Last Saturday I attended the last Sunset Celebration weekend at Sunset Magazine’s Menlo Park Headquarters. They’re in the process of moving their headquarters over to Oakland’s Jack London Square. I’m sad to see them go but they did one hell of a job sending themselves off this year! I was looking forward to touring the Sunset New Backyard cottage, the feature home during the weekend event. They partnered with New Avenue for this 400 sq. /ft. home. I was very impressed with the use of space and I got a lot of great ideas for our shed I’ve been converting into a man cave for Justin. Now that’s it’s starting to come together he’s got the idea to convert it into a livable space for guests or renters. This would be a huge undertaking and one we won’t be starting on anytime soon but it’s always fun to gather inspiration and see what interesting ways people come up with space saving solutions.
A few things to mention:
1. The largest use of space in this backyard cottage was the kitchen/dining room.
2. The ceiling in the loft was a little too low for me so if I ever do a loft space I would definitely need more room. I was getting claustrophobic just being up there.
3. The bathroom was tiny but was designed for function and would totally work for a single person. Talk about those matte black shower fixtures. So modern!
4. There was a small laundry room with stackable washer and dryer right next to the bathroom. Didn’t get any pictures of it but pretty self explanatory.
5. All plumbing was on the same side of the home. Which is super smart especially when considering the budget of a project.
6. The bench in the backyard was 11 feet long. Now that’s what I call a party bench!! Wouldn’t mind having one of those in our backyard…maybe next on my honey do list.
7. All the plants were drought resistant. Being smart about water consumption is something every homeowner should be considering. Selecting drought resistant and native plants is definitely the way to go for any new landscaping project.
8. The large planters are made out of metal. I’m totally obsessed and am going to have to have Justin weld some together for me someday.
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