Sustainable Backyard Cottage

Multi-functional, sustainable and a model for backyard cottages everywhere. These tiny dwellings are prime for green certification.

The Seattle housing market is hot—ask anyone whose looking. With major tech companies like Amazon and Microsoft luring more people to the city, Seattle faces a lack of affordable housing supply. Enter: the backyard cottage.

The DADU (detached accessory dwelling unit) is a realistic housing solution that has been gaining popularity and feasibility over the past few years. Known as a "hot" topic within the local building industry, our team at Model Remodel and our talented designer Sheri Newbold of live-work-play.net have been fortunate to gain first-hand experience designing and building these structures over the past few years. Our most recent collaboration, the Columbia City Backyard Cottage, took the backyard cottage to the next level by adding the element of sustainability.

As defined by the City of Seattle: A backyard cottage is a room or set of rooms designed and established by permit to be a separate dwelling unit. A backyard cottage shares a lot with a single-family home in a single-family zone or with a rowhouse or townhouse in a lowrise zone. Backyard cottages generally include living, sleeping, kitchen and bathroom facilities and have a lockable entrance door.

In a small space, intentional design decisions have to be the priority. This Columbia City Backyard Cottage was built as a workspace that separated home life from professional life. The beauty in the backyard cottage is that it can also function as a guest house, storage space, or rental unit as needed.

4-Star Build Green Certified & winner of the Green Hammer Award: Judge’s Choice:

- Only formaldehyde-free and low-VOC products
- Metal roof and Boral recycled content siding
- Dense packed cellulose insulation beyond code
- Air sealing at 2.8 air exchanges with Panasonic spot ERV
- Passive solar design and thoughtful cross-ventilation for cooling
- Forbo Marmoleum Vivace in bathroom
- EcoTimber Woven Poplar 100% recycled floor throughout
- Infrared radiant electric ceiling panels from Mighty Energy Solutions
- Low-flow plumbing fixtures and ENERGY STAR appliances
- 100% LED lighting and sunlight tube in the bathroom
- Recycled cabinets sourced from Second Use
- Retained cherry tree for shade and chose drought-tolerant plants
- On-site storm water management via underground drywell

Tour this property on Saturday, April 29th from 11am-5pm: www.nwgreenhometour.org/201...