Did you look a camping stores for lockable heavy duty plastic storage boxes? Or the checker plate variety of tool boxes made for tradies utes etc come in a variety of sizes? Army ammo boxes are popular too for storage & are strong but may need painting if you want it to blend in.

Don't know if you ever got a reply to this, but if you didn't, here's what I can tell you, based on somewhat varied experience. First, I'm assuming the container would be provided by a moving company, and stored in their warehouse. I have had furniture and a good many possessions, including electrical goods, stored in a proper warehouse (not a container) at different periods for up to ten years (no, that is not a mistake, we were working overseas). The warehouse was properly airconditioned and heated in winter (this was Canada, so it needed some sort of climate control). Total damage was one broken glass, a dented bicycle, and my leather sofa dried out a bit. I also had some furniture, including a 100 year old china cabinet, in storage in Brisbane for a slightly shorter period, about 7 years. No damage from heat, humidity, dust or rough handling when it was eventually moved down to NSW. Most recently, we had virtually all our household possessions (everything that didn't fit in our cars) packed into a container and stored by the moving company for four months, then transported from NSW to Victoria and unloaded. In all but the last move, the movers provided the packing materials and boxes and did the packing. The last one, I did the packing myself (and what a tedious experience that was). I bought packing boxes on line, rented some from the moving company, and haunted the hardware store and bottle shop for leftover boxes. I also bought proper packing paper and a giant roll of bubble wrap on line. I became quite expert at handling a tape gun. At the end of the day, total damage: zero. Even the TV came out of it in good shape, and I didn't have a proper box for it. If the smaller contents are properly packed in decent boxes, and if the container is in a warehouse with climate control, everything should be fine. The movers will wrap your furniture in moving blankets to protect them, and certainly my experience has been that they're quite careful. Oh, and while the pickup/delivery and first month of storage were expensive, the subsequent months of storage for a 20 ft container was fairly reasonable. Do make sure you have proper insurance for the pick up and delivery, and for the storage, though.

Hi Karina. Haha very funny re your art piece, KitchenAid! Baking is so much fun; I'm a baker from way way back, and you learn by just jumping in and doing it. About the height of your combined dining/bench table, it's pretty important to have a height that's comfortable for you whilst you work. I'm tall and my family is too, so we had the benchtop height built higher so we are not getting backaches from constantly having to bend over to work. It's really more important for the one who does all or most of the cooking & baking to be comfortable as you can spend long periods of time reading and working out recipes, then putting it all together. Likewise, if you are shorter, choose a table that suits you. Best wishes and keep us posted.

My advice is to think about the working/function as you need it for your family. Prioritise that (as a starting point) and get that happening somewhat free of a "box" shape extension and see how that all sits - it's like you're trying to squeeze it all in to a specific shape and then struggling with certain details....you're suggesting/entertaining ideas like a functional laundry/bag drop zone etc which 100% is important/relevant for a busy family of 4. The problem seems that there hasn't been true clarity on the function/requirements before the design has been proposed. Is it too small? Well it depends on how exactly you intend on using it - how many people need to be able to sit at the table or on the lounge etc..this will dictate scaling - whether or not you'd like a butlers pantry or not. Is the 3rd toilet needed? Well ultimately nobody can tell you that one way or the other - you will know whether functionally that is a requirement necessary for your family - all these are questions you will have (or need to establish) an opinion/position on one way or another and then (should) be able to work through (more effectively) & resolve with the architect whom you've engaged.....you are obviously staging the project which can be logical/necessary, and given this there may in fact be alternative and arguably more cost effective design options available for you (such as a 2nd stage "clean" extension for a master suite), but realistically that involves greater understanding/information of the site/context and your particular budget in order to provide specific advice/suggestions as to how best to achieve your goals...Good luck :) PD