A Dilapidated Garage Transformed Into a Small Modern Cottage

Set on the far end of the original home’s backyard, the new cottage’s exterior is made of SIPs, or structurally insulated panels, from Premier SIPs.

Architect  Turnbull Griffin Haesloop Landscape Architect  Patrick Haesloop

Architect Eric Haesloop and his wife were longtime residents of their century-old Berkeley, California house when an idea for a renovation arose. On the far end of their property, in the sunniest section of the backyard, sat a garage that Haesloop remembers being “just about ready to fall down.” Haesloop wanted to make better use of his land and he thought about rebuilding the site into a stand-alone cottage. His architecture firm Turnbull Griffin Haesloop started by recycling the garage, and then built a modern, energy-efficient structure in its place. “The new cottage goes across the back edge of the yard, and with the vine-covered wall, it provides a wonderful backdrop for the garden and complete privacy for the cottage,” he said. UC Berkeley students have been renting the space since its completion—a Swedish couple followed by a current post-graduate—and Haesloop said that the space is also open to his kids after they finish college. But, that’s another idea. 

• Log in or register to post comments