When high prices and city rules halted a couple?s house-building plans, they went small Ian Adamson and Leah Garcia were all set to build their 3,000-square-foot dream house (and a 450-square-foot guest house) on a scenic plot in Boulder, Colorado, when reality got in the way.
?We had our architect, Brad Tomecek of Tomecek Studio Architecture, design a large home for the lot, which we had fallen in love with, in part because of the amazing views of the Flatirons,? says Garcia. ?But then, we found out about city requirements that would have forced us to change the design. At the same time, we realized this was going to be a financial stress and the math didn?t add up for us. We decided to go small, but go big.?

Left: Ian Adamson and Leah Garcia planned to build a large home that took advantage of these amazing vistas, but when that became a challenge, they went small. Right: Architect Brad Tomecek modified plans for a guest house to make a small house that lets its owners live large thanks to an indoor-outdoor connection.
For them, that meant putting the design for the big house on ice and making the smaller guest dwelling their primary house, but without sacrificing luxury. ?We wanted all of the bells and whistles, just in a limited space,? Garcia explains.
For some architects, downgrading a project by 2,494 square feet would be a bummer. For Tomecek, the thrill of a challenge followed a moment of disappointment.
?Losing the big vision was a bit...