Multi-bedroom ‘Brady Bunch’ sleep-out pod 4.5m x 14m with eaves in suburban Aspley, Brisbane QLD

When this couple decided to make it official and move in together they had a happy hurdle to overcome. Where to accommodate their blended family? Brisbane’s own ‘Brady Bunch’, three boys and three girls ranging in ages from seven to 16, had outgrown the four-bedroom 1950’s fibro-Queenslander home in suburban Aspley. Doubling-up in bunk beds was no longer viable, nor was it an option to take the kids out of their current schools and move to the far outskirts of Brisbane where a super-sized family home might be more affordable.

Christine works from home and she desperately needed an office space where she could ‘lock’ herself away from the busy household. The older kids needed their own space to study and have some sense of privacy and independence. The family needed a quick solution – within three months! They settled on the idea of creating four extra bedrooms and an open breakout/media space, but in a separate new building rather than tackling the unknown complexities and costs involved in extending or altering the vintage-era main house. Drew sketched a basic layout on a piece of A4 and went in search of an economical way of realising his family’s dream solution. The requirement was for a structure 4.5m x 14m that could be positioned at 90 degrees in relation to the main house, with easy access to the home’s back door. To minimise costs and maximise normal day-to-day interactions between members of the large family, they quickly decided that everyone would need to enter the main house to access either one of the two existing bathrooms. Once Drew discovered Backyard Pods as the ideal low-cost building solution, he engaged a draftsperson to draw up his plans for submission to Brisbane City Council. Within just four weeks, Drew had his building permit. The order for the 4.5m x 14m backyard pod kit was placed with Backyard Pods on 14 May 2019 and delivered on 27 June 2019 for a fantastic, on-time result within a tight budget.