Accessory dwelling units (ADUs) can be an appealing way to maximize living space on a residential lot, but the process for adding one can be overwhelming and onerous for property owners.
That’s where Airbnb co-founder Joe Gebbia’s company Samara comes in. Drawing from his strategy at Airbnb to streamline the vacation property rental process, Gebbia believes he can revolutionize the housing industry by mass producing homes that can be customized, ordered and installed with minimal hassle.
Customers can choose their layout, colors, windows, doors, decks, interior, roof and solar, Samara takes care of the rest, from obtaining city permits to the actual installation of the ADUs on-site.
“Samara manages everything from surveying and permitting, to talking to neighbors about what to expect, to building the unit at the factory. We can move quickly,” Gebbia told this news organization.
“A small seed was planted then by my personal frustration.”
– Joe Gebbia, Samara co-founder
Photo courtesy Airbnb.
The company’s flagship product, the “Backyard,” which comes in three sizes – studio, one-bedroom and two-bedroom – starts at $269,000 and can be ordered, permitted and installed, on average, in around seven months, with the actual placement of the homes – which are lowered by crane onto their foundation – taking only a few hours.
It’s a far faster process compared to traditional construction methods, Gebbia added. After a home is finished in the factory, it’s loaded onto a truck and sent directly to a customer’s property.
Samara’s Backyard is currently available in Northern and Southern California, but the company is gearing up for expansion. Last summer, the company launched its first showroom in Redwood City, open for scheduled tours, and it recently opened a new pop-up showroom in Southern California and a warehouse in Mexico where it manufactures its homes completely in-house.
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Exterior of Samara’s one-bedroom Backyard ADU. Courtesy Samara. -
A view of the kitchen and living room area in Samara’s Backyard ADU. Courtesy Samara. -
Interior of Samara’s one-bedroom Backyard ADU. Courtesy Samara. -
A view of the bedroom in Samara’s Backyard ADU. Courtesy Samara.
Born out of Airbnb’s R&D unit
Gebbia’s interest in manufacturing small backyard homes stemmed from his own personal experience with looking into adding an ADU to a property and being unimpressed with the options he found, both in terms of design and the hoops that must be jumped through along the way.
“The traditional construction process is fragmented. It’s high-stress, and it puts the burden on the consumer to do intense research, vet general contractors and figure out if estimates are trustworthy,” he said. “Then, there are the dreaded timelines. Historically, these sorts of projects are rarely on time. A small seed was planted then by my personal frustration.”
He figured there had to be an easier way and co-founded Samara with Flex CEO Mike McNamara with the goal of offering an all-in-one, full-service operation.
The company, he explained, started out as a project of Airbnb’s research and development team in 2016, then became an independent entity in 2022.
“The world had changed a lot in that period. People were working from home, or moving in with family. Living rooms turned into offices, day cares, and guest rooms simultaneously. We were all redefining what a home was,” Gebbia said. “I saw this great, blank canvas to design something beautiful and intentional: a new, flexible living space that could evolve with homeowners as life evolves.”
An ADU can be rented out as an income generator, provide private living space for guests or family members, serve as a home office or studio, “or all of those things over time,” Gebbia noted.
Attention to detail
In addition to making the process easier, Gebbia said the company’s attention to design detail helps to make the most out of a small space, by making the units feel open, airy and inviting.
“The interior and exterior materials were selected to be headache free and last a lifetime. The vaulted ceilings are sometimes higher than inside the main house,” he said of the Backyard.
To make sure interior details, like built-in closet systems, add function to the space, a team of engineers build and test out their design ideas in a workshop at the Redwood City showroom. During a tour of the showroom on its grand opening, employees said they actually have spent the night in the display model to try out new design features.
A solution for the housing shortage?
Gebbia also believes ADUs like these could help alleviate the Bay Area housing crunch.
“It’s true – we’re in a tight housing market right now in California,” he said. “I see ADUs as one part of the solution. And so does the state. They’ve passed hundreds of laws to make it a homeowner’s right to put an ADU in their backyard. They’ve reduced fees and restrictions. There’s never been a better time to get one.”
Linda Taaffe contributed to this story