MIL Suite

Story:
When your family is a small army, planning is a necessity not a luxury. Any household with seven growing children who all live at home and common grandparent extended stays needs a plan of action. This family built a home and later decided it was time to plan for the future. Those future plans included live-in parents, self-sufficient food sources, on-site utility generation, entertainment areas, landscape and access control. The master plan includes a garage-apartment with live-in attic, a chicken farm, on-site water, septic and solar array, a sport court, a swimming pool and a controlled access gate. Combined the project severely strained family resources so the architect and family designed the master plan and divided it into economically-feasible phases. Phase 1 is the mother-in-law (MIL) Suite which includes an apartment, garage, live-in attic, breezeway, basketball court, solar array and the infrastructure for Phase 2. Phase 2 is the swimming pool, irrigation, garden, outdoor kitchen and access control. What seemed like a daunting tasks is behind us so we can start living!
Location:
Leon Valley, TX (Designed 2016; Built 2017)
Idea:
Family growth and flexibility
Personalized new home!
Stats:
2,070 SF; 1BR apartment, live-in attic, 2BA, 3-car garage
Client’s Style:
Vernacular hill country
Services:
The Sketch, The Details, The Docs, The Advisor, The Agent
Lifestyle Features:
- private ADA-compatible apartment with a view
- apartment can also house future college-age students
- wide-open soaring attic multi-purpose space
- attic open to allow for reconfiguration as dwelling including a full bathroom
- breezeway between structures for additional parking
- 1/2 court basketball court for outdoor entertainment
Environment Solutions:
- optimum orientation for solar array
- 19k solar array with option to expand capacity
- vinyl windows that exceed the energy code
- breezeway to shade western side of existing home
- self-sufficient garden & free-range chickens for food & fertilizer
- re-purpose spoils and discarded materials for alternate uses
Community Influence
- match existing site fabric
- estate planning to provide future infrastructure, entertainment & access control
- maintain privacy and reduce view from street to home