It’s no secret that the current economic situation is tough and everyone is doing their best to save a bit of cash. However, just because you may not have as bigger budget available for your home improvement project as you might have liked, it doesn’t mean it can’t be done.
Plans for increasing living space can often be focused on house extensions, but an innovative and more environmentally friendly alternative is utilizing garden sheds.
Often neglected and crammed full of unwanted bikes or tools left to rust, revamping your shed into a useable space can be much more cost effective than dealing with planning laws and builders for an extension. A space away from the house also offers the opportunity of some solitude or a really focussed work area. Here are a few ideas for how you could transform you garden shed.
Office
The most common form of shed conversion, relocating your office to the garden allows you to eliminate any distractions and maximising your focus. With many people choosing to work remotely from home, modern technology allows the setup of your new office to be minimal.
As long as your shed isn’t too far from the house, wireless internet should be available from your home network. Infinitely better than working from a pokey cubicle in a windowless office, your shed conversion will set you in amongst the greenery of your garden.
Workshop
Although this may have been the intended purpose for your shed in the first place, this aim may have gotten lost along the way. This could be the place for all those tasks too messy for in the house, where your creativity can really thrive.
Always wanted to take up woodworking or mend that front gate? Now you can, safe in the knowledge that your tools can be locked away safely, away from little hands that might hurt themselves.
Playroom
Conversely, actively encouraging your children to get out to the garden for a while may give one of you some time to get the rest of the house a once-over!
Homes can start to feel a bit cramped when a family is expanding but that shouldn’t necessarily mean you have to relocate. Having a space that’s dedicated to play frees up other areas of the house from clutter and provides a safe area for children to play without parents having to worry.
Studio
This is another type of working area, but one where it’s essential that artists are surrounded by stimulators and inspiration in order to work at their best.
Whether you produce music, paint or take photos, having a dedicated space can really boost work rates. Having a drum kit in the house can create a particularly prickly atmosphere if played regularly, but if any budding musicians in the house can head out to the shed to thrash away to their hearts content, the whole house will be much happier. You could even sound proof the walls with limited effort.
Obviously the options for shed conversions are not limited to these suggestions but hopefully this will have inspired you to reconsider those extension plans and look to your garden for inspiration.
