Landscaping Your Custom Portland ADU
NW Portland custom ADU and some of the new hillside plantings including a specialty Gingko tree from Treephoria.
Are you thinking about turning your home or property into an income producing situation with an ADU (Accessory Dwelling Unit)? Is your ADU a long term investment or a way to add value to your home for re sale? These are some of the reasons Portlanders are building ADUs – Accessory Dwelling Units at a rapid pace. But don’t forget the importance of placing the new ADU in the perfect spot. Getting that placement right is crucial, as it sets the stage for a harmonious and well-integrated outdoor space and an ADU or home studio that will be used every day.
Designer Finds Perfect Spot for ADU
As a seasoned landscape designer, I specialize in finding that perfect spot for your new ADU or home studio. By collaboratively planning the location, we can then craft a customized landscape design that seamlessly blends with your new structure and your outdoor lifestyle. This approach creates numerous opportunities to enhance your property’s aesthetics and functionality.
Collaboration, spatial design eye, plant experience and environmental know-how were all needed for this hillside design as well as relationships with other professionals. Arborists, a design build contractor and landscape installers were consulted during the design process.
ADU Custom Landscape Blends Old & New
Looking down the hill to the new custom ADU music studio in NW Portland back yard
The first step is to find a Portland landscape designer with experience siting structures and who works collaboratively with her clients and other professionals.
As a landscape designer, I have seen the value of design and know that sometimes it boils down to simple things such as how many steps down from the kitchen to the back yard or that the BBQ must be hidden …that divines our final design layout. It is the same with adding an ADU, whether it is an attached or a stand alone structure.
Add Value without Losing Privacy
There are a myriad of practical details to consider for a successful integration of old and new. You want to gain a desirable ADU, and add value to your existing home and landscape without losing privacy or functional space. This is why my collaborative custom landscape process is so important. I work with clients to find out what their priorities are and find the best use of space in our custom design. Collaboration, spatial design eye, integration of structures into the land and environmental know-how are all needed for custom landscape design-plus great plants of course.
These two Douglas Fir trees dominate 1/2 of this sloped back yard in Willamette Heights.
Plan Landscape Integration Along with the ADU Design
When designing a free standing ADU, the landscape goals for the existing home need to be taken into consideration. This is why I suggest starting with landscape design and treating the property as a whole. Once we have a design that shows where we want the ADU, then we bring in a design build professional (who values design) to contribute their special skills. We have to consider current zoning restrictions even in our initial designs but it’s very important to discover where we want the ADU not just where it seems the most obvious. Most builders will take the final design through the permit process and this is very desirable.
Collaborative ADU Design Portland Style
My extensive experience siting new homes on hillside lots with my custom builder spouse gives me a boost that many landscape designers do not have. The way we landscape designers think about use of space and the integration of property flow allows us to select the best options for even unconventional backyard spaces. I also bring a deep connection for trees and the environment, having worked with arborists to ensure the health and longevity of trees in my designs.
The best of all worlds is an ADU design/build contractor who works regularly with a landscape designer for collaboration. Let me help you find the right builder for your ADU or bring me into the initial design meetings with your contractor.
See examples of my ADU custom landscaping in Part 2 of this article.
Contact me
Thinking of adding an ADU to your backyard or home? Contact me Carol Lindsay for a custom landscape plan to design the perfect ADU placement that enhances your entire experience of your backyard and property. Working together makes the best designs.
