What do you call it when a couple with an underutilized three-car garage accidentally find themselves at dinner with an architect specializing in ADU design? A meet-cute? Kismet? Opportunity? While the specific terminology may be subject to interpretation, there’s really only one word for Ross and Shannon Lohr’s newly renovated guesthouse: ingenious.

Ross and Shannon Lohr (both entrepreneurs in the fashion industry) moved to Carlsbad, California, from Boston in 2019. They loved their craftsman-style house, blocks from the beach, and it came with a high-ceilinged garage that the former owner used to house his collection of classic cars.

“We’ve been city dwellers our whole lives—we had one car, and we were happy to find parking on the street,” says Ross. “We had this space just sitting there—the width of our property—and we started thinking about how we might use it in a way that made sense and added value.”

When they were introduced at a dinner party to architect Ramiro Losada-Amor, a friend-of-a-friend and founder of Modern Granny Flat, the solution easily presented itself. “It was a lightbulb moment for us,” says Ross. Losada-Amor quickly got to work sketching out plans to transform the garage into a hyper-efficient, light-filled home for guests or long-term renters.

The garage is only 550 square feet; the budget was $140,000. But Losada-Amor’s clever design made the most of every inch and every dollar. Part of the floor plan is still devoted to a single parking stall, while the rest holds an open-concept, highly flexible living space.

The Scandinavian-inspired palette transforms the garage completely. Clean lines and natural materials keep the space feeling warm and modern. The garage door of the building remains, but now it connects the living area to a cozy, fenced-in patio—an easy way to expand a space in sunny California.

For Losada-Amor, who has worked on dozens of ADUs over his career, the mezzanine here was a surprise—and a gift. “The volume here makes an incredible impact,” he says. Future residents will be able to use that mezzanine level as a living room or office—though really, the lower level is just as adaptable. “Everything here is connected to the idea of flexibility,” Losada-Amor says. “This room could be a living room, an office, or a yoga room.”

The centerpiece of the main floor facilitates these infinite possibilities: a custom, puzzle-box wall of pull-out furniture and storage. A fold-down bed hides behind one panel; a desk (which could also be used as a dining table) lies behind another. Cabinets and shelving complete the rest of the unit.

But in many ways, it’s actually what’s overhead that truly transforms this space: a majestically arching ceiling. Losada-Amor created the illusion with humble wood slats, but as Shannon puts it, “it almost looks like a cathedral.”

The ADU has been home to the Lohrs’ nanny for the past few months, but soon, a new lucky resident will move in—someone who, hopefully, will feel like royalty in this elevated granny suite. For the couple, it wasn’t just about cramming a rental unit onto their property: It was about creating a place people would truly love to live in. “Our contractor was joking, ‘you’re trying to build the Taj Mahal of ADUs,’ and we were like, ‘Yep!’” says Shannon with a laugh.

$3,500 Concrete	$1,500 Metals	$20,100 Rough Carpentry
$27,800 Cabinets	$6,500 Ceiling Wood Slats	$8,500 Insulation
$16,300 Doors and Windows	$10,600 Drywall	$4,100 Tile
$3,800 Flooring	$4,200 Painting	$6,500 Countertops
$6,600 Appliances	$1,500 Wardrobe	$6,500 HVAC
$10,200 Rough Plumbing	$3,100 Plumbing Fixtures	$8,800 Rough Electrical
	$2,700 Electrical Fixtures
Grand Total: $152,800

More Budget Breakdown stories:

An Architect Overhauls His Garage Into a Finely Tuned ADU for $75K

Four Minnesota Housemates Turn Their Dingy Garage Into a Workspace for $26K

An Architect Turns Her Parents’ Garage Into a Tiny Home for $2,695

Project Credits:

Architect of Record and Interior Design: Modern Granny Flat / @moderngrannyflat

Builder/General Contractor: Prophet Solutions / @prophet_solutions_inc

Structural Engineer: Qualls Engineering

Cabinetry Design/Installation: Serenate / @serenadecabinetry

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Budget Breakdown: This $153K Garage Retrofit Is the “Taj Mahal of ADUs”