About What We Do - Backspace Living
Backspace Living Backspace Living

At Backspace we are changing the status quo, one Backspace at a time

Backspace Living’s mission is to challenge the status quo and transform the outdated ‘granny flat’ into a beautifully customised space.

True innovation is born from necessity, as was discovered by Backspace Living founder, Trent Robinson

After taking the conventional route from apprenticeship to building and renovating homes, Trent found himself asking: why, when seeking to improve our homes, do we automatically turn to building an entire new home or renovating it? Why not create a new, separate space?

While further considering these possibilities, Trent found true fulfillment when taking clients on an enjoyable journey to create a space they loved. It was when he’d completed his first ‘granny flat’ build that he realised the untapped potential held by one key area of the home – the backspace. From this, Backspace Living was born.

Backspace Living’s mission is to challenge the status quo and transform the outdated ‘granny flat’ into a beautifully customised space. We build spaces people fall in love with, empowering our clients with cutting-edge, inspirational designs to help them see ‘granny flats’ in a whole new light.

We encourage our clients to get creative because that’s what we feed off. Together, we push the boundaries of their space to ultimately make it work for them. We love nothing more than showing people where 60sqm can take you – from a pool house to a teenage retreat, art studio or investment Airbnb – and we strongly believe in allowing your imagination to run free.

Every build is as unique as its owner, and we want the finished product to reflect your own lifestyle through a backspace built exclusively for you. A build that was once seen as a last resort now becomes a personalised space specifically designed to meet and anticipate your evolving needs. At Backspace Living, we’re breaking the mould, one backspace at a time.

Backspace Living has become the success it is today because of our dedicated, talented and professional team, and their commitment to build our clients the backspace of their dreams

Director

Trent Robinson
Pre-Construction Manager

James O’Sullivan
Project Manager

Elijah Fraser
Site Supervisor

Nic Atkinson
Designer

Caitlin Janissen
Interior designer / Colour Specialist

Sarah Hogan
Sales Manager/ Client Liaison

Evan Karandonis
Estimator

Brijesh Gajera
Accounts Manager

Felicity Perry
Social Media Coordinator

Alli Swansborough

Director

Trent Robinson

With over 20 years’ building experience, Trent is passionate about changing people’s perceptions of granny flats. Priding himself on creating a positive and healthy culture within the workplace, he has established Backspace Living as a place where the team chooses not only to do great work, but to enjoy a rewarding lifestyle. Trent is heavily involved in the design and construction phases and takes a relentless approach to constant improvement and innovation to deliver cutting-edge backspaces.

Pre-Construction Manager

James O’Sullivan

James has been a part of the Backspace team since 2018. Applying his business, innovation and entrepreneurship studies, James takes a holistic approach working closely with our builders, certifiers, architects, and estimators to make your backspace dreams a reality. Passionate and driven, James prides himself on effective communication and responsiveness to develop strong relationships with our clients.

Project Manager

Elijah Fraser

With extensive experience in delivering architecturally designed homes in the Hunter and Central Coast, Elijah prides himself on building strong working relationships to deliver an enriching experience and the best results for clients. With his attention to detail and commitment to cost efficiency, Elijah provides continual construction schedule and project budget updates to ensure clients are kept up to date throughout the building process. Elijah’s professional attitude and personal involvement throughout all aspects of the building and design phases ensure he delivers results his clients love.

Site Supervisor

Nic Atkinson

Nic brings a wealth of industry knowledge to the Backspace team through his 15 years of experience working across multipole roles within the construction industry. Working cohesively with subcontractors and clients throughout the build phase, Nic values strong working relationships and is committed to delivering successful results with respect to quality, timing, and budget.

Designer

Caitlin Janissen

Having completed a Bachelor of Design in Architecture, Caitlin’s passion for her work is evident in every project she undertakes. With a commitment to her craft, Caitlin is currently completing her Master of Architecture at University of Newcastle. At Backspace, Caitlin works closely with the Approvals and Sales teams to ensure our clients’ needs and vision come to life throughout the design process. With a strong eye for detail, Caitlin creates inspiring spaces that our clients fall in love with.

Interior designer / Colour Specialist

Sarah Hogan

Sarah joined the Backspace team in February 2018. With a Bachelor of Arts and a Diploma in Interior Design, Sarah oversees Backspace Living’s design and selections for our clients. Prior to working with Backspace Living, Sarah worked as a Residential Interior Designer and Senior Property Stylist, and she now applies her innovative approach and attention to detail in all aspects of her role.

