“I wanted to share how I use/used my Modern Shed over the past few years since its creation at our home in Busch Gardens, Pasadena. The Modern Shed (known to most of my friends as “The She-Shed”), was originally added to our property to give me an extra 90 square feet of “office” space. During the Covid lockdown, it quickly transformed into my one-room schoolhouse! I continue to use it as my tutoring space/office space. I feel so lucky to have had this space as my classroom and to provide curriculum accessibility to my 780 students throughout the virtual learning year of lockdown. Thank you Modern Shed!”
Katherine
A She-Shed / office was the perfect solution in Busch Gardens.Katherine’s Modern Shed allowed her to continue teaching and tutoring during the pandemic lockdown.
Thanks, Katherine for sharing your Modern Shed story with us! To learn more about how we can provide space and solutions for your family, contact our Design Professionals today!
Our clients inspire us every day, from state to state. Their creativity is simply astounding. Help us celebrate your talent by sharing photographs of YOU using your beautiful backyard studio in our #ModernShedInspo photo contest. Every month one lucky client will win a $100 Amazon gift card. Tag us on social media in a public post with a photo of you and your Modern Shed and use the hashtag (#ModernShedInspo) or send it via email (Connect@Modern-Shed.com) to be entered to win!
Fine print: all photos musts be your own Modern Shed. If you did not take the photo yourself, you must have full usage rights, and all photos submitted give Modern Shed same-said usage rights for reuse and publication This contest is not sponsored or endorsed by Amazon or their affiliate companies, we just like gift cards!
One day, Modern Shed Design Consultant Jeff Bergerson received a call from Rafal, who was excited to build a structure on his property inspired by the Modern Shed design. He was already working with a contractor on his main house. “I had a contractor who convinced me that he could do it for less. And maybe he could have, but all the design work and structural engineering costs really added up, and that’s a service I know you guys can provide.”
Unfortunately, Rafal’s project dragged on and was more costly than he could have imagined. As the months passed, Rafal contacted Jeff with a few questions, and eventually shared, “I’ve spent almost $20k and all I have to show for it is a slab. I should have bought a Modern Shed.”
Modern Shed offers more than an idea. From start to finish, the entire project is a finely tuned effort. Our Design Consultants like Jeff listen and work with our clients on every detail. They have done it before. They know what it takes. For example, our prefabricated, segmented panels mean you spend a few days with a construction crew installing your new space, not weeks or even months. Also, we use a unique, fully insulated