Budget Breakdown: She Built a $277K Starter Home in Her Childhood Backyard

Growing up in Santa Cruz’s Seabright neighborhood, therapist Melissa Virostko spent long summer days with other kids on the block riding bikes, running in backyards, and playing at the beach. It was the kind of idyllic childhood she wanted for her children, so after living in San Francisco and Berkeley, she and her husband, architect Brian Friel, set their sights on returning to the small seaside town at the north end of Monterey Bay.

"We really wanted to be in Seabright," Melissa says. "My whole extended family is there, and my mom still lives in the house I grew up in. Financially, however, it wasn’t going to work out for us to buy a home." Adds Brian of their experience looking at listings, "The Santa Cruz real estate market is incredibly expensive and highly competitive."

As it happened, the family’s solution to moving back arose in Melissa’s childhood backyard. After discussions with her mother, she and Brian, who cofounded multidisciplinary design firm Young America Creative, decided to tear down the existing single-car garage in the back and build an ADU for their family of four. They loved the idea of a multigenerational situation—the kids could spend quality time with their grandmother—and living with a minimal footprint.

Brian and Melissa built a 600-square-foot ADU, doing what they could to keep it from feeling like a tiny home and staying close to their budget of $275,000. "We tried to maximize each space to make them feel appropriately sized," Brian says. The living space on the main level (which includes the kitchen, living room, primary bedroom, and bathroom) extends outside with French doors that open onto a deck, flagstone patio, and grassy yard where the family can hang out year round—a possibility thanks to Santa Cruz’s mild weather. A second-level loft is the kids’ sleeping area and playroom. Across the board, Brian was thrifty with the floor plan. "There’s not much transition space between anything—no hallways, extra cabinets, or closets. I spent time on a design that kept the footprint relatively open."