The Art of Living Large in a Kit Home
There is a unique thrill in building your own home from the ground up. As an owner builder in Australia, you have the creative freedom to design a space that perfectly reflects your lifestyle. However, one of the most common challenges modern homeowners face is the battle against clutter. Whether you are building a compact backyard retreat or a sprawling family residence, the secret to a long term love affair with your home lies in smart storage.
In the world of kit homes, design and lifestyle go hand in hand. A home that looks beautiful but lacks a place for the vacuum cleaner or the camping gear quickly becomes a source of stress. By focusing on storage during the planning phase, you can create a seamless, minimalist aesthetic that makes even a modest floor plan feel like a mansion. In this guide, we will explore how to integrate clever storage solutions into your kit home build, leveraging the precision of steel frame construction and the latest Australian design trends.
Start with the Floor Plan: The Blueprint for Organisation
The beauty of a kit home is the ability to customise your layout before the first piece of steel arrives on site. When you are looking at floor plans, do not just look at where the sofa goes, look at the dead zones. These are the areas that often go to waste, such as the space under stairs, the ends of hallways, or the gaps between structural pillars.
Australian lifestyle trends are currently leaning toward open plan living, which is fantastic for socialising and light, but challenging for storage because there are fewer walls to lean cupboards against. To counter this, consider incorporating a butler's pantry or a walk-in scullery. Even in a smaller kit home, stealing just two square metres from the kitchen footprint to create a hidden storage zone can keep your main benchtops clear of appliances and clutter.
The Rise of the Mudroom
One trend taking the Australian building scene by storm is the dedicated mudroom. Given our love for the outdoors, having a transition zone between the garden and the living room is essential. When planning your kit home, look at the entry point from your garage or backyard. A simple nook with built-in bench seating, overhead hooks, and lower cubbies for boots can prevent the rest of the house from becoming a dumping ground for school bags and sandy thongs.
The Steel Frame Advantage: Living Within the Walls
When you build with a steel frame, particularly using high quality BlueScope TRUECORE steel, you are working with a material that is incredibly strong yet allows for high precision. This structural integrity offers unique opportunities for storage that traditional timber frames might struggle with.
Because steel frames are straight and true, they provide the perfect foundation for custom cabinetry. You won't have to worry about walls warping or bowing over time, which means your floor to ceiling cupboards will stay perfectly aligned. You can also work with your designer to create recessed wall niches. Because steel is so strong, it is often easier to engineer larger openings for recessed shelving in bathrooms or hallways without compromising the structural integrity of the home. Imagine a built-in bookshelf that sits flush with the wall, or a recessed shaving cabinet in the ensuite that disappears into the decor. These small design choices save floor space and create a high end, architectural feel.
Creative Kitchen and Laundry Solutions
The kitchen and laundry are the engine rooms of the Australian home. This is where storage is tested the most. For owner builders, the fit-out phase is where you can really let your creativity shine. Instead of standard cupboards, opt for deep drawers in your lower cabinets. Drawers allow you to see everything at a glance and utilise the full depth of the unit, meaning no more losing Tupperware lids at the back of a dark shelf.
In the laundry, think vertically. Most kit homes have generous ceiling heights, so take your cabinetry all the way to the top. Use the lower sections for daily essentials and the hard to reach top shelves for seasonal items like heavy winter blankets or holiday decorations. If you are managing your own trades, talk to your cabinet maker about integrated drying racks that fold out from the wall, a simple trick that saves you from having a bulky clothes horse sitting in the middle of the room.
The Power of Multipurpose Spaces
Modern Australian housing is moving away from single use rooms. A guest bedroom that is only used twice a year is a wasted opportunity for storage. Instead, consider designing a multipurpose room. By installing a Murphy bed (a wall-mounted pull-down bed), the room can function as a spacious home office or craft room for 360 days of the year.
Window seats are another classic Australian design element that serve a dual purpose. In a kit home living area, a deep window seat provides a beautiful spot to enjoy the view while providing massive amounts of storage underneath through flip-top lids or pull-out drawers. It is the perfect place to hide away board games, extra cushions, or kids' toys.
Owner Builder Tips for a Clutter-Free Build
As an owner builder, you are the project manager of your dream. Here are a few practical tips to ensure your storage goals are met during the construction process:
- Plan your electrical early: Nothing creates visual clutter like a tangle of cords. Plan for power points inside cupboards or drawers so you can charge phones, tablets, and cordless vacuums out of sight.
- Coordinate with your plumber: If you want recessed niches in your shower, make sure your plumber and tiler are on the same page before the steel frames are sheeted with plasterboard.
- Think about the garage: While the kit home focuses on the living area, don't forget the garage. Using steel shelving units that bolt directly into the wall studs can keep your workshop area organised and professional.
- Utilise the roof cavity: If your kit home design allows for it, talk to your builder about attic ladders and basic flooring in a section of the roof space. This is prime real estate for long term storage.
Embracing the Lifestyle
Ultimately, a kit home is about more than just four walls and a roof, it is about the life you lead inside them. By prioritising storage and smart design, you are creating a home that looks after you. When every item has a dedicated home, your living spaces feel calmer, more inviting, and easier to maintain. Using the precision of steel frames as your backbone, you can achieve a level of finish and functionality that rivals any custom luxury build.
Whether you are building in the heart of the suburbs or on a quiet rural block, these storage strategies will ensure your new home remains a sanctuary of style and order for years to come. Remember, the best time to think about where your shoes will go is while the home is still a series of lines on a page. Happy building!
Topics
Share this article
