When architect Catherine Fowlkes of Fowlkes Studio arrived on the scene, a Washington, D.C., house had a deck, a backyard, and a detached garage—but none of them was working for the family who lived there.
Photography by Brandon Webster courtesy of Fowlkes Studio.
The mother-in-law apartment—with living space and bathroom—fills 150 square feet in the existing brick garage.
For storage (to replace the space the clients lost in the conversion), Fowlkes attached a storage shed of overlapping redwood siding, at right, to store the lawnmower and other outdoor accessories.
Wisteria is being trained up the column of the trellis, and two ‘Little Gem’ dwarf Southern magnolias, espaliered and flanking the French doors, will eventually cover the facade in green.
The studio functions both as a cottage for two adults and as an accessory living space for the family the rest of the time.
One of the clients “is a huge fanatic for smoking meat and grilling,” says Fowlkes.
But “we didn’t want to just plunk down a big square of terrace,” said Fowlkes, “so we made sure there was grass growing in between the bluestone pavers, and sort of pushed and pulled these lines” to merge the terrace and the lawn.
The new deck spills down into the backyard, making it an extension of the clients’ living space.
Some of the custom steel deck railing is left exposed, and some is wrapped in the engineered wood decking. The lateral railings tighten as they approach the bottom of the deck, helping to hide its unattractive underside.
A tight budget was a major factor in design and materials, says Fowlkes, though “the steel railing was a bit of a splurge.”
When not in use as a mother-in-law studio, the cabana is used for book club meetings, to watch sports, and outdoor parties.
The site plan shows a planted privacy screen opposite the studio of tall crape myrtles underplanted with dwarf English laurel (the cultivar is ‘Otto Luyken’).