SoCal small-space living: 33 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.
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.
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.
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?”
