Surely Leonardo da Vinci had homeowners Lisa and Michael Maher in mind when he voiced his belief that, “Small rooms or dwellings discipline the mind; large ones weaken it.” Creative masters at marrying organized function with artistic minimalist flair, these La Jolla, California, natives use and enjoy every inch of their small California Craftsman beach bungalow. We wanted to raise our children, John and Page, in a smaller home that was well designed so our family would stay close as a unit,” says Lisa Maher. “And we also wanted a home that, once our children left home, would not be too big for us as a couple—and could also accommodate aging parents, if needed.” Small-Space Specialists With that end in mind, the Maher family remodeled their three-bedroom home over time, without altering the 1,500-square-foot footprint of the original 1926 structure. In addition, they configured the three-car garage and space over it to serve as a multifunctional vacation rental, pottery studio for Lisa and studio apartment for their adult son, who has recently returned home to live. As part of their son’s transition, Michael moved his home office into his son’s former bedroom in the main house. “One of the biggest small-space challenges was maximizing the utilization of the living room and dining room areas in our main house to allow for multi-use options while at the same time keeping the room functions separate,” says Lisa. “But we were able to achieve it with careful thought and planning, and we were also able to stay true to the original Craftsman style.” The couple purposely chose a round table for the dining room in order to best accommodate the small room and also to enhance the family feeling at dinnertime. Because the Mahers do not have a family room, their living room must serve multiple purposes. They found that hiding electronics in the living room, and keeping the aesthetic focus on the fireplace and Michael’s framed photography above the mantel were paramount to a sense of organization. They also had custom cabinetry built, and Lisa designed the fireplace surround tiles. Swivel chairs were chosen to accommodate both TV viewing and conversation. Undaunted by small-space challenges, the Maher family hired a contractor specializing in boat and yacht cabinetry to design clever kitchen solutions such as hiding the microwave/convection oven behind a push-in door. Relocating a stackable washer and dryer to the hallway near the bedrooms and building custom shelving in the bedroom closets to avoid the use of freestanding dressers also helps the family live well in a small space. The result of all these efforts is one small property that serves as an all-in-one home, vacation rental, studio apartment, pottery studio, home business office and possibly even a future mother-in-law apartment. Indeed, Leonardo would be proud! style : Minimalist California Craftsman bungalow n ren ovations: Built a platform with storage shelving in the attic, and added lighting and ventilation; custom cabinetry built in the living room to hide electronics; created a 350-SF studio apartment for their grown son (two rooms plus a bathroom) n de sign challen ges: Maximizing the utilization of the living room/dining room area to allow for multi-use options and let the spaces work together harmoniously—while at the same time keeping the rooms separate n biggest SMall -space advantage: Keeps family bond close and won’t have “too big” a house once the children leave home n Bi ggest di sadvantage: Noise and lack of privacy n HOME OWNER IDEA: Study European design for ideas, since Europeans tend to live in smaller homes/spaces than Americans.

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