Budget Breakdown: An $80K ADU Gives a Growing Austin Family Space for Work—and Working Out

After almost a year of renting a nearly 100-year-old bungalow in East Austin, Stevie and Julia Chavez needed more space. The couple work from home as UX designers, but with their first child on the way, they were soon going to outgrow the two-bed home. They started looking at places to buy, but in 2021, that was no easy feat. "It seemed like any offer we put in, we were outbid by $100,000," Stevie remembers. The pair resolved to extend their lease, at least until their son was at an age where he needed his own room. Then they found out the owners of their rental were looking to sell, which ended their search.

But the expecting parents still had the same spatial hurdle. Since the second bedroom—which Julia and Stevie used for work and where he kept two pairs of monitors—would soon be the kid’s room, they approached Murray Legge Architecture to help them figure out a way to expand. "Our job as architects is to find solutions for clients that go beyond just design. It’s about thinking creatively, " explains Legge, who brought up the idea to build a stand-alone office in their backyard.

The accessory dwelling unit (ADU) is 109 square feet, which saved the couple some cash; at 200 or more, Austin requires a building permit, which comes with a fee. While the tiny footprint offset costs, its size presented another challenge. "Sometimes these little backyard offices, no matter how well designed, can feel claustrophobic," says Legge. "We didn’t want it to feel like you’re in a shoebox."