I think that it is great you are thinking of being unique in OC! We too are thinking of doing something similar in Huntington Beach. We are beginning to work on renovating/rebuilding a 40 year old tract home where my father-in-law currently lives. The idea is that we - couple with a 3 year old and 16 month old would move in with my father in law after totally redoing the house. A big challenge for us is trying to do all this remotely as we currently live on the East Coast. Have you moved on this? If so, do you have any leads for an architect and especially contractor? Would love to hear how your plans are going!