Need a little more space for a home office? Consider building it from a kit.

Most offerings are adorable miniature wood huts that mimic larger homes by including tiny gables, double-hung windows and front porches. However, if your home is more modern in design, one of these wooden dollhouses in the backyard could leave you cold.

Fortunately, there are other options on the market. For example, metal prefabricated offices have come a long, long way in the past decade. What's more, metal construction is not only is the greenest choice, but offers a quicker and more affordable solution to your office-space problem.

Cutting-edge prefab structures aren't your grandmother's edition of a metal box. Maybe the fundamental idea began right after World War II, when assembly lines stopped producing airplanes and turned out doublewide metal trailers. Modern versions are creative and flexible and far more attractive than old mobile homes.

As an architectural trend, using recycled metal as a building material is gaining popularity. Pre-engineered steel buildings eliminate termite issues, allow for quick and easy assembly, and adapt to being shipped flat to a building site. There are websites devoted to the trend, such as www.fabprefab.com and www.flatpakhouse.com. Green devotees scour the design magazine Dwell for ideas on the latest in prefab offerings.

The prefabricated structure in the photograph was designed by Tom Sandonato and Martin Wehmann. They named this 9-by-13-foot structure Kithaus K3. It can be trucked anywhere without need of ultra-heavy equipment.

The lightweight, anodized-aluminum pieces are precut and drilled at the factory in Southern California. A proprietary clamping system makes installation quick, economic and produces very little waste. All pieces arrive ready to be installed. It is a fully insulated, pre-wired glass and metal box with panache.

As a matter of convenience, Kithaus is offered also with a fully furnished package that can be a home office or a guest room. The decking flows inside to out in a way that appears to expand the 117 square feet of available floor area.

Design Within Reach markets the complete Kithaus, including decks, canopies, and louvers for $44,900. A base model is available for $29,500. These prices do not include tax, shipping or installation.

As you research prefab outbuildings, remember to first investigate local municipal building codes governing construction on your property. For starters, you will need to pour a foundation. You will also want to bring electricity to the pad and maybe even water.

Know that traditional stick construction can range in price from between $120 and $400 per square foot, depending upon finish materials. It is estimated that the cost of putting a giant erector set together hovers around $130 per square foot.

Corrugated metal has been popular in modern Australian architecture for some time. Younger architects began weaving metal and natural wood beams together in a brave new style that matched large open spaces.

Based on bush houses or small huts on large properties that Australians have erected for generations out of necessity and for functional reasons, bush houses have become trendsetters. From those practical roots came forth a distinct genre. That style has been copied for weekend retreats, art studios, and guesthouses.

However, there are more affordable options from Seattle-based Modern Shed (www.modern-shed.com). The base price for their 120-square-foot Studio Shed is $11,980. It is a no-frills, pre-assembled, stud-framed panel construction to which you can add insulation ($750), exterior color, and door and trim color, floor color, sliding glass door ($500), deck ($1,025 to $1,375) or an additional window ($550).

Modern Cabana in San Francisco (www.moderncabana.com) offers similar designs of pre-assembled conventional stud-framed panels intended for assembly in a matter of days. Cost for the 100-square-foot base is $8,500 and the base price for 160-square-foot structure is $14,500.

Christine Brun, ASID, is a San Diego-based interior designer and the author of "Big Ideas for Small Spaces." Send questions and comments to her by e-mail at christinebrun@sbcglobal.net. To find out more about Christine Brun and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

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