5 Creative Ways to Use a Shed

September 17, 2020

When thinking about the design of your custom home, it’s easy to get caught up in the home itself and forget about the rest of the land on your lot. In addition to the home, also consider what else you might want in your backyard. A shed can be a versatile addition to your lot that can be used for more than storage. Here are a few creative ways to use a shed:

1. Turn it Into a Workshop or a Craft Room

A shed can be a great place for a workshop or a craft room. You can always make space inside the home or in the garage for these things, but sometimes having a dedicated space where you can get away is preferable.

Not only can you create the ultimate craft room or workshop in this space, but you can also get away from distractions inside the home to focus on your work. If you have an idea of how you want to set up your space, you can build the shed to be big enough and design it to have what you need.

2. Build it Into a Home Office

A shed or outbuilding on your property can be whatever you need it to be when you’re building it along with your custom home. Building the shed into a home office can be the perfect solution for people who need to work from home, but also have a busy family or want to keep their work as separate as possible.

Although you can designate space in your custom home for a home office, even one with a separate entrance, it does take up space. If you don’t want to give up square footage inside your home for an office, but don’t mind giving up some of the yard, a small building can easily become a small office space.

Turning a well-designed shed into a home office provides a place where you can work uninterrupted, meet with clients, and more without giving up any square footage inside the main house. Plus, you can use some useful home office organization ideas to make the best use of the space you have available and create the perfect home office look you want with the function you need.

3. Create a Game Room or Practice Room

A game room or a practice room is one of the popular bonus room ideas. But, games, hangouts, band practice, and more can easily get loud and take up a lot of space in your home. You can always have space in your custom home dedicated for a fun family hangout. But, in addition to that, you can also create a similar space in a shed or small building on the property.

This can be useful for big families that may compete for hangout space with friends or have people with noisy hobbies. Instead of learning a new instrument or hosting band practice in the house or garage, you can use the shed. Adding some soundproofing will keep your neighbors happy, the separate space will keep you from disrupting the rest of your family, and the separation will also allow you to practice, learn, etc. uninterrupted.

4. Make it a Greenhouse

If you have a green thumb and love gardening, you can use a shed as a greenhouse. For the best results, you’ll want to design the shed with this goal in mind.

But, it can be a great place for you to grow plants and produce year-round and also store your gardening tools for both your indoor and outdoor gardens. Plus, it’s a great way to help protect your landscaping in the winter.

5. Construct a Library Retreat

Books take up a lot of space and it can be challenging to find a quiet place to read, especially in big, busy families. A well-designed shed with its own temperature control can become your own private home library, the perfect reading nook, and a bookworm’s paradise.

In addition to plenty of book storage, which also frees up that space inside your home, it also provides a quiet retreat, even if it’s not intentionally designed to be a reading nook. Here, you can sink into a comfortable chair, couch, or hammock with a cup of tea or coffee and dive into your favorite book uninterrupted or just have some time alone to relax. Some useful tips for planning your home library can help you create the perfect reading escape in your own backyard.

Sheds or similar backyard structures are one of the popular home design trends and these are just a few creative ways to use a shed. Not only can it help improve your backyard, but it can also be a great addition to your custom home. If you’re ready to bring your custom home to life, contact Custom Home Group at 717-284-4090!