Typically, sheds are lightweight structures that may be attached to the home or freestanding. People commonly use them to store their garden tools or sports or garden equipment or as a workshop or place to carry out their hobbies. Sometimes, they serve as home offices.
The popularity of sheds has increased in recent years. By 2023, the shed industry will significantly contribute to the $1.6 billion worth of sales associated with outdoor storage products.
However, you may not realize that there is more to your shed than its regular use as a garden shed or normal storage shed. If you are creative, you could turn the standard backyard sheds into houses where people could live comfortably.
A storage shed’s largely open structure lends itself well to customization. You can create anything you wish, provided you have enough imagination and the budget to implement your ideas.
Pool House Shed Ideas
If your residential property is among the 10.4 million with pools, using a shed to create a pool house is a perfect solution. It makes no sense to change into your swimming gear outside or from your main house when you can have a separate space to do that.
Create a Shed House for Your Pool Stuff
Generally, pools require specialized equipment, such as pumps and salt chlorine generators, to continue working well. In addition, you may need to accessorize the pool with items such as floaters and lounge chairs. Also, you have to maintain it regularly using tools such as pool brushes and skimmers, vacuums, and hoses.
So, where will you store these kinds of items? Of course, you could keep your stuff in your main house. Alternatively, you can leave these tools and equipment on one side of the pool for ease of use. But prolonged exposure to the elements will age them faster. And they will affect the overall appearance of your yard negatively.
So, instead of leaving them out in the open or storing them far away, it is a great idea to use a shed to create a pool house to protect them from the elements. Also, by doing so, you will enhance the overall attractiveness of your outdoor property.
Turn Your Pool into a Practical Living Space
A shed could also come in handy if you want to extend your outdoor space. For example, you can build a pool house for your pool equipment, accessories, and maintenance supplies, and to provide a livable space, in which you can change, get clean and party.
In addition, if you have enough space next to your pool, you can add a bedroom for guests who attend your pool party and choose to sleep over. And a small kitchen could work well for making party food.
However, when you create a pool house that houses both your pool equipment and supplies and increases your living space, ensure it has natural light and plenty of fresh air. French doors make it easy to bring in natural light. And air ducts and vents will help with the air quality.
Pool houses come in various shapes, sizes, and designs. But the standard pool house has an average area of at least 117 square feet. And it would cost you $5,000 to $44,300 to create one using a kit or $ $160 and $600 per square foot to build a custom one. However, converting a shed into a pool house may cost you as little as $1,000 to $1,500.
Tiny House Shed Ideas
If the tiny homes you have seen inspire you and you want one of your own, you could get one. Owning a tiny house is a great way to begin the next phase of your life after graduation. Also, it is an excellent way to downsize your life so you can free yourself up for other things you consider more important.
Build a Home on Wheels
Americans average over 2.2 billion in-person trips across the country each year. If you fit within this demographic, you may want to make your life on the road more comfortable by building a tiny shed house you can go with everywhere.
But when building a tiny house on wheels, you need to consider your car’s ability to move it around and the roads on which you will be traveling. And in most areas of the U.S., to travel with a tiny house without a special permit, your shed must not exceed a length of 65 feet, inclusive of the tow vehicle. In addition, your height and width should be 13.5 feet by 8.5 feet or less.
Luckily, even the average shed size is 8 feet by 16 feet, thus conforming to the tiny-home-on-wheels restrictions in most states.
When a home is on the move, everything needs to stay in place. So, you need lockable cabinets and tiny appliances to reduce the weight. In addition, you must have a toilet and shower whose waste you can quickly drain at the nearest waste receiving station. So, if your plumbing is not well designed, you could have lots of waste management problems later on.
Get a Starter Tiny Home for Homesteading
For anyone interested in self-sufficiency, homesteading is the way to go. You can embrace this kind of lifestyle and farm and preserve your food while using farm produce and by-products to generate cash.
However, you need some money to start homesteading. The amount varies from one state to another. But you must have enough to pay your bills until your lifestyle becomes sustainable. So, instead of spending a lot of money on building, you can create a tiny home as the starter structure that provides a roof over your head as you figure things out.
The great thing about homesteading is that you spend a lot of time outdoors. So, the small space may not be as challenging as you anticipate. However, if you want to expand your livable space, you can invest in a larger deck.
A tiny shed house will cost you $1,500 to $10,000. And a standard deck costs $30 to $60 per square foot to build, inclusive of labor and materials. So, you will likely reduce your homesteading startup costs by having a shed home instead of renting or building a typical house.
Shed House Interior Ideas
A shed conversion largely depends on the shed designs you embrace. What works for you may not work for someone else. So, select the small house plans that suit your preferences and budget and implement them.
The Eco-Friendly Shed House
Running electricity to a shed costs anywhere from $100 to $600. And while its energy costs will be much less than those associated with your main house, they could add up over time. For that reason, you could opt for an eco-friendly shed house, regardless of what you use it for.
First, you could install solar panels. Each one may cost $200 to $250. And a shed may only need one 50-Watt solar panel kit (or up to three for a luxurious feel) or two 250-watt solar panels for a home office. But even if the initial installation costs are much higher than the costs of running electricity, they will save you more money in the long term.
However, if your shed will be a workshop where many power tools will be in use, you may need to spend a considerable sum upfront. So, first, do the math to find out if the tens of thousands of dollars you may have to pay will be worth it.
Create A Cozy Home for Your Guests
A shed can make a fabulous guest house if you renovate it with people’s comfort in mind. For example, you can paint it warm colors and add fluffy rugs to create a cozy feel. And you could include space heaters to warm each room only when it is in use, so you save on energy costs.
It also helps if you opt for the saltbox shed design, which has different heights on the front and back, thus allowing extra space on a small footprint.
Converting the shed into a cozy guest room is an excellent strategy. Providing a separate space for your guests enables your family to host your loved ones visiting while reducing the friction from having too many people in a limited space. In addition, because it is separate, everyone has their privacy but can still get lots of time to connect.
Home Office Shed Ideas
The Covid-19 pandemic has taught us that working from home is possible and may become the norm. Already, 62 percent of people work at least some of the time remotely. And you may be one of them. In that case, it would be helpful to have a home office.
Convert Your Shed into A Standard Home Office
A typical home office requires an internet connection, a desk, and a chair. But, of course, it also needs cabinets for storage. And a shed enables you to customize the space it offers into whichever configuration suits your fancy.
But first, you must damp proof your shed, add insulation, install electrical, wind, or solar lighting and power sources, and then add the finishes. And then, you can bring in your office furniture.
Also, consider an office sleeping pod if you or a business partner often intends to sleep in your office. Then, you can take power naps or comfortably sleep at night. And it may also be wise to install a small bathroom so you can freshen up afterward.
Create a Practical Workshop
A shed is also a great place to have a workshop, which would serve as your office if you work with your hands. For example, if you garden, it can be a potting shed. And if you do metal or carpentry work, you could use it to create wood or metal works and store your power tools.
You must install the correct kind of electrical wiring to accommodate the energy needs of your power tools. You should also ensure suitable work surfaces and flooring to withstand heavy equipment, electric current, and heat. Also, it would help if you had a sturdy workbench.
Adequate ventilation is necessary, too, for fresh air. And insulation is also required to maintain stable temperatures within your working space. It would help if you also took advantage of the vertical shed space to install your shelving. That way, you will have more space on which to work. And opt for rolling work shelves that function as extra storage space.
Home Gym Shed Ideas
Did you know that 35 percent of adults in at least 16 states are obese? So, it’s safe to state that excess weight is a serious issue in America. So, it makes sense to convert your shed into a gym to ensure you and your loved one become fit. And there are different ways to do that.
Turn Your Mancave into A Home Gym
Suppose your shed currently serves as a man cave. In that case, you can bring in a few pieces of exercise equipment to make the space multifunctional.
Equipment like the elliptical machine or exercise bikes can be helpful for the entire family. And a multipurpose rubber mat will also act as a carpet of sorts for your man cave while providing a place to put your fitness equipment and perform fitness exercises, such as Pilates. In addition, it can withstand a lot of pressure and heavy traffic.
A home gym doesn’t have to replace a man cave. By combining both, your space may attract your friends more often. You can all bond over your exercises.
Turn Your Home Office into a Workout Space
Excessive sitting is terrible for your health. It increases your blood sugars, pressure, cholesterol levels, and even abdominal fat. So, it helps to work out during your workday by standing and performing simple exercise routines in your home office.
If you like being fit, consider an adjustable sit-stand desk. Studies show that standing burns more calories than sitting, increases energy levels, and improves productivity. For that reason, it makes sense to do some of your work while standing.
You can also include foldable exercise mats that you can tuck away when your workouts are complete. In addition, you can incorporate exercise ball chairs fitted with resistance bands to enable you to improve your posture and perform light exercises while you sit.
Adapt Your Game Room
You can turn even a game room into a home gym. For starters, you could incorporate the adjustable height desk so you can play while standing sometimes.
Also, you can include sports-oriented games, such as Wii Fit with balance boards. In addition, you could install a rock-climbing wall on one side of your shed. And even designating some of your game room space for dance workouts like Zumba could work just as well.
A little bit of imagination goes a long way when converting game rooms into a home gym without sacrificing their original purpose. So, find what works for you and go with that.
