mirrors the home’s period charm and provides housing for an office and extended family.
Skylights, vaulted ceilings and splashes of color make this ADU rental feel much larger than its 850 square feet.
This tiny, two-story Los Angeles ADU functions as a multipurpose housing space, gym, office and pool house for friends and family.
For Adrian Perez, an ADU on his parents’ property in Culver City gives him independence and his parents peace of mind.
Faith Blakeney, her teen daughter and Sally Montana became housemates to pay the rent in Los Angeles. Beyond saving money, they’ve built a ‘circle of women.’
A soundproof Silver Lake recreation room with massive windows channels the Midcentury Modern designs of Richard Neutra.
Situated behind grandma’s house, this Eagle Rock ADU is perfect for a young family of three.
This garage-turned-ADU feels like a luxurious getaway just steps from the E Line (Expo) train.
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.
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.
A downsized, upcycled barn in Highland Park is transformed into one of L.A.’s greenest ADUs. Take a tour inside. It may inspire your next design.
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.
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.
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.
Architect professor Alexis Navarro designed and built an accessory dwelling unit that is affordable and attractive. The result is inspiring.
Arden Myrin’s ‘cheap and cheerful’ tiny bungalow will cure your COVID-19 blues.
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.
Megan Henderson had to deal with the inevitable “What do I keep?”
For Heidi Hansing, the last three years felt as if she were moving backward.
After raising three kids in Texas, education consultant Ellen Sanchez missed the outdoor lifestyle she remembered from her childhood in Westwood.
Looking to downsize from her four-bedroom home in Beverly Hills, designer Amy Shock longed for a coastal live-work retreat.
Actress Carlson Young knows a lot about drama.
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.
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.
There are walk-in closets in Malibu larger than Steven Jones’ Laguna Beach home.
If you’ve ever chosen to downsize, you know the benefits of living with less.
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.
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.
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.”
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.
When the three generations of the Haven clan — eight members in all — gather for a family get-together, no one has to travel very far.
Carlos Anthony Lopez helps set the scene and vibe at some of the city’s hottest restaurants and bars.
“What do you love about your apartment?”
