A cozy coach house loft

December 18, 2013

Yesterday Marion Kello shared with us her Craftsman-style house in Hamilton, Montana. As her home is within easy walking distance (a few blocks) of downtown, it’s ideally located for adding an accessory dwelling unit. She and her husband did just that, building a coach house garage with a loft apartment above.

After we moved into our Montana Craftsman house, we knew we needed a garage—this is Big Sky Country after all. Our house was so unique and cool, we knew we couldn’t build just any garage. So, we worked with our builder Ben Stoddard and together designed a garage that is an amazing addition to our property.

The garage sits behind the house and is anchored by our stamped and stained concrete patio and “oasis-like” backyard. The thing that is unique about this garage is not how pretty it is on the outside as it matches perfectly with the cedar and stone house, but that it boasts a spacious loft up top. The concept of the loft developed as we wanted to make maximum use of the space taken by the garage and add something unique and useful.

The loft is gorgeous with rough sawn fir flooring designed to mimic and follow the lines of the wood beams in the roof. It is flanked by four dormers and 12 windows (yes 12!) offering abundant natural light and mountain views. At night, dimmers and rope lights add wonderful ambiance illuminating the space with a soft and calming glow.

Everyone who walks into this space is blown away by how comfortable, stylish and well planned it is. A queen bed and two side tables with lamps fit in one dormer. A sitting area with a pull out couch and TV/DVD fit in another. An arts and crafts mosaic dining table and four bar stools fit in another. And, the fourth is where the inviting stairway leads up to the space.

The loft also features a full bath with lovely stone floors and a custom-built copper plumbing fixture with a rain-like showerhead. Glass blocks in the bathroom walls offer privacy along with more natural light. A small fridge and microwave cover basic kitchen needs. And, built in storage units and bookcases offer plenty of storage and organization opportunities.

The beautiful loft is currently serving us as income property which is another great benefit to boot! For more details, please have a look at our AirBnB listing.

Marion

As noted above, the loft doesn’t have a full kitchen. However it looks like there would be room to turn the dining dormer into an eat-in kitchen with a row of cabinets placed along the window wall. Enjoy the photos!