Dempsey ADU

The owners of this property on a leafy street in the North Princeton neighborhood wanted to age in place: they were ready to give their house to one of their daughters and to downsize into smaller quarters while remaining on the property. Their brief was for a building with a low-maintenance exterior and ample kitchen space. We collaborated with them to develop a design that met their needs and a few quirky requests (a Scandinavian-style built-in daybed in the kitchen) as well as the rigorous criteria of Princeton's zoning ordinances.

The result is a one bedroom/one and a half bath 900-square-foot cottage that blends gently with the existing house and the clients' beautifully landscaped gardens. A breezeway connects the existing garage to the new structure and frames the approach to the old house while providing a covered entry and a relaxing place for evening cocktails. The cottage's floor plan makes the most of its compact footprint, with the kitchen designed as both a functional workspace and social hub, opening onto a comfortable living area. Wall-to-ceiling cabinetry provides a home for all the tools of one of the owners, a retired pastry chef, while carefully positioned windows flood the workspace with natural light. A lightly stained pine ceiling provides texture and contrast to the painted walls and dappled cork flooring.

Despite its modest size, the building incorporates high-performance construction throughout. The super-insulated envelope and triple-pane front door (which closes "like a bank vault") ensure quiet and comfort while minimizing energy use. The low-maintenance exterior materials were selected not just for their durability, but for how they would weather and age alongside the main house. This thoughtfully designed home has freed the owners from the demands of maintaining a larger house, allowing them more time to focus on what they enjoy most.