SEATTLE  — When Anne first laid eyes on a Modern-Shed, she fell in love.

She wasn’t expecting to. Her partner, Karen, had been trying to convince her for many years that it was time for Anne to move her business out of its expensive space on Wallingford Avenue and into a new, pre-fabricated home office.

Anne has been an aesthetician since 1986, providing facials and age-related skin care regimens to a steady stream of clients that hear about her business mostly through word-of-mouth.

For the past 11 years, she worked out of a space she adored and resisted the idea of moving.

That is, until one of her clients invited her to see their new Modern-Shed.

“When I first saw it, I thought, ‘Oh my God, this is so cool,’” she said. “You could see how sharp the design was, how very modern it was. And yet for me there’s also a distinctly Asian feel to it.”

Asian and Buddhist influences can be seen throughout the home the couple share in Wallingford — Anne ordained as a Buddhist nun in the 1980s, leading many private meditation retreats.

She’s also a self-proclaimed “wild fan” of Japanese samurai movies.

Their home radiates a soothing, peaceful Zen aesthetic, so it’s not surprising they wanted their Modern-Shed to have the same calming effect on Martin’s clients.

The couple chose Modern-Shed’s 12’ by 24’ Northwest Shed option, but happily discovered they could customize their shed to match their lifestyle.

Karen brought her experience in commercial property management to the table, and suggested several additions that have made their Modern-Shed fit their needs.

For instance, the couple extended the shed’s overhang by 2 feet and built a deck along the structure.

Karen chose cork flooring and tiles for the waiting room and bathroom, respectively.

It took less than a week for the structure to go up in January of this year, and by March 16, Anne had moved in and was seeing clients.

Her clients comment regularly on how the shed’s clerestory windows bring more light into her work room than her previous space.

“I loved my old space,” Anne remembers. “But truth be told, I have thought about my place probably twice since I moved out. Over the summer, my other place was so hot. This place is so lovely with the breezes it lets in. One client after the other after the other has commented, ‘Wow it’s so cool and airy here.’ That’s when I remembered, ‘Oh yeah, it was hot. Oh yeah, It was noisy on the street.’”

Anne paid nearly $2,000 in rent and utilities monthly at her old space.

Now, the couple is happy that they’ve invested in themselves.

“Instead of paying a stranger, we invested in our home, in our property,” Karen said. “That money that was for rent went back to ourselves, into our future and it gave Anne a way to work on our premises and created a place that we love. We now have control over our lives.”

— Arla Shephard