Sales Manager/ Client Liaison

Evan Karandonis

With strong business experience and a keen eye for detail and design, Even provides our clients with sound advice on leveraging the full potential of our clients’ blocks. Taking a holistic approach to produce the best results, Evan works closely with our builders, certifiers, architects, and estimators to make your Backspace dreams a reality. Passionate and driven, Evan prides himself on building strong personal relationships with his clients, working tirelessly with them to ensure he achieves and exceeds their vision.

Estimator

Brijesh Gajera

With his extensive product knowledge and estimating experience, Brijesh works closely with our Project Managers and trusted team of award-winning designers, suppliers, and subcontractors to ensure a breadth of industry expertise is applied as required to each project. Brijesh collaborates with the Backspace team throughout the sales and pre-construction processes, ensuring the progress and delivery of our clients’ projects.

Accounts Manager

Felicity Perry

With over 30 years’ experience in administration and accounts, Jan brings a personalised and professional approach to working with clients, suppliers, and vendors. Her strong communication skills see her manage and maintain excellent working relationships to ensure the efficient running of all administration and accounts for smooth running projects. Jan brings endless energy to every phase of a project so that our clients feel assured and comfortable at every stage of their journey with us.

Social Media Coordinator

Alli Swansborough

Ali is responsible for publishing social media content and managing email marketing for our business. Ali is a born creative and has a strong eye for detail. Ali works collaboratively across all teams within the business and is passionate about keeping our existing clients and future customers well informed about our business.

We pride ourselves on crafting high-end architectural spaces that push boundaries to deliver the exact backspace you dream of. But don’t just take our word for it – discover what previous clients have said about their Backspace Living building experiences.

We couldn’t be happier

“We couldn’t be happier with the end results! Our Lennox Backspace is everything and more than we had ever dreamed of. The Backspace team were professional and informative and kept us updated throughout the entire process. We are already in discussion with the team about planning for our next project. We highly recommend Backspace Living to everyone.”

Evan and Laura Hughes

WE LOVE BACKSPACE!

The entire team were fantastic from the initial design meeting through construction. We absolutely love our granny flat… it’s just gorgeous and the finishes are just us. A few unexpected costs caught us by surprise but nothing that James and the team didn’t warn us about during the design process given our sloping block. The team are very transparent from the start and provided first class customer service. Backspace Living exceeded our expectations. Thank you, Backspace Living! We shall meet again.”

Kerry and Don McFarlane

Great service

“Great service, nice external and internal finishes and helped me achieve another investment granny flat. Better than the last two providers we went with. Overall happy with the build and I can’t fault the service. Thank you, James, and Ben, for everything.”

Warren Savio

Thank you Backspace

“From our initial meetings through to construction the service has been 10 out of 10! We were kept up to date throughout the entire process and really enjoyed the selections with Sarah as it felt like we were creating something unique to our own style and needs. We couldn’t recommend this local Newcastle business higher.”

Vicki and Steven Pollard

It’s unreal!

“From the word go, right through to the building stage, and looking at what we have now, it’s unreal. I had visions of what I wanted from the first site visit, and this turned out exactly how I wanted. We’ve put our Backspace on Airbnb just before Christmas and we’ve only had five days it hasn’t been rented so it’s just been exceptional. All of our guests have said how wonderful it is and everyone had nothing but positive feedback. We recommend Backspace to everyone.”

Scotty B

Fantastic tradesmen!

“Thank you, Dale and team! From our initial consultation with James to the handover of our beautiful uniquely designed Backspace granny (or posh designer studio apartment) the team at backspace listened to what we wanted and designed exactly what was in our heads. Full size kitchen and bathroom, spacious lounge, and bedroom. An amazing colour scheme that will last the test of time. Fantastic investment. good rental $$$ and when we are ready to downsize, we have a beautiful new home to move into. Fantastic tradesmen. No problems with the build. Very happy – would recommend to anyone. A quality build.”

Monique and Anthony Bozi

Very professional and well-organised.

“They were willing to assist with all questions and we ended up receiving the expected outcome. Thanks! Met my budget too. Very professional and well-organised.”

Katie B

Award winning granny flat design

We are deeply honoured to have been recognised by local and national industry bodies, including the Housing Industry Association.

Winner 2019

HIA Hunter Region Affordable Housing

Finalist 2019

HIA Hunter Region Affordable Housing

Finalist 2018

HIA Hunter Region Affordable Housing

Winner 2017

HIA Hunter Region Outdoor Project

Winner 2017

HIA Hunter Region Affordable Housing

Visit Our Display Home

Visit Today

Get your quote

Contact Us

Robinson Group Building © All Rights Reserved | Photographs and imagery on this website may depict fixtures, finishes, and features that may not be standard finishes – please refer to our standard inclusions list for details. Other items such as landscaping and swimming pools are not supplied by Backspace Living | Privacy | Site + Brand by DesignSmiths

Featured Designs