Kitchens and Bathrooms for Beverly Hills ADUs

Kitchen Requirements for an ADU Versus a Junior ADU

A full ADU is a complete independent dwelling. It needs permanent provisions for living, sleeping, eating, cooking and sanitation, which in practice means a real kitchen with a sink, a cooking appliance, a refrigerator and counter space. How large that kitchen gets is up to you and the floor plan.

A junior ADU, which is limited to 500 square feet inside the main house, needs only what the state calls an efficiency kitchen, meaning somewhere to cook, a sink and some prep counter. Some owners stop there. Others put in a compact full kitchen so the unit works for a long-term tenant. The choice affects the electrical load. A full electric range and a dishwasher add significant demand, and on older Beverly Hills homes that can tip the calculation toward a panel upgrade.

ADU Kitchen Layouts That Work in Small Spaces

Most ADU kitchens fall into one of three layouts. A single wall along one side of the living area is the most space-efficient and the easiest to plumb. A galley with two parallel counters gives more workspace in a narrow unit. An L-shape with a small peninsula separates the kitchen from the living room without a wall.

In a 1,200 or 1,400 square foot detached unit, which Beverly Hills allows on many Central Area lots, there is room for a kitchen with an island and a full-size refrigerator. In a converted garage or a JADU, a single wall with a 24-inch range and a counter-depth refrigerator often makes more sense. Storage matters as much as counter space. Tall pantry cabinets, drawers instead of lower doors and open shelving above the counter keep a small kitchen usable.

• Single-wall kitchens for studios and JADUs
• Galley kitchens for narrow converted garages
• L-shape with peninsula for one- and two-bedroom units
• Islands in larger detached Central Area ADUs

Bathroom Design Inside a Beverly Hills ADU

Every full ADU needs its own bathroom. A JADU can share one with the main house, but doing so requires the owner to live on the property, so most owners give the junior unit its own bath. A walk-in shower with a curbless entry takes less space than a tub and suits older residents. A wall-hung vanity and toilet make a small room feel larger and are easier to clean. Pocket doors save swing space. In units built for aging parents, we add blocking in the walls for future grab bars and plan a clear turning area.

For two-bedroom detached ADUs, a second bathroom or a powder room makes the unit much easier to rent. The plumbing for it often runs back-to-back with the kitchen to share a wet wall. A half bath near the living area also keeps guests out of the bedroom wing.

Plumbing an ADU Kitchen and Bath on an Older Lot

The ADU's drains usually tie into the main house's sewer lateral. In older Flats and southwest neighborhoods, that lateral is often clay pipe from the house's original construction. We camera it before design is final, because adding a kitchen and bathroom to a failing lateral creates problems fast. A new lateral, if one is needed, is easier to install before the yard is finished.

Water supply comes from the City of Beverly Hills system. A tankless or heat-pump water heater serves the ADU independently of the main house, which makes billing and maintenance simpler. On hillside lots, an ADU below the street sewer needs an ejector pump. Locating the kitchen and bath close together reduces pipe runs and the size of that system.

Finishes That Match a Beverly Hills Main House

An ADU kitchen behind a Spanish revival house in the Flats might use painted cabinets, terracotta or patterned tile and plaster walls. Behind a mid-century house in Trousdale Estates, flat-panel cabinets, terrazzo or large-format tile and clean lines usually fit. Owners often want the ADU to feel like part of the property rather than a rental unit dropped in the yard.

We help balance that against durability. A unit that will house a tenant takes more wear than a guest suite, and hard-wearing counters, sealed floors and commercial-grade fixtures pay off over time. Quartz or solid-surface counters, porcelain tile and resilient plank flooring are common picks for that reason.