Across Denver, homeowners are finding creative and effective ways to make the most of their properties — by adding accessory dwelling units, or ADUs.
Last year, Colorado Governor Jared Polis signed a bill legalizing ADUs statewide, effectively prohibiting cities and counties from banning them.
In Colorado, ADUs are defined as “secondary housing units that can be detached or attached to a primary residence, and include their own living, sleeping, cooking, and bathroom facilities,” according to Shannon Gray, spokesperson for the Colorado Department of Local Affairs.
Christy Silva, founder of Little Home Builder in Firestone, has specialized in ADUs since 2023. Many homeowners, she said, choose to remodel existing spaces — such as garages, basements or attics — while others build from scratch. She's built them for visiting family members, rental opportunities and to shelter aging residents.
Here are some of those stories.
It's a central spot for visiting family
One client, Charles Steadman, 40, is a veterinary scientist who has lived in Denver off and on for the past five years with his wife, Emily Ma, 40, a server at a restaurant. The couple, who met in college in Boulder 15 years ago, bought their current home in 2023.
“It was kind of Emily’s idea” to build an ADU, Steadman said. “She’s originally from Hong Kong, and I’m originally from the Gulf Coast.”
With a large backyard, Ma suggested building the ADU to host visiting family members.
“That was the main inspiration because her mom comes over here" from Asia, Steadman said. “She’s kind of shuffling back and forth between Emily’s sister’s house and then our place. This just gives her her own space.”
The ADU is two stories tall. “The downstairs has a single bedroom, a full kitchen and a full bath with a shower and everything," Steadman said. "And then if you go upstairs, it’s a loft. We put an extra bed up there as well.”
The 709-square-foot structure has its own yard and patio, "where people can sit [and] drink coffee,” he said.
Steadman said the design phase was one of the most enjoyable parts of the process.
“The plan we ended up finalizing — we had made a good bit of changes to,” he said.
They expanded the structure to accommodate custom features.
“The square footage is bigger,” he said. “They had to extend that out a little bit further than they normally do, because they had to have a place to put the water heater. I think because the law was newer, the lights had to hang in the kitchen. The lights actually hang from the ceiling — it’s a pretty high ceiling. ... Our bathroom was a little bit different, too, because we have a deep tub with the shower that’s detachable.”
The small dwelling has a modern design, Steadman said, and offers a sense of independence.
“When you’re in it, you do feel like you have your own actual house and property that’s separate,” he said.
Still, the backyard remains spacious enough for their four Maltipoos and tortoises — Momo, Maymay, Bunbun, Gigi, John Henry and Little John.
Though no one has stayed in the ADU yet — it was completed in July — Steadman said he and Ma are excited to have guests soon.
Building in a historic neighborhood
Jen Miller, 48, a real estate agent with Compass in Denver, hired Little Home Builder to build an ADU in her historic neighborhood — the Allen M. Ghost Historic District, as a way to dip into rentals without investing out of state.
“This was a better way to just start in my backyard,” Miller said.
Her ADU is just under 600 square feet, with a garage on the first floor and a rental apartment above.
“May 2023 is when I kind of first got things going,” she said. “I do live in a historical neighborhood, so that kind of adds some extra fun to the process.”
Building in a historic district presented additional challenges.
“There are so many components that go into it that people — I don’t think they have a clue,” Miller said. “It took about six months to even get the design into the historic district for review.”
The historic district spans about eight blocks, she said. Miller aimed to design an ADU that respected the neighborhood’s aesthetic while maximizing her backyard space. Her initial design featured a barn-style roof to avoid the awkward dimensions that strict zoning rules required, but the review committee rejected it. It approved a revised plan after zoning exceptions were granted.
Permitting took six months. Construction began in December and was mostly complete by June, although delays, such as a delivery that included incorrect and missing windows, pushed the completion to mid-July.
“I had a renter move in September, and it’s been going great so far,” Miller said.
The ADU features a luxury design, she said.
“I probably went nicer than needed for design,” Miller said. “I work in real estate, so that happens.”
The structure has high ceilings that follow the Victorian roofline of her main house.
“It has a lot of character to it,” she said. “I think those high ceilings really make it feel bigger than it is, which is really helpful in a small space.”
Unique features include a pantry, laundry area, storage and a balcony.
“I tried to make sure that it wasn’t just a 500-square-foot bedroom,” she said. The kitchen has “hunter green cabinets with gold trim and [countertops made of] white quartz.”
Miller said construction cost about $360,000, with another $250,000 going toward architecture and the added expenses of building in a historic neighborhood.
“It definitely adds more because you have to pay for those permits on top of the other ones,” she said, noting that the roof and windows were also costly.
She encourages others building in historic neighborhoods to be patient and advocate for their vision.
For now, she plans to continue renting the unit but said she may use it differently in the future.
“I think it was a really good learning experience for me, especially as a Realtor, to kind of be able to go through this on my own and be able to work through it in the future with clients if they want to move forward in that process,” she said.
ADU reunites couple after three and a half years
Another family that has worked with Little Home Builder is the Villalobos family. They commissioned an ADU to reunite their parents, aging husband and wife Modesto and Lydia Villalobos. The couple, married for 53 years, had been living apart for more than three years.
“It was just one thing after another,” said Lydia Villalobos, 72.
While living under separate roofs, Lydia Villalobos commuted daily between Brighton and Henderson to care for Modesto, 77, who is in remission from cancer.
Eventually, their daughter Monica Villalobos proposed a solution: build an ADU in her Denver backyard.
“My wife and I, 12 years ago, bought our home and knew that eventually there might be a time where either one of us would need to bring our parents to live with us — either because of their age or illness,” Monica said.
Last spring, Monica connected with Silva, the builder.
Silva and her team worked closely with the family to design a home tailored to the family's needs, with aging in place in mind.
The one-level ADU features a large bathroom that accommodates a wheelchair, is carpet-free, has flush shower edges, and includes porch stairs with a ramp and grab bars in the bathroom.
The corner-lot property is about 0.16 acres. The main house is 864 square feet, and the ADU is 565 square feet.
Monica Villalobos said the ADU is a long-term investment that will stay in the family.
Lydia Villalobos expressed deep gratitude for her daughters, Monica, for offering her backyard, and Vanessa, for caring for Modesto in her home for the past three and a half years.
“My daughters need their lives back and their privacy,” Lydia said. “It’s probably one of the best things that we’ve decided to do.”
ADU market is growing
In the past five years, approximately 300 ADUs have been built and inspected in Denver, with another 100 permits still awaiting final inspection, according to Alexandra Foster, the city's communications program manager.
Miller said as a real estate agent, she sees the ADU market continuing to expand.
“I think we’re going to see more and more of it as people recognize that this is kind of city living and a good way to grow your own supplemental income while using your own space,” she said.
Silva acknowledged the concerns by some about ADUs increasing neighborhood density but said those fears are premature.
“We are a long way off from having a situation where we have so much density due to ADUs that roads are going to be overrun and infrastructure can’t keep up,” she said.
She added that ADUs offer more than just housing — they offer a lifestyle shift.
“It’s a very efficient way to live and just keep your favorite things,” Silva said. “And with a lower price point [than a larger house], people are freer to spend on travel or adventure.”