RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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See the full story · 1 sourcesCaitlin Swann and her kids see her parents daily. The Picket Fence Projects
Caitlin Swann lives in Connecticut with her family.
In 2024, she and her husband built a small cottage for her parents on her property.
Now, Patti and Gary Christie live steps away from their grandchildren.
Caitlin Swann doesn't have to look far when she needs a babysitter.
In fact, she can just walk into her backyard and knock on her parents' door.
Swann's parents live in an accessory dwelling unit, or ADU, on her Connecticut property. Their one-bedroom, one-bathroom cottage is mere steps away from Swann's home. They see their daughter and her three children daily since they moved in.
"It's the best," Swann told Business Insider of their multigenerational home . "I pinch myself."
In 2024, Patti and Gary Christie were trying to decide where to live.
The Picket Fence Projects
Patti and Gary Christie were at a crossroads in 2024.
The 74- and 75-year-olds had lived in their family home for over 40 years, raising their children there. After retiring and becoming grandparents, they were ready to sell their home, but they weren't sure where to go next.
Their three children are spread out across the tri-state area. They liked Fairfield, Connecticut, where their daughter Caitlin Swann, 42, lived, but the houses they could afford there didn't thrill them.
"We looked at houses, but what they would get for what they would have to pay was a little depressing," Swann said.
Then, Swann had an idea.
The Picket Fence Projects
Swann had moved into her Fairfield home with her husband and three kids in 2023. Swann is an interior designer, and she has worked painstakingly since they moved in to make the three-bedroom, two-and-a-half-bathroom house feel like theirs. (It will soon have four bedrooms and three and a half baths when they wrap their current renovation.)
As Swann was chatting with her parents about what to do about their house, an ad for a "granny pod" popped up on her Facebook in November 2024. " Granny pods " are pre-fab ADUs that people can add to their properties, specifically designed with aging parents in mind.
"I had thought, 'Oh, we could probably add on to the house,' but I didn't really think about a separate structure," Swann said.
Swann sent her mom a screenshot of the ad in jest, but to her surprise, her mom took the idea seriously.
"She was like, 'That's brilliant,'" Swann said.
They decided to build a custom ADU for the Christies on Swann's property.
The Picket Fence Projects
After seeing the ad, Swann looked into local zoning laws about building an ADU in her area, unsure if it was even possible to add a new structure to their half-acre property. To her delight, it was.
Swann, her husband, and her parents chatted it over and decided that building the ADU, which they call their tiny cottage, was the right move for everyone. The Swanns both have close relationships with her parents, and Swann said her parents' lifestyle felt well-suited to living on the same property.
"My parents are really respectful," she said. "They're not overbearing. They're extremely helpful. They go to bed really early."
"I guess you don't really know until it happens, but I know I had no concerns about living on the same property," she added.
The Christies financed the build, and Swann assembled a team to bring it to life.
The Picket Fence Projects
Because the ADU would be their home, the Christies paid for the build , not the Swanns.
"We did not spend a dime of our own personal money," Swann said.
The Christies lived in their home in New Jersey for most of the build, and they then stayed with Swann's uncle for the last stretch.
Swann took the lead on designing the 725-square-foot space, both because of her experience with interior design and her parents' disinterest in that part of the process.
"My mom was like, 'I don't want to make any decisions,'" Swann said. "But of course, I ran a lot of ideas past her to make sure that she liked what I was doing."
Swann collaborated with Eileen Duffy, an architect with whom she frequently works, and tapped Paul Delco Builders as her contractor.
They broke ground in May 2025, and the project was completed in November of the same year.
Swann designed the ADU to blend well with the main house.
The Picket Fence Projects
Because the main house and the ADU would be so close together, Swann wanted them to feel like they went together.
"I wanted it to feel really cohesive with our house, especially from the exterior," Swann said.
For instance, Swann based the cottage's exterior design on her house, essentially making the ADU look like a smaller version of it. They have the same roof, copper gutters, and even the same siding.
The exterior also features two Dutch doors for indoor-outdoor living and a brick fireplace.
The covered porch is one of the Christies' favorite parts of their home.
The Picket Fence Projects
Swann said she knew a covered porch was a must for her parents' home, as they had one at their old home and loved it.
"Theirs was larger, but they lived on their outdoor porch in their old house," she said.
The porch sits on the side of the house with column detailing. Swann said her parents use the porch, which extends the home's square footage, all the time.
"Because it's a smaller house, if my dad's sitting in the living room watching TV and my mom doesn't want to hear it in the morning, she can go outside and have a quiet cup of coffee on her porch and be outside," she said. "It's almost like an additional room in the spring, summer, and fall."
Although the cottage is small, Swann created distinct spaces within it.
The Picket Fence Projects
The ADU may be under 1,000 square feet, but Swann didn't want it to feel like a studio . She created distinct spaces for her parents within the more limited square footage.
For instance, the entryway from the porch leads to a mudroom packed with storage. It has custom cabinetry designed by Jo...
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