Cottage

EAst Sacramento
2025

Living room with a dark arched window showing green trees outside, yellow cabinetry, patterned wallpaper, a brown armchair with floral pillow, thrifted blankets, wicker lampshade, and a side table with a book.

Photography Michael Clifford
Styling Robert Rufino

Make it alive with color and pattern. Somewhere the kids would want to be even when the grandparents weren’t visiting, that was our goal.

The guest cottage was designed to function as family overflow without feeling utilitarian. Bunk beds were built into the main bedroom. A full kitchen, laundry, and generous storage were integrated into the footprint, while still preserving room to exhale.

The structure came with its own complications. Originally a garage, it had been hastily converted by a previous owner, leaving behind a floor plan that lacked logic and flow. We reworked the interior from the ground up, reorganizing the home into a clearer sequence of sleeping, living, cooking, and storage. The result feels grounded, intentional, and fully connected to the way this family actually lives.

A cozy kitchen with green cabinetry, a window, a tile range hood, a stove, a plant, and plates of cookies on the counter.
Kitchen nook with yellow cabinets and floral upholstery on the window seat, decorated with plates and flowers, featuring a round table with lemons and a swan figurine, green window blinds, patterned wallpaper, and a hanging lampshade.
A kitchen counter covered with a floral tablecloth, with pillows arranged against the wall, a bowl of green apples, and a decorative swan figurine on the counter.
A close-up of a sofa with a plaid pattern in green, beige, and white. There are three decorative pillows on the sofa with various patterns and colors, including pinkish-red, green, and white, and a yellow textured blanket draped over the edge.
A beige sofa with checkered green and white fabric, decorated with multiple colorful pillows and a yellow knit throw blanket. To the left is a small wooden side table with a wicker lamp. Behind the sofa is a wall with beige vertical paneling, a landscape painting, and two adjustable wall lamps.
A cozy bedroom with floral wallpaper, a bed with a patterned cover, a green cabinet, a wooden door slightly open revealing a room with a window and chairs, a side table with flowers, and wooden flooring.
A cozy bedroom with a bunk bed with a green frame, striped blue and white curtains on the top bunk, and various board games stacked on a green dresser, including Monopoly, Candy Land, Sorry!, and The Game of Life. There's a plush brown dog toy on top of the games and floral wallpaper on the wall.
A cozy bedroom with patterned wallpaper and wallpapered ceiling, featuring a bed with multicolored striped bedding and pillows. A stuffed brown dog toy rests on the bed. A modern white vase is mounted on the wall above the bed, and a small section of a colorful floral wallpaper border is visible on the left wall. The room has a warm, eclectic decor style.
Decorative bedroom wall with floral wallpaper featuring green leaves and orange and yellow flowers, a bed with patterned bedding, and green embroidered pillows with floral and bird motifs, alongside a bedside table with a large potted plant with pink and green flowers.
A cozy interior featuring a striped armchair with green, yellow, and white patterns, next to a small round black side table with a floral arrangement of yellow roses in a white pitcher, against a wall with floral and vine wallpaper, near a window with green curtains.
Hallway with archway and double doors, featuring floral wallpaper, small framed landscape painting, window, floral ceiling light fixture, and patterned tile floor.
A hallway with an arched doorway, patterned floor tiles, green walls, and floral wallpaper. There is a wooden door and a hallway leading to other rooms.
Bathroom sink with a gold faucet, a large pink and black speckled vase with green and reddish plants, a gold and black decorative object, a black bowl with soap, and a mirror reflecting a tile wall.
A vintage bathroom with blue cabinetry, a marble sink, floral wallpaper, gold fixtures, a vase with flowers, a mirror, and patterned tile flooring.
A bathroom shower area with a patterned tile wall, a blue arched entryway, and a curtain with floral print. On the floor, a towel with geometric and stripe patterns hangs over the edge of a ledge.
Red, white, and pink patterned tile floor with a wooden shoe cleaning brush and a yellow shoehorn in a wooden shoe rack.