Tiny ADU homes younger grownup kids struggling to pay hire in L.A.

When Tina LaMonica and Warren Wellen bought their South Pasadena Craftsman house in 2001, the one-car storage dated again to 1917, a time when individuals parked their slender Ford Model T automobiles inside garages like this one.

“We bought it for $650,000,” LaMonica says of the home. “Of course, we could never afford to buy it now.”

The couple moved in when their daughters, Sophie and Ruby Wellen, have been little, and their tree-lined avenue was filled with households with younger children who rode their scooters all through the neighborhood.

“We all grew up together and had block parties,” says Sophie, 30. Now, she provides, “There are no new families moving in. No one left. Why would they?”

Music was at all times part of their house, Sophie says, because of her father, Warren, 65, who’s each an lawyer and a musician within the various rock band Brahms’ Third Racket.

“He plays everything,” Sophie says. “Throughout my entire childhood, he was always making music.”

LaMonica provides, “It can be disruptive.”

So in 2021, the couple pulled collectively cash from totally different sources, together with a line of credit score, and turned the storage right into a tiny 230-square-foot accent dwelling unit, or ADU, for Warren to make use of as a music studio.

“It was intended to be a creative space, not a home,” says LaMonica, 64, who’s a business actual property dealer. “The total cost was around $125,000, including permits, construction and all systems — a significant investment, but one that ended up serving our family in unexpected ways.”

A number of months after utilizing his new music studio, Sophie, who had been in regulation college on the University of Michigan, moved again to Los Angeles after being away for 10 years.

“She wasn’t working right away, and like many new grads, she had student debt and credit card debt from getting through school,” says LaMonica. “Market rent in the Los Angeles area wasn’t realistic, even with a job offer lined up. So, the studio became her first home. It gave her stability and independence during a major transition.”

Sophie, who describes her relationship along with her mother and father as shut, says the ADU was at all times meant to be momentary and she or he’s grateful for it.

“At 28, I didn’t know where I wanted to live in L.A.,” she says. “I had only grown up in Pasadena, which is a small community. I felt lucky to be able to live in this little house in the back and explore the city to find the right place for me, instead of rushing to grab the first place I could, like so many of my associates had to do. It was right after the bar exam, and I was really stressed.”

After clerking for a choose in Washington, D.C., Sophie’s boyfriend William Lang moved to Los Angeles and joined her and her canine within the ADU, bringing his two cats with him.

“It was a full house,” Sophie says, laughing. “And yes, they were indoor cats! But we made it work. Finding a rental was hard. I couldn’t really afford a nice apartment in L.A. I had to save up and wait until my boyfriend got here so we had two incomes.”

It’s no shock they felt at house. Although it’s small, the unit is sunny and vivid, with a pitched roof and a giant image window overlooking the luxurious yard and swimming pool. (The blinds might be closed for privateness.)

There’s a Murphy mattress that turns right into a love seat when pulled down, which saves area, and traditional black-and-white checkerboard porcelain tile from Mission Tile in South Pasadena that provides the dwelling areas a shocking sense of enjoyable. The unit additionally has a toilet with a bathe, a closet and a storage nook above the lavatory.

There’s additionally room for a desk, a flat-screen TV on the wall and a cushty chair. Not having a eating room isn’t an issue as a result of there’s a welcoming patio simply exterior the French doorways, with two chairs, a sofa and a espresso desk.

“The backyard was our saving grace,” says Sophie. “Most of the time, William sat at the little table. It was cozy and nice. I got to be near my parents, and they got to know my partner better.”

The ADU has a roomy kitchenette with white cupboards and counter tops, a compact air fryer-toaster oven from Our Place, and a slim retro-style fridge from Unique. “You can bake, broil and fry with the small Wonder Oven,” LaMonica says. “Ruby uses it all the time.” There’s additionally a mini-split system for heating and cooling, and if wanted, a stackable washer and dryer might be added later.

Soon after Sophie moved out, having lived within the again home for 2 years, her 27-year-old sister Ruby moved in. “She works in Torrance and can’t afford to rent an apartment close to her job,” her mom says. “The ADU gives her a chance to live affordably, stay safe and be near family, while building financial footing on her own terms.”

LaMonica is pleased with the ADU, although she needs they might have added a second ground, which the town of South Pasadena didn’t permit on the time.

She imagines a future during which considered one of her daughters lives in the primary home, and she or he and her husband reside within the ADU. “I think an ADU is a great long-term solution,” she says. “It keeps people from moving out of California. With an ADU, at least you can keep your family on site.”

In some methods, the small ADU is greater than only a resolution for younger individuals who can’t afford to reside in Los Angeles. A 2025 study discovered that Los Angeles ranked second among the many 50 largest U.S. metros for its share of working adults (ages 25 to 40) dwelling with mother and father.

Backyard properties can even assist individuals join with their group.

“The nice thing about the ADU is that it can give you a sense of community that’s hard to find right now because people are so isolated,” says Sophie, who now rents a two-bedroom duplex in Hancock Park with Lang for $4,500 a month. “We’re both lawyers at private law firms and doing well, but I still don’t feel like I could have a child right now and give them the life I want. It’s hard to make big life decisions in L.A., especially if you have student debt. It was really nice to have dinner with my parents every once in a while. They didn’t want William and I to leave.”

As Southern California will get extra crowded and housing prices rise, younger individuals need to search for choices totally different from these their mother and father had after they have been rising up.

LaMonica says she and her husband by no means thought they’d home each daughters in a transformed storage. “But in a place like Los Angeles,” she says, “the tiny ADU turned into a flexible and essential lifeline for our family, not just once but twice.”

And perhaps someday, Warren will lastly get his music studio.