Sometimes customers don’t need a whole granny flat but just an extra bedroom (or four!), perhaps with a bathroom but not necessarily, maybe doubling as an office or recreation space. Please bear in mind that any structure intended for habitation will need some form of approval, depending on the site location and what rules apply. Compliance with regulations can help protect the safety of occupants and peace-of-mind considerations for the property owner such as insurance cover, potential property value, etc. If you need help with getting approval for a sleep-out pod, just ask us.
While every Backyard Pod project begins with the flatpack building kit, it’s the choices made by our customers that determine the desirability of the completed result. Our customer in Chiswick, a bayside suburb in Sydney, got approval organised through our NSW architect partner and made design decisions that really show how deluxe a Backyard Pod can be.
You may love where you live but just need a little extra space to focus on work or study, do some yoga, have guests for a sleepover, or let your hair down with a band rehearsal. With an approved 3.6m x 5m ‘multi-purpose room’, our customers in Coburg, Melbourne, are delighted with their new Backyard Pod and the finish achieved by their own builder following the step-by-step instructions.
The cost of extending an established home to create an extra room is usually prohibitive, yet many people living in the inner-city need just a little extra space to work from home in peace and without disruption to family life. Our customers at Five Dock were able to get a spacious 12sqm home office approved and constructed to enhance their home and lifestyle without breaking the bank.
It’s just as easy to build a rentable granny flat in VIC as it is in NSW and QLD. And when someone in the family needs separate accommodation, and in other special circumstances, it’s easy to get these needs met in Melbourne. This well-considered backyard granny flat at Kingsville, a desirable inner suburb just northwest of Yarraville, has everything needed for independent living in great comfort and style.
Over the years, we helped many customers in Melbourne before rentable granny flats became as easy in VIC as in NSW and QLD. Even before the change, there were ways to add extra accommodation to properties in Melbourne, and this handsome little project is just one example where a practical teenage retreat with ensuite replaced a near-useless old shed.
Brad and Kirsten needed a chill-out rumpus room for the kids, a late-night media room for watching footy and Netflix, and somewhere private for guests to stay. However, their compact backyard was mostly taken up by their swimming pool. They had a lightbulb moment… “We need a pool house!” This would be a multi-purpose space…
Our customers in Anglesea, southwest of Melbourne beyond the famous Bells Beach, wanted a guest cabin including an ensuite at the rear of their property. With sufficient previous building experience and the right tools, they successfully undertook their project as DIY owner-builders using a flatpack building kit from Backyard Pods. They shared their construction pics so you can see how they did it.
Our customer wanted a small home office pod against the boundary fence (usually a no-no) and it had to be an exact non-standard size to suit their design. They also wanted the low-cost structure to be attractive-looking to enhance the desirable coastal home with its existing focal-point backyard entertainment area. The finished home office pod, with its timber surrounds, proudly achieves its purpose inside and out.
This 3m x 6m Backyard Pod completed at Seven Hills, Sydney, shows that you don’t need much space for a poolhouse with ensuite! It’s energy-efficient too, featuring our range of Polar Eco View double-glazed modular doors and windows for energy efficiency and a lovely, open outlook to the lawn and paved pool patio area.
In Bald Hills, a suburb of Brisbane QLD, when our customers wanted to build a home office and rumpus 3.6m x 8m in their backyard, it needed approval. We helped with approvals and now you can see from these images how much they are enjoying their personalised Backyard Pod as a detached home extension for living.
Eltham is known for leafy streets, lovely gardens, and timeless serenity. What more would an Eltham homeowner desire? A beautiful backyard studio from Backyard Pods, of course, with a welcoming front deck and veranda. It was fully approved and installed for our customer through our Backyard Pods Melbourne network.
Not everyone needs a granny flat in the backyard, or even a studio with an ensuite. For many people, all they need is an extra room for use as a home office, music studio or design space, man cave, or breakout room. This air-conditioned 3.6m x 6m art studio with a sink in Doreen, a suburb of Melbourne, is a great example.
Backyard Pods normally have our foundation piers elevating the flooring structure above ground level. Where an existing slab is dry and suitable, some customers successfully anchor the integrated flooring (for structural integrity) to their slab. Our customer in Canberra sat their Backyard Pod on a slab and it looks very sleek in ‘Night Sky’ with black accents.
Here’s an inspiring Backyard Pods Geelong story from a customer who built a divine boho-style guest cabin and private retreat using one of our flat-pack kits. Start with our low-cost, simple, strong structures (with higher-than-usual ceiling heights) and use your imagination to create your space your way.
With previous building experience and the right tools, people can save on building a DIY backyard studio. Look at these stage-by-stage construction shots sent by our Sunshine Coast customer who is now the proud owner/builder of a modern 3.6m x 7m backyard studio – a bedsitter cabin with ensuite and kitchenette.
Many people need a small WFH office pod. Others have grand designs for getting more value out of their backyard with their business ideas. Our mindful customer from Dandenong wanted two pods side-by-side for their own ‘women’s wellness centre’. With our help to organise approvals and construction, these twin multi-purpose rooms were fully completed for our customer. The actual build time was only 2 weeks!