Meet the father-daughter duo behind Canberra's luxurious granny flats

If COVID-19 has taught us anything, it’s the importance of comfortable spaces suited to our lifestyles and families. While some took to renovating the home to fit a new office, others purchased a new place to upsize.

But for those thwarted by rising property prices and building costs, there’s another boom underway: building a granny flat.

Enter The Pod Canberra, which combines the comfort of your existing home with the luxury of adding something new. 

Their pods are a modern take on the granny flat or secondary residence in Canberra, providing extra space without having to purchase a new home.

Father-daughter duo Robert and Jacqueline Valk launched The Pod Canberra in January 2018 after Robert built their own pod at the back of their family home.

“I was living in Sydney at the time and came to Canberra for a couple of months and my dad, who had his own architecture firm at the time but is also a builder by trade, built a pod in the backyard to save on commercial rent and that’s where I stayed when I visited,” Jacqueline says.

“That sowed the seeds of how The Pod Canberra came to be. We noticed that gap in the market and we wanted to be able to fill it because we knew there’d be people out there just like us.”

Three years into their business, the duo have noticed an increase in a particular client demographic, particularly in the past 18 months.

“We do a lot of work with families but that has expanded in the light of COVID. Everyone wants to be close to their family and COVID highlighted how important that was,” Jacqueline says.

“A lot of people have moved here from Sydney or Melbourne, either to move back in with their parents or vice versa or have elderly grandparents so those home owners reached out to us to build something for their relatives.

“I’d say the majority of our clients – a good 70 per cent – are clients from multi-gen families who want that type of independence that the pods can offer.”

It’s one thing to be inspired and another to act upon it. The Pod Canberra is one of those businesses that constantly evolve and bring fresh ideas of what living could be like. 

What started with one go-to design for pods has transformed into seven different styles that include having its own bedroom, kitchen, bathroom and laundry, all of which are specifically designed for disability use as well.

“We aren’t just building the pod now, we’re doing landscaping, car accommodation, additional bespoke rooms and much more in order to suit the market,” Robert says.

Having built the business from their own pod and now in The Pod Canberra’s Fyshwick office, the father-daughter duo harness the power of flexibility and being able to learn from each other.

“My dad is amazing; we really work well together. I make things look good while working closely with clients, while he focuses efforts on design, planning and quality control with trades. I will never stop learning from him,” Jacqueline says.

“And I think one of the best parts of the job is the finished product and handing the keys to the new owners.”

For Rob, the best part of the job was meeting and working with new clients.

“Seeing their reaction to the final product gives me the most enjoyment of my job,” he says.