Jaffe ADU
The Jaffes needed a place for her parents — close enough to share dinners, independent enough to have their own front door. We designed a craftsman ADU that borrows the character of their 1920s main house without copying it. Different era. Same family.
The conversation
Sarah called me on a Tuesday. Her parents were getting older, and the family had decided it was time to have them close. Not in the house — that’s a recipe for tension even in the closest families — but close. Same yard. Their own front door. A place where grandpa could make coffee at 5am without waking anyone up, but close enough to walk over for dinner without putting on shoes.
The design problem
Their house is a 1920s craftsman in one of Eugene’s historic neighborhoods. That means the ADU had to be deferential without being a copy. It needed to feel like it belonged — like it had always been there, even though the neighbors would know it hadn’t. We matched the roof pitch, picked up the shingle pattern, and used similar trim proportions. But the floor plan is entirely modern: open, efficient, designed for aging in place with wider doorways, a curbless shower, and main-floor everything.
The 650 square foot question
People ask me if 650 square feet is enough. For two people who have lived in a 3,000 square foot house for 40 years, it sounds terrifying. But here’s what I’ve learned: when the space is designed right — when the kitchen is actually where you want to be, when the living room catches the light you want, when there’s a place for everything — 650 square feet feels generous. It’s about proportion, not volume.
What worked
The Jaffes’ parents moved in on a rainy October day. Sarah told me later that her mom cried when she saw the garden from the kitchen window. Not because it was fancy — because it felt like home, immediately. That’s the whole job.
650 sf
1
ADA-informed: wide doors, curbless shower, zero-step entry
Craftsman, matching 1920s main house
Cedar shingle, composition roof, fir trim
4 months design, 6 months construction
