Mother-in-Law ADU/Duplex Addition

Bend, Oregon.

For a young family with two kids, making the move to Bend, Oregon had been a topic of discussion for nearly a decade. Bend offered year-round sunshine, snowy winters, and easier living. When the COVID-19 pandemic put everything into question, but moreover anchored remote working as a cultural norm, they knew it was their opportunity to make the move. The challenge however was, leaving their previous home in Portland meant they would also be leaving the grandparents behind. That untenable separation materialized into the decision that they’d all make the move together and find a way to cohabitate on the same property.

Bend, however, happens to be a community dominated by developer-driven neighborhoods with rigid HOAs and CC&R (Covenants, Codes & Restrictions) making multi-family/unit set-ups difficult to pursue. The grandparents were leaving behind a 2,400 sf house, so they also weren’t excited about living in an ADU (Accessory Dwelling Unit) with 800 sf size limitations. Luckily, Oregon House Bill 2001 had recently passed, making higher density development of single-family zoned properties possible.

The solution: An incredible, heavily vegetated 0.56 acre property in SE Bend (Kings Forest) that had no HOA, was flat (ideal for elderly grandparents), and had space to add a new dwelling unit, effectively converting the existing single-family structure into a duplex. The outcome: A 1,436 sf (3 bed, 2 bath) new dwelling on the property for the grandparents.

Architecturally, from the exterior, the new Mother-in-Law dwelling unit is designed to blend in with existing 70’s ranch architectural language already established, and be relatively modest to reflect budget limitations. From the interior, the new unit is designed to be a unique representation of the grandparent’s personalities and life history, highly functional to maximize the size, semi-ADA compliant for maximum future usability, and provide rich spaces with abundant natural light.