Clever by Architectural Digest
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10th May 2024
This 800-Square-Foot Basement Turned Into the Ultimate Weekend Hideaway
For many years, architect couple Jenny and Jeff Guggenheim dismissed the lower level of their Portland, Oregon, abode as an ugly (and unnecessary) appendage. “When we bought the home, we knew the basement was a huge asset but it was so far gone that we just shut the door and ignored it,” says Jenny, who makes up one half of Portland-based Guggenheim Architecture and Design Studio (her husband makes up the other). Designed as an apartment sometime in the late 1960s (complete with an indoor charcoal rotisserie!), the basement had lost its sheen over the years and largely stayed “out of sight, out of mind” for the string of homeowners that followed (it was mainly used for storage). That is, until 2020, when a major plumbing issue prompted the Guggenheims to pivot. “We realized it was a great opportunity to reclaim the space for an Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) and turn what was a dark, dank space into an expanded living area for our family,” Jeff reflects of the space built along with the rest of the home sometime in the 1940s.