Your home feels cramped, but moving costs a fortune. Granny flats mean council approvals. And those trendy Bunnings backyard pods? They’ll set you back $25,000+.
Here’s what savvy homeowners are doing instead: buying architect-designed DIY kits that cost less and are assembled like Lego. Some start at just $14,600, and you can build one in a weekend.
Here are three backyard cabins worth considering.
Johanna Griggs chats to IMBY founder
IMBY kits
IMBY kits — short for In My Backyard — are one of the more affordable alternatives. Designed by a team of architects led by Adriano Pupilli, he says the kits grew out of a simple idea: combining affordable architecture with precision fabrication.
“It just came up with this idea of affordable architecture — the ability to effectively print a building using CNC technology onto our building sheets,” Adriano told Better Homes and Gardens. “Putting these two things together was, I guess, the genesis for the IMBY kit.”
Each kit is made from regular plywood sheets, and the best part is you don’t need any building experience to put one together yourself.
Instead of using screws or steel frames, these kits fit together with carefully cut timber joints that actually add to the finished look.
Talking about how easy they are to put together, Selina, one happy IMBY customer, said, “It’s all Japanese joinery. It just fits together like Lego.”
She added, “We didn’t even have to buy tools for it.”
According to the IMBY website, an entry-level complete kit starts at $14,600 (ex. GST).
She sheds and timber kit cabins
Timber kit cabins, like those from SheShed, are another option worth considering. People use them as sleepouts, studios, or even guest rooms. Prices start in the low $20,000s, and the fancier models can reach the mid $30,000s. You can even get them professionally installed, so they sit somewhere between a DIY kit and a fully finished pod in terms of price and the amount of work involved.
Scandi-style backyard cabins
If you’re after something a bit fancier, there are Scandi-style backyard cabins, like the ones from Scandi Cabins. You can get these as DIY kits starting at about $18,300, or go all out with a fully finished cabin (with a bathroom and kitchenette) that can cost over $100,000. These are bigger and feel more like a second home, but they do come with a higher price tag and trickier approvals.
So if the Bunnings pods got you thinking, but the price put you off, it’s good to know there are other ways to add some extra space at home without breaking the bank.
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