Designing beautiful, functional ADUs that transform your property and lifestyle.
Inspired ADUs specializes in designing and planning Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) in Oakland and the Bay Area. Led by Carrie and Evren, our team creates modern, high-end living spaces tailored to your needs, from downsizing solutions to retirement bungalows. We handle everything from architectural design to city approvals, working closely with contractors to ensure seamless construction. With a focus on vaulted ceilings, skylights, and indoor-outdoor living, we blend functionality with aesthetics to complement your main home. Our client-centered approach and proven track record make us a trusted choice for ADU projects.
Custom floor plans and elevations tailored to your property and lifestyle needs, including modern and craftsman styles.
Assistance with permits and navigating local regulations in Oakland and surrounding areas for timely project approval.
Collaboration with recommended contractors and builders to ensure smooth execution from design to completion.
Selection of fixtures, materials, and design elements to create a cohesive, high-end look for your ADU.
Specialized designs for comfortable, smaller living spaces ideal for aging in place or lifestyle changes.
Carrie was incredible!! We desperately wanted an ADU but have restrictions in our backyard. She made the plan work even with set backs and power lines. When I started to question the project and was grappling with not wanting to “force” the build, it was Carrie who helped me gain perspective and allowed me to gracefully back out….for now. She made me realize that ADUs are t going away. That if I choose to build in the future, I can come right back to her. I would absolutely use Inspired ADU. It’s my only sadness of choosing not to build-not getting to do a project together.
Inspired ADUs designed a modern, high-end backyard living space for me with everything I needed to feel totally comfortable downsizing and moving out of the house I had lived in for 40 years. Carrie and Evren were a pleasure to work with. Their design featuring vaulted ceilings, sky lights and indoor/outdoor living makes it a pleasure to live in a smaller space. The exterior features complement the craftsman style of the main house built in 1918. Carrie and Evren worked closely with the City of Piedmont and my contractor to facilitate timely approval and construction of the project.
I hired Carrie Shores Diller to design the ADU I planned to live in the rest of my life. The stakes were high. She impressed me so much that I really didn't even consider anyone else. To begin with, she's so joyful, funny, smart, warm, and kind, I knew I would enjoy a process that could be pretty miserable. In fact, she turned out to be not only a joy to work with, but a brilliant, incredibly talented and knowledgable architect and designer. I've live in the house for almost 6 months now, and it's designed to be virtually indestructible, functions exactly the way I wanted and looks absolutely gorgeous. Carrie took the sketches I'd been drawing, dreaming of my own space for years and turned them into my dream house. Despite my complete lack of skill, she understood what I wanted and made it a reality. It was complicated--I had many asks, some of them unusual. She's a great listener, very respectful, and has endless integrity. She was encouraging when I got scared or despairing and she solved every problem, answered every frantic question and made it all work. I recommend Carrie so highly, that I will recommend Inspired ADUs to my son, if he decides to do the major remodel he's considering.
Carrie and the full staff at Inspired ADUs were fantastic for the 18 months we worked with them from architectural design through the finishing details of our ADU. They were always responsive to our input and requests; they recommended a great construction group and landscape designer; and there was never a detail too small for them to take seriously. We especially liked that when we had to made choices, from bathroom fixtures to curtains, they edited choices to be responsive to our aesthetic so we didn't need to sort through a huge number of possibilities. It also didn't hurt at all that our ADU won a local design contest : - ). All in all, we couldn't recommend Inspired ADUs more highly!
I am so pleased that we used Inspired ADUs for the design of our beautiful 747 sf retirement bungalow. We had interviewed several highly recommended builders and architects who said they could design our ADU for us but I wasn't convinced. What I liked about Inspired ADUs is that you could see what you were getting. They had many completed floor plans to pick from, many examples of their completed projects and an upfront cost structure. The process was seamless. Email and phone communication was excellent. We had many decisions to make but Evren & Carrie made it easy by giving us detailed options at each stage of design: placement on the lot, roof type, floor plans, exterior and interior elevations and finishes,, etc. They listened carefully to our requests and concerns and made all the changes. The plans were very thorough... the building department had approved it as submitted. No changes needed! I highly recommend Evren, Carrie and the team at Inspired ADUs. We moved in a year ago, it is beautiful, perfect for us, and we couldn't be more pleased. Sincerely, Carmencita PS: We had a lot of experience with plans & construction. Thirty years ago, as owner/builder, my husband built an 800+ sf addition to our main home and I did the construction take-offs (determining and ordering all materials). Also, we both had careers as Public Works inspectors.
Claim Inspired ADUs to update business info, respond to reviews, and access analytics.