Time to kick those tools out of backyard sheds
When Morgaine Ford-Workman and Wren Workman bought a house with a backyard shed, they saw the potential for something more than storing garden tools. The couple transformed the 10-by-12-foot building into a bar to use during outdoor parties at their house in Morrisville, Pennsylvania.
“We’re involved in community theatre and we like to throw a lot of parties,” Ford-Workman said. “It’s an extra place to hang out.”
People looking to get more use out of their backyards are building or converting sheds for a variety of purposes. There are backyard pubs. “She sheds,” when they’re built by women. Home offices. Art or yoga studios. TV rooms.
“As we continue to explore other ways we can utilize our backyard space, we will continue to see trends like this,” said Stacy Nelson, who owns a backyard-design consulting firm, Backyard Mamma, in West Virginia.
The do-it-yourself element and the sheds’ visual impact have made them popular on social media sites, Nelson said. “It’s gaining in popularity. It’s all over the board what people are using them for.”
The sheds range from stylized structures with sliding glass doors to buildings made from repurposed materials.
Jennifer and Eric Antonow added a shed to their California, property because they can’t afford a bigger house.
“It made so much economic sense,” she said. They use their shed as a home office and recording studio. It sits next to their hot tub, so sometimes they use it as a changing room. She also anticipates serving drinks there while entertaining outside.