Early on
I like to say my grandfather, James Blair Kenny, is the person who inspired me to be a builder. Living through the great depression, he never threw anything away. He became a master of the art of re-use. When I was six years old, he handed me a one-gallon bucket of rusty nails to straighten because he intended to use them on his next construction project.
I also remember helping my grandfather haul wood from a demolished old hotel. We dragged the lumber down the path and threw it into the water. Grandpa would plunge into the water, tie a rope around the large bundle of wood, and we would drag our stash through the lake back to our beach, where we unbundled and hauled the wood up a hill to his home. Our collection of used wood was the inventory for the next project, whatever that would be.
My Grandfather was a resourceful and ingenious man. If he were to witness the abundance of wood construction projects use today, he would probably croak. He would also be disgusted to see the amount of perfectly straight, no-nails, reusable scraps that go to waste.
As a kid, I built tree forts, a log cabin, many decks, a 6 ft wooden Jacuzzi, and all things in between. I have always had a set of tools ready to build something, anything.
In College
I studied Electrical Engineering. Graduating Washington University (not in WA state, but St. Louis, Missouri) with a BS EE.
Right out of school, I entered the technology sales and support world. I supported salespeople as a technical resource for a few years. I found during this time I had a knack for clear communication and an easy way with people. I was soon sprung from my desk job and promoted to the field, where I engaged with customers to educate and sell them the most appropriate technical products for their situation.
For 20 years, it seemed like I sold every piece of tech, from large corporate campus networks to fiber-optic networks to software from newly founded start-ups.
A Rough Patch
Due to successive layoffs and my waning start-up, I turned to my neighbor, a General Contractor, for some guidance and possibly employment. It was exciting to think of making a living with my construction skills, as building things has always remained a passion!
It took nearly six months to convince my GC neighbor that I was not just a Home Depot DIY hacker and that I would not hurt myself on the job. I worked for Tim Tanner construction on multiple wide-ranging construction projects for four years. 
All the while, I told Tim that my dream was to build DADUs, aka Starter Homes. Neither of us knew much about the nitty-gritty of building these structures. However, instinct told us that the future of the urban landscape would be DADUs. Lots and lots of DADUs. A contributing factor to our instincts was the knowledge that new Seattle zoning laws that simplify single-family lot development were on the horizon.
These structures offer so much opportunity. A few come to mind right off the bat. The extra space can be used as an office, gym, residence for elderly parents, or a means to earn additional income by making the unit a vacation rental. These mini-homes are easily developed into a sustainable alternative to traditional dwellings and keep our urban landscape unique. I embrace this kind of construction and continue to feel passionate about their design and optimistic about the DADU’s future. So I began my quest for homeowners whose interests were to transform a portion of unused space in their home into a fully serviced ADU and those who wished to build a mini house in their backyard.
Ballard Backyard Cottages
In 2019 I launched Ballard Backyard Cottages, and we’re steadily contracting more and more DADU projects as the tiny house revolution has started to explode.
My goal is to develop 6 to 12 DADUs a year and even take on a few flip projects that would include new DADU construction in the backyard! In the next few months, we have exciting new projects moving forward out of the Seattle permitting phase and into the construction phase.
Upcoming projects
During the construction of these DADUs, I will document their progress and share video and other content with Ballard Backyard Cottages’ social media followers and website visitors.
If thoughts of a purpose-built mini home have been on your mind, stay tuned! We will provide real-life insight into what is precisely involved in building a DADU as we journey through the process! If the content inspires you as my Grandfather inspired me, we can be there to help make your tiny home dream come true!