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A Guest House with Accessibility and Mobility in Mind

With sweeping views of Silicon Valley, the Overlook Guest House was built on a steep, almost unusable lot as a fully accessible home for a mobility impaired, aging in-law. Designed by Schwartz and Architecture, the wooded hillside proved challenging during the design process and required a low-impact drilled pier foundation system on the 775-square foot-dwelling.

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The home was designed with mobility in mind, which also meant it needed exterior space to be a functional part of the home.

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There’s a seamless transition between the living quarters to the garage that runs through the outdoor, partially covered courtyard. The space extends the square footage of the home. The cutout in the roof brings light into the area while also helping provide a cooling air flow.

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Floor-to-ceiling windows frame different aspects of the wooded views while also giving the illusion of a larger space.

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Photos by Mathew Millman.

Caroline Williamson is Editor-in-Chief of Design Milk. She has a BFA in photography from SCAD and can usually be found searching for vintage wares, doing New York Times crossword puzzles in pen, or reworking playlists on Spotify.