Chic secondary suites

Since I started posting about my "modernist nest," I have received many emails and comments on this blog, on Facebook and on Rate My Space from people who are interested in returning to the tradition of multi-generational living.

When I was a child, my great-grandparents lived with my grandparents. I have small town roots, so relatives also lived across the street and around the corner. As a result, I am no stranger to being surrounded by kinfolk. For most of my adult life, however, it never occurred to me that I'd live that way again.

For years, I had told my daughter that when I got old and eccentric, I was going to move into her back yard...but I never really meant it, because I was perfectly happy living alone. Then last fall my daughter and SIL decided that they wanted to move back to Fort Worth and started looking at houses here. I was out house-hunting with them one day, and someone revived the standing joke about finding a place with a back yard large enough for me to live in. Suddenly, and for a multitude of reasons, it actually seemed like a brilliant idea for my daughter, SIL and grandsons to take over my mortgage-free main house and for me to use some available cash to build a secondary suite for myself. (These structures are also commonly called accessory suites, mother-in-law's apartments, granny flats and guest houses...or, as my grandsons call mine, "Grammo's Little House.") Within a few weeks, construction had begun...and so far the arrangement has worked out beautifully for all of us.

Recently I ran across an item on the Forbes site about Michael Litchfield’s book In-laws, Outlaws, and Granny Flats published by Taunton Press. The article included photos from the book of some beautiful secondary suites, including a few modernist designs I thought you might like.

From forbes.com
All images from In-laws, Outlaws, and Granny Flats by Michael Litchfield

Northern California apartment with the back hatch of a Porsche 928 as the awning over the door

Treehouse apartment in Seattle, Washington

400-square foot barn converted to secondary suite in Oakland, California

Secluded accessory suite in Berkeley, California

Compared with these beautiful spaces, my small apartment project was done very inexpensively, but these photos show that the in-laws can live in grand modern style if money is no object.