Client Profiles

Success Stories

With two daughters heading off to college soon and retirement just around the corner, it is time for this family to put the neglected 100 year old collapsing backyard carriage house to work. This home was ignored for decades and has accumulated a lifetime's worth of "collectibles". But with no foundation and no framing the home was dangerously unstable and needed to be completely replaced.

Karen's Cottage

Karen is a professor living in Berkeley, CA. She lives with her daughter in a beautiful two bedroom one bath home. Karen had the following needs: An independent home for an aging relative who lives with her for several months per year, a sanctuary for her own work, a guest house for a steady stream of family and friends and a little extra income.

Mary's Studio

This approximately 0.4-acre, roughly rectangular-shaped property is located in a rural residential area of San Jose. The project replaces an existing shed with an approximately 850 square-foot, split-level secondary living unit in the southwest corner of the site. It is a 1 bedroom cottage with craftsman details, modeled after our Big L design, with french doors, a terrace around an existing grapefruit tree and smart integrated storage with a shoe closet and linen closet.

Orinda Cottage

This beautiful cottage is a grandmothers new home, right next to her family on a hillside in Orinda California. With New Avenue she designed a layout for her needs with an Spanish outside decor to match the main house. Now, she looks over a small brick courtyard to see her daughter's home and her grandchildren on a daily basis. She gets to take them to summer and school activities

Susan's Cottage - Claremont Neighborhood Berkeley

Located on a quiet block lined with classic Berkeley bungalows. With her first grand child here and her daughter and son-in-law contemplating a move back to the Bay Area, Susan will need some extra space when everyone is back in town. This little cottage is designed to have room for guests, and most importantly a big enough table for a weekly dinner that has been a routine gathering for family and friends for decades.

Testimonials

"I have never felt so listened to in my life."

"This is the way of the future."

"Working with New Avenue is wonderful. In addition to their experience with building green, compact housing, they respond within a day to our new ideas from wheelchair access to keeping our costs low with well thought out and aesthetic plans. They are shepherding us through the process with patience, knowledge and creativity." -Client who requires wheelchair access

"10 steps away is all you need… Our backyard cottage is the best thing that ever happened to me."

"My mother and I can share a wall, but not a kitchen or bathroom."