Rendering Compact band
Main St ADU
- 550 sq ft
- 1 bed
- 0.75 bath
- One level
The smallest of the set: an open living and kitchen area, a real bedroom, built-in storage, and a plain, timeless exterior.
Backyard home designs
Eight designs. Your lot picks.
These are the backyard homes United Signature builds, from a 550 sq ft cottage to a two-level home with a garage below. Your free report says which of them may fit your parcel — by size, setbacks and height — and gives a planning range for each.
Four sizes
Start with the size band, not the floor plan.
Setbacks and lot coverage decide the band before anything else. The report names yours; the designs inside it are the ones worth looking at.
Compact
500–650 sq ft
Studio or 1 bedroom · 1 bath
One person, a couple, a starter rental
Standard
650–800 sq ft
1 bedroom + flex room · 1 bath
A guest suite, or an office plus a bedroom
Family
800–1,000 sq ft
2 bedrooms · 1–1.5 baths
A parent, a small family, roommates
Spacious
950–1,200+ sq ft
2–3 bedrooms · 1–2 baths
Multi-generational living, a long-term rental
The designs
Smallest to largest.
Rendering 
Rendering Standard band
The Country Cottage
- 785 sq ft
- 2 bed
- 1 bath
- One level
An open living and kitchen great room, two bedrooms and a full bath, arranged so the bedrooms stay private.
Rendering Family band
Cedar Groove
- 800 sq ft
- 2 bed
- 1 bath
- One level
A bright single-level two-bedroom: great room with a full kitchen, dining and living, a front porch and a rear patio. Also available with a garage.
Rendering Family band
The Horizon
- 981 sq ft
- 1 bed
- 1 bath
- Two levels, over a garage
A true one-bedroom above the garage: open kitchen, dining and family room, a walk-in closet, a balcony. Parking and storage stay.
Elevations Family band
The Ridge G
- 994 sq ft
- 2 bed
- 0.75 bath
- Two levels, over a two-car garage
Two bedrooms, an open living area with a defined dining space, a full kitchen with a pantry and a covered porch — over a two-car garage.
Rendering Family band
The Summit
- 994 sq ft
- 2 bed
- 0.75 bath
- Two levels
The same great-room plan as the Ridge: living, dining, full kitchen with pantry, two bedrooms — with storage and parking below.
Rendering Spacious band
The Atlas
- 1,143 sq ft
- 2 bed
- 1.5 bath
- Two levels
Full living upstairs — open kitchen, dining and living, two bedrooms — with a flex room or a two-car garage and shop below. Also 1,213 sq ft over a two-car garage.
Photo · built Spacious band · built in Seattle, WA
Signature Modern
- 1,216 sq ft
- 2 bed
- 2.25 bath
- Two levels
Clean lines and a two-level plan that keeps the shared living space apart from the bedrooms. Built in Seattle; the photos are of the finished home.
Renderings and drawings show the design, not your property. Sizes and room counts are as United Signature publishes them; a fixed price and the final plan come only after a site visit and design. Whether a design fits your lot is exactly what the report works out.
Signature Modern, SeattleBuilt by United Signature
Built
This one is finished, and lived in.
1,216 sq ft, two bedrooms, two levels, in Seattle. The living room, the kitchen, the front door — all real, all United Signature's work.
What decides which one fits
Three numbers on page two of your report.
Buildable area
What's left of the lot after setbacks and coverage. It sets the footprint, which sets the size band.
Height limit
Whether a second level — and a garage below — clears your zone's limit. State law says at least 24 feet on most city lots.
Utilities and access
Sewer or septic, water, and whether a truck can reach the back. These decide cost more than the design does.
Not sure which band you're in?
Send the address. The report says, within the hour, and it's allowed to say none of them fit.
Get my free report →Send the address. The report says, within the hour, and it's allowed to say none of them fit.
Questions people ask about the designs
Can I change a design?
Yes. These are starting points. The design and engineering phase adapts the plan to your lot, your city's rules and what you need; the fixed-price proposal is for that version.
Are these "pre-approved"?
Some cities run pre-approved plan programs, and whether a design qualifies depends on the city. Everywhere else, the design is submitted with your permit like any other. Your report says what applies where you live.
What about an addition or a garage conversion?
Those follow different rules and aren't picked from a catalog — they're designed to your house. The report covers them the same way: what fits, what it may cost, what a site visit has to confirm.
Find out which one fits your lot.
One page, two minutes. Your report within the hour.