Around the house: A little room, if you please
Lisa and Ryan Kooistra share a soft spot for small spaces. Each year, they look forward to renting a tiny cabin as a retreat, and they love the modest scale of their mid-century urban home.
Still, there came a time when even they began to dream of a small, portable space that would give people like them just a little more room, with minimal fuss and a manageable investment.
It’s a problem the two are well-equipped to address: Lisa has her own self-named design/decor firm and Ryan owns York Renovation.
Together, they created LIVPod – a moveable, modular structure designed to provide extra space in either urban or rural settings, and that can be used for both residential and commercial purposes.
The pods come in 90- and 108-square-foot options.
Kooistra describes it as a “plug and play system.”
A standard model includes four pot-lights inside, and two outside, and there are receptables throughout. Television and cable hook-up can also be easily done.
They are fully insulated with thermostat-controlled heating. Adding AC is an upgrade as is in-floor heating, which Kooistra says may eliminate the need for any other heat source on chilly days.
To create the feeling of being outdoors, one whole wall is window. “We wanted at least one of the walls to feel like a picture window, so we went with a very minimally framed glass door. It allows in the natural light, so most of the time you don’t even need (to turn a) light on.”
In the summer, the twopaneled door slides open to provide ventilation. Screens keep out bugs. On the opposite wall is another window. It doesn’t open, but positioned at eye level, it frames another outdoor view.
Most of the material used
is made in Ontario, with the exception of some exterior product that’s made within North America. The goal is to deliver throughout Canada, but Ontario is a current focus. Prices start at $28,000 — custom options and sizes past the permit limit are available.
LIV-Pod designs, builds, ships and installs the premade pods, which are held in a at a central location. “We scope out where the pod
should go; there are regulations about how far it needs to be from fence line,” says Kooistra, adding that because they’re moveable, pods can be transported somewhere else when needed.
Initial response, says Kooistra, has been enthusiastic. “It’s going really well,” she says. “We have tons of people reaching out to start booking.”
Originally, Kooistra saw the pod as providing extra space for a home office. Indeed, one of its benefits is that it’s cut off from everyday household noise, awareness of which has skyrocketed as families began to work and school from home. But as the concept developed, she and Ryan began to see how well it could also serve as a moveable commercial location, or pop-up retail site, and that homeowners might also use it as a studio, solarium or exercise space.
Still, she says, most enquires right now are for home offices. That’s not surprising. According to Bloomberg News, commercial office vacancies in Canada could soar in the next few months, causing a concurrent spike in the need for work-space in the home.
With that in mind, Kooistra thinks pods offer another benefit: helping work-fromhome folk disconnect business from daily life. “That’s an investment in the way you live, and (one that can) evolve as your needs change.”