110 | BUILDING KDH Kiwi Designed Homes T T Russell Fredric Many options with transportable homes A transportable home arriving on-site at dawn is a moment many Kiwi Designed Homes’ customers never forget, but the journey begins long before the truck rolls in. Hamilton-based Kiwi Designed Homes (KDH) has evolved from a transportable housing business into a company delivering everything from granny flats and rural worker accommodation to larger, custom-designed luxury family residences. KDH marketing assistant Julia Morgan says its transportable range spans from 60sqm to 140sqm, but the company also undertakes fully customised projects. One of the company’s most popular plans is the Kiwi 3 design, which features a mono-pitch roofline and raking ceilings that create a stronger sense of space and natural light. While transportable homes remain an important part of the business, KDH has expanded well beyond the standard plans. Recent builds have included larger homes transported in multiple sections and assembled on site, allowing clients to achieve unique designs that would have traditionally been considered outside the scope of a transportable build. “They’re very customisable. If a customer wants something specifically designed for them, we’ll work to make that happen,” says Julia. Transportable construction offers practical advantages, particularly for rural customers. Building homes in KDH’s Horotiu yard allows work to be completed before the home is delivered, reducing the need for tradespeople to travel to remote locations, and helping streamline the overall process. The approach is also proving popular with the farming community upgrading staff accommodation. Rather than demolishing an existing dwelling before construction begins, a replacement home can be completed off-site and delivered when ready, minimising disruption for workers and farm operations. “For farmers, it can mean their workers stay in the existing home until the new one is complete,” Julia says. “Once it arrives, there’s very little downtime between the old house and the new one.” Customer perceptions of transportable homes have also shifted significantly during the past decade. Improvements in design, construction quality and affordability have helped move the sector into the mainstream, while buyers have become increasingly open to alternatives to conventional on-site building. That changing perception is often reinforced when prospective clients visit the company’s show home. “People walk through and say, ‘Wow, it feels so much bigger than we expected.’ It’s hard to appreciate the sense of space until you’re actually standing inside it,” says Julia. Beyond transportable homes, KDH also offers lifestyle and contemporary homes built on-site throughout the Waikato region. These projects are commonly found on lifestyle blocks, farms and coastal developments, including around Raglan and other growing residential areas. “Although we’re a small team, we have a ton of passion and dedication to build beautiful homes for our customers,” Julia says. POWER SMART ELECTRICAL LTD MARK BLACKETT Owner/Operator Registered Electricain e: mark@psel.co.nz m: 021 655 382 p: 854 8936 Proud to support KDH Kiwi Designed Homes FOR ALLYOUR ELECTRICAL SOLUTIONS MEMBER OF ROOFING ASSOCIATION N.Z. 0277663261 or 027AMROOF1 mike@amroofing.co.nz New housing, roof & cladding specialists for Hamilton & the greater Waikato area MICO PROUDLY SUPPORT KIWI DESIGNED HOMES www.mico.co.nz T I M B E R S U P P L I E S T I M B E R S U P P L I Kiwi Designed Homes (KDH) has evolved from a transportable housing business into a company delivering everything from granny flats and rural worker accommodation to larger, custom-designed luxury family residences.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NDc2Mzg=