Even during a pandemic summertime brings visitors to the Jackson Hole area, and some of those visitors might want to stay with you. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to host friends and family, but not actually have to share all your living spaces with them? A guest house might be the perfect answer. Many clients with d|a have invested in such spaces, and we’ve learned a few things along the way. We could help you navigate this welcome addition to your property.
Keep in mind that a guest house may cost more per square foot than the main house. This is because all the necessary (and more expensive) spaces such as kitchen and bathrooms need to be included. There will be less bedroom and living space in comparison to the main house meaning the cost of the smaller guest space seems higher per square foot than the larger main house.
Another hurdle may be matching the new addition to an established exterior. Chris Lee, lead architect at d|a, said there are a few ways to handle this. In the past, they have had luck in maintaining good relationships with the few materials providers in the area. Oftentimes d|a can track down who did the original stone and get more. By documenting what is existing, and doing a little searching, many materials can be matched to maintain a uniform look. When it comes to designing a matching building, Lee said it is a matter of looking at the original house, noting the original details and repeating what has been done before.
Some owners don’t want the new guest house to match perfectly, though. Lee said they want to match the main house, have it tie in, but not be exactly like it. It can be fun to put your own signature on a new addition. And here at d|a we can do that.
“There are no rules about any of this, just guidelines about what looks good,” Lee said.
D|a had one project where the owners bought a house that had a specific sort of architectural language to it. They wanted to add something interesting to the property and decided on adding a barn to the side of the house. Lee said the barn had a very different character from the main house, but they managed to link the two buildings together ending up with pretty cool property. We can work to improve your property over all, matching a guest house with the language of existing buildings and the landscape.
And a guest house might be the perfect way to welcome visitors, but still keep a social distance.