Designing and planning homes with Lindal clients in these areas, it was disheartening to learn that home building costs on Long Island are the second highest in the country (after New York City) and that Seattle is near the top of the list in markets outside of metro New York and Central to Southern California.

How can Warmmodern Living and the Lindal building system help you get the most out of your building budget?

The clients are a young Seattle-area couple expecting their first baby. Their site is a narrow 50 x 100 foot lot in neighborhood of traditional bungalow, craftsmen and other period homes.

The site rises from the street to the rear yard: the main level of the house will be a full story above the street-level garage. We decide early in the process to honor the neighborhood’s architectural heritage with traditional house forms.

His elderly parents from the East Coast visit during the winter for extended stays, creating the need for a private suite for them above the garage and separated from the main house by a long entry gallery, enabling them to come and go as they wish.

He is a modernist. She is a traditionalist. She loves suburban life and is a skilled craftsperson. He wants to live on rural acreage and ride his motorcycle. They migrated cross-country to the Pacific Northwest for his work, leaving their young adult children behind.

They aspire to have a home to which one grown daughter and young grandchild will come for extended stays. Their younger college-aged daughter is transferring to a nearby school. Enabling more family time together is a shared priority.

Clients with an adult son who will live with them for the foreseeable future.  A heavily wooded site on steep terrain with a north- facing view. The only buildable area is within 50 feet of the street to the south side of the site.

The challenge is to open up the south and west elevations of house to create a sunny interior, while maintaining privacy from the street. The ADU must be a totally independent home but still relate to the main house.

In 2012, the New York Times reported that 18% of American households are multi-generational - with more than one adult or pair of adults living together. As a result, the construction of accessory dwelling units (ADUs) is growing steadily.

Accessory dwelling units are second houses built on single family lots, allowed by specific exception to most single family zoning ordinances.

At Warmmodern Living, we explore the notion of a detached or semi-attached independent living unit with every client.