Do-it-yourself backyard office in Southern Ontario rekindles owners love for building

“I wanted to create a stress-relieving modern yet timeless urban cottage space that blurs the line between the indoors and the outdoors,” says Carm Dixon, proud new owner of a VOS model Bunkie.

Carm and his family live near Windsor, Ontario in a suburban neighbourhood that would look familiar to most of us. He had been looking for a secondary building he could assemble in his backyard by himself to use as his full-time home office and extra bedroom when needed. The VOS model fit the bill perfectly.

“The Bunkie Company fuses sustainable furniture design elements and manufacturing with Ikea-like ease of building.” Carm says.

“Their attention to detail and beautiful modern Scandinavian-style architectural design, along with the higher quality materials they use makes for a very sturdy structure. This was important to me because our Bunkie had to be viewed as an addition to our home instead of a glorified shed/workshop.”

The fact that the Bunkie can be constructed without a building permit and has an open, light-filled interior that makes the space feel larger than it actually is, also helped seal the deal for Carm and his family.  

Carm says they ultimately chose the Bunkie Company over other manufacturers because he immediately knew he could work with Jim and Evan throughout the building process.

“Jim has a great demeanour,” he says. “Consultative in his approach, Jim did a great job of explaining everything and walking me through the sale. Evan also quickly created mock-ups to help me envision what I wanted, which also supported my decision,” Carm added.

What came next is a truly remarkable first for the Bunkie team.

“Building the Bunkie on my own has given our household a lot of pleasure and pride,” Carm says. “I loved working with my hands in my youth. Building the Bunkie rekindled that love. I didn't expect to emerge with the confidence to tackle the renovations planned for our home by myself instead of hiring contractors. Our family calls this ‘accidental awesome!’"

Though we can’t promise that you too will want to renovate your home after you assemble your Bunkie, we can say we will absolutely offer you the same level of support Carm received.

Ready to plan your Bunkie build? Click here to contact us. We look forward to working with you!


*Caveat: We recommend assessing your building skills honestly. Hiring a professional builder may be the better decision depending on your abilities. We also recommend hiring a professional to help construct your Bunkie’s foundation.

EBare