London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Wednesday, Oct 01, 2025

An Austin Couple Build a 200-Square-Foot Office and Guesthouse in Their Backyard

An Austin Couple Build a 200-Square-Foot Office and Guesthouse in Their Backyard

The couple behind Cedar & Oak Homes build a 200-square-foot ADU in their backyard.

Lauren and Holt Williamson of Austin, Texas–based design-build firm Cedar & Oak Homes knew that the backyard shed that held outdoor supplies, extra paint, flooring, and tile was destined for greater things. "When I started working from home, I dreamed about turning that unused space into a home office," says Lauren.

But before the Williamsons knew it, they found themselves designing much more than an office. "Holt quickly jumped aboard my dream train and instead of adding just a window and a desk, we found ourselves sketching a full-blown tiny house," Lauren says. "Anyone who knows us knows we don’t do things halfway."



Lauren and Holt Williamson of Cedar & Oak Homes designed and built a 200-square-foot tiny home in the backyard of their Austin, Texas, home.

Instead of recreating the existing shed, the couple devised an entirely new construction that could be used as an office, guesthouse, short-term rental space-The Back House. "Since the stay-at-home order was put in place, Holt and I’ve been using it as our office, but we’re eager to have friends, family, and Austin visitors come stay with us soon," Lauren says.



Clerestories brighten up the living area, which is situated between the bedroom and the kitchen-and-dining space of the open-plan home.

The Williamsons’ toddlers-three-and-a-half-year-old Aden and two-year-old Ellie-have been a part of the project since the beginning. "They watched the demo of the old shed from the windowsill, and they played and drew on the structural frame," Lauren says. "And they helped me make the bed and hang the towels. At least three times a week, Aden asks to go to The Back House to work with Dad. He really just wants to raid the mini fridge, but I think this was the start of our kiddos getting excited about our business."



Lauren arranged the living area with a fold-out sofa from Urban Outfitters, a sconce from Living Spaces, and artwork and a woven rug from Target.

Sided with bright white board-and-batten, The Back House is 200 square feet. "The property line setbacks for our house and our neighbor’s house left us with a very specific size and location," Lauren says. "We added a separate, gated entry from our front yard so that people coming to stay wouldn’t have to step foot in our backyard." And since The Back House replaced a shed, Holt included a bump-out on the tiny house’s rear facade, which faces the Williamsons’ backyard and stores outdoor equipment.



The Williamsons clad the tiny home with bright white board-and-batten and selected a dark gray tone for the entry door and the fascia.



A bump-out on the rear facade of the tiny home holds outdoor equipment, referencing the shed that once stood in its place.

Inside, wood-like vinyl flooring with a pale tone offsets bright white walls and a gray accent wall in the bedroom area. "We wanted an accent wall that would catch your eye right when you walk in the small space," Lauren says. "We carried the vertical shiplap from the kitchen backsplash to the back wall [in the bedroom] and painted it Pewter Green by Sherwin-Williams. It’s a fun pop of color in an otherwise black, white, and wood-toned space." To link the interior and the exterior, they painted the front door and fascia the same Pewter Green color.



The Williamsons named the backyard ADU The Back House.

The Williamsons created a fresh aesthetic for the kitchen and the bath using contrasting colors and textures. The Shaker-style kitchen cabinetry is painted with Iron Ore by Sherwin-Williams that offsets the white vertical shiplap backsplash and White Zeus Silestone counters. "Because the bathroom and kitchen are both in eyesight when you walk in the front door, we wanted the color and texture scheme to flow effortlessly," Lauren says. "We carried the same vinyl wood floor into the bathroom to make it feel like a continuation of the space and painted [a portion] of the wall the same Iron Ore color we used on the kitchen cabinets."

To help distinguish the bedroom-and-living space from the kitchen and the bathroom areas, the Williamsons shifted the ceiling height and punctuated it with skylights.



The kitchen is outfitted with open shelving, gray-painted wood cabinetry, white Silestone counters, and a white-painted shiplap backsplash.



Shiplap, a wood vanity, and wood-style vinyl flooring lend texture and warmth in the bath.



Like the kitchen and the bedroom, the bath is outfitted in a palette of gray and white.

"Our ultimate goal was to make this space feel bigger than it really is," Lauren says. "I think we accomplished that with a design that flows from room to room, and the way the outdoors are brought in with lots of windows and natural light."

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
FBI Removes Agents Who Kneeled at 2020 Protest, Citing Breach of Professional Conduct
Trump Alleges ‘Triple Sabotage’ at United Nations After Escalator and Teleprompter Failures
Shock in France: 5 Years in Prison for Former President Nicolas Sarkozy
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
BNP Paribas Abandons Ban on 'Controversial Weapons' Financing Amid Europe’s Defence Push
Typhoon Ragasa Leaves Trail of Destruction Across East Asia Before Making Landfall in China
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Big Banks Rebuild in Hong Kong as Deal Volume Surges
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Arnault Denounces Proposed Wealth Tax as Threat to French Economy
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Denmark Investigates Drone Incursion, Does Not Rule Out Russian Involvement
Lilly CEO Warns UK Is ‘Worst Country in Europe’ for Drug Prices, Pulls Back Investment
Nigel Farage Emerges as Central Force in British Politics with Reform UK Surge
Disney Reinstates ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ after Six-Day Suspension over Charlie Kirk Comments
U.S. Prosecutors Move to Break Up Google’s Advertising Monopoly
Nvidia Pledges Up to $100 Billion Investment in OpenAI to Power Massive AI Data Center Build-Out
U.S. Signals ‘Large and Forceful’ Support for Argentina Amid Market Turmoil
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
Vietnam Faces Up to $25 Billion Export Loss as U.S. Tariffs Bite
Europe Signals Stronger Support for Taiwan at Major Taipei Defence Show
Indonesia Court Upholds Military Law Amid Concerns Over Expanded Civilian Role
Larry Ellison, Michael Dell and Rupert Murdoch Join Trump-Backed Bid to Take Over TikTok
Trump and Musk Reunite Publicly for First Time Since Fallout at Kirk Memorial
Vietnam Closes 86 Million Untouched Bank Accounts Over Biometric ID Rules
×