Accessory dwelling units and guest suites present homeowners with a bit of a conundrum: It’s exceedingly nice to have them. But it’s also exceedingly difficult, from a design standpoint, to know what to do with them.

In Portland, where more homes include an ADU than in any other large U.S. city, interior design firm Pat Austin Design sees the puzzle presented by these small, independent spaces as an opportunity: We often “end up being a little more creative” working within their thorny design parameters, because it’s a “deeper problem to solve,” says Candace Cohu, cofounder and principal designer at Pat Austin.

So when a client came to Pat Austin for help reimagining the guest suite attached to their Southwest Hills cottage, designed by iconic Portland architect Wade Hampton Pipes, Cohu and business partner/principal designer Ally Hasche felt inspired by the challenge. "They have done really careful work inside their home," Cohu says of the clients. But the dark, 600-square-foot space "felt disjointed." Cramped rooms awkwardly compartmented the already-tight footprint. Dated fixtures contrasted with the polished main house.

Cohu and Hasche set out to bring the home’s sense of style and ease into the petite guest suite, expanding the kitchen with cabinets that transition seamlessly into the living room, making space for laundry, and adding clever built-ins throughout, like a floating bedroom desk and hallway vanity.

The result feels at once spacious and impeccably functional.  "That space works so much harder for them now," Cohu says. “It really does feel like a luxury hotel in the sense that, yeah, it's small, but it has every little thing you need, and you can operate really efficiently in it.”

Tailor-made pieces, offered as part of the firm’s comprehensive Furniture, Fixtures, and Equipment package, provide a sense of flow and refinement: In the guest suite’s living room, a coffee table cut from the same beautifully veined stone slab as the bathroom’s centerpiece sink brings continuity to the space. A custom console, inspired by the clients’ part-time home in Japan, adds a personal touch.

Floor-to-ceiling drapery visually expands the bedroom, while original windows maintain the home’s charming, cottage feel. “These clients put a lot of trust into our aesthetic understanding of them,” Hasche says. “We became good friends throughout the design process.”

Whether they’re tackling a full-service remodel, a new build, or something closer to a consultation, Cohu and Hasche’s backgrounds in both interior design and art give them a unique ability to balance a variety of clients’ practical and aesthetic goals. Like renowned English rose breeder David Austin created a new bloom in honor of his wife, Pat Austin, the design firm named for that bond helps homeowners craft a space that reflects them at their best. “It's not about us. It's about the client,” Cohu says. “It’s about taking their spirit, and their energy, and their art form, and creating what we know how to do in their essence.”

For clients with an especially bold vision, the designers at Pat Austin won’t shy away from using their expertise to execute daring design ideas. Take, for example, the guest suite’s moody, walnut-ensconced hallway vanity—a moving contrast to the now-airy living space—or the unusual bathroom, completely cloaked in black plaster. “There is an allure to this kind of funky energy that we have,” Hasche says.