Inside a 2-Story ADU & Garage Addition in Kensington, San Diego
A ground-up two-story detached ADU and garage addition in Kensington — designed and built in-house by Murray Lampert. See what a fully realized ADU looks like, and who it's really for.
When most San Diego homeowners think about adding an ADU, they picture something modest — a garage conversion, a compact studio tucked behind the main house. The Kensington project Murray Lampert recently completed resets that expectation entirely.
This was a ground-up, two-story detached ADU with a full garage addition — designed from scratch to complement a mid-century modern home in one of San Diego’s most architecturally distinctive neighborhoods. The result is not an afterthought. It is a fully realized second home on the same lot, architecturally consistent with the original structure, with interior finishes that rival any custom build in the county.
We’re sharing it here because the questions this project answers — What can an ADU really be? Who is it actually for? What does the process look like from the ground up? — are the same questions every San Diego homeowner is asking right now.
The Site Before Construction
The property came to us as a single-family home in Kensington — a well-established mid-century modern on a lot with mature trees and brush occupying the area where the ADU and garage addition would eventually stand. The challenge was designing something that earned its place on this lot without disrupting what made the property worth improving in the first place.
The Project at a Glance
Location: Kensington, San Diego, CA
Type: Ground-up detached ADU, two stories, with attached garage addition
Architectural style: Mid-modern — designed to match and enhance the existing home
Architectural design: Alyson Mecchi, Murray Lampert in-house architectural designer
Interior design: Jenson Prout ASID, NKBA, CKBD, Murray Lampert lead senior interior designer
Delivery method: Full design-build — single contract, single team, no outside coordination required
Recognition: 2026 Chrysalis Award — Residential Addition over $250,000
The Chrysalis Award is one of the remodeling industry’s most recognized honors, presented annually to projects that demonstrate exceptional design, craftsmanship, and execution.
Why Kensington — and Why Now
Kensington sits east of North Park, defined by tree-lined streets, 1920s and ’30s craftsman and Spanish colonial homes, and a walkable village core. It is not a neighborhood where generic construction flies. Anything built here is seen — by neighbors, by the street, by anyone who visits — and it either fits or it doesn’t.
That constraint shaped every decision on this project. The architectural design had to honor the original home’s massing, roofline, and material palette while reading as new. Alyson Mecchi’s mid-modern approach — clean lines, considered proportions, exterior finishes that echo without mimicking the main house — achieved that balance. Drone footage of the completed project shows what few ADUs accomplish: a property that looks like it was always meant to be two structures.
The garage addition was designed with equal intentionality. Rather than a utilitarian box, it was built to accommodate high-performance vehicles — proportioned, finished, and detailed accordingly.
The Interior: Where Design Earns Its Return
A two-story detached ADU offers something a garage conversion or JADU cannot: genuine separation, full-height living, and the spatial experience of a complete home. Jenson Prout’s interior design program made the most of every square foot.
The kitchen anchors the ground floor. A waterfall-edge counter defines the cooking zone while the teak wood eating bar extends the space socially — functional and warm without being precious. European flush cabinetry and floating shelves keep the visual weight light. GE Café appliances bring professional performance into a residential scale. Kohler plumbing fixtures throughout.
The multi-level Timbertech walking decks connect the ADU to the main home and to the rear yard — a detail that matters practically (daily movement between structures) and visually (the property reads as a unified composition rather than a main house with an add-on).
The second floor provides the bedroom suite — private, quiet, and removed enough from the ground floor living areas to function as a true retreat.
Who This Project Was Built For — and Who It Could Be Built for You
The Kensington ADU was designed as a specific solution for a specific property and family. But the decisions embedded in it speak to every reason San Diego homeowners are building ADUs right now.
For Homeowners Seeking Rental Income
A fully detached, two-story ADU in Kensington commands among the highest achievable rents in the county. San Diego’s rental market for quality detached units in established neighborhoods remains among the strongest in California. A project like this — with design credibility, full amenities, and private outdoor space — attracts long-term tenants willing to pay for quality. The garage addition creates further flexibility: rent the ADU and retain the garage, or package both.
The math on ADU rental income in San Diego has improved materially since 2020. With California’s ADU reform legislation eliminating most barriers to permitting and construction, the cost-to-return equation for a well-designed detached unit is compelling. Our San Diego County ADU Guide walks through the numbers in detail.
For Multigenerational Families
The most consistent driver behind ADU construction in San Diego is family. Aging parents who want proximity without shared walls. Adult children navigating a housing market that has made independent ownership difficult. Family members who need care but value dignity and autonomy.
A two-story detached ADU solves this differently than a JADU or a garage conversion. There is full separation. There is a complete kitchen. There are two floors — a living level and a private sleeping level. The person living there is not in a converted space. They are in a home.
The Kensington ADU’s walkway connection to the main residence — via the Timbertech deck system — addresses the practical reality of multigenerational living: family members move between the structures daily. That transition should be easy, covered, and pleasant.
For Homeowners Building Long-Term Equity
Adding a permitted, detached ADU to a property in an established San Diego neighborhood is among the highest-ROI improvements available to a homeowner. It increases the lot’s income potential, expands the buyer pool when the property eventually sells (investors, multigenerational families, and owner-occupants who want rental income all become prospects), and adds assessed square footage.
In a neighborhood like Kensington — where buyers already expect architectural quality — the design standard of the ADU matters significantly to resale perception. A thoughtfully designed mid-modern ADU reinforces the main home’s value. A generic one undermines it.
For Design-Forward Homeowners
Some homeowners approach an ADU the way they approach the original home: as an expression of how they live and what they value. The Kensington project is for that buyer. The architectural design has a point of view. The interior finishes were specified by a credentialed designer (Jenson Prout’s ASID, NKBA, and CKBD credentials reflect expertise in space planning, kitchen and bath design, and fixture selection). The drone footage of the completed structure is not incidental — it is evidence of what intentional design-build looks like when both disciplines are under one roof.
The Design-Build Advantage on a Project This Complex
A ground-up two-story ADU with a garage addition involves structural engineering, architectural design, interior design, permitting across multiple city departments, and a construction sequence that requires precise coordination. On a project of this scope, the number of coordination failures between separate design and construction firms is significant — and the cost of those failures falls on the homeowner.
Murray Lampert’s design-build model keeps architectural designers, interior designers, project managers, and builders on the same team under a single contract. There is no handoff. There is no gap between what was designed and what was built. There is no change order generated by a detail the designer didn’t consult the builder on.
For the Kensington project, that meant Alyson Mecchi’s exterior design decisions were informed by what the framing would actually support. Jenson Prout’s fixture specifications were coordinated with rough-in locations before walls closed. The deck connections between structures were detailed in the design phase, not solved in the field.
Our no-change-order policy and price-certainty guarantee exists because this coordination is built into how we work — not promised as an afterthought.
See the Completed Project
A full walkthrough of the Kensington ADU and garage addition, including drone footage of the completed exterior and a tour of the interior design by Jenson Prout.
Ready to Talk About Your Property?
The Kensington project began with a conversation about what the homeowner wanted to accomplish and what the property could support. That is where every Murray Lampert ADU project begins.
Whether you are planning for rental income, making space for family, building long-term equity, or simply ready to see what your property is capable of — we would like to hear about it.
Schedule a consultation →
Or call us directly: (619) 285-9222
Murray Lampert Design, Build, Remodel
San Diego, CA | CA Lic. #458038 | Family-owned since 1975
Related reading: San Diego County ADU Guide — costs, regulations, financing, and the full ADU process explained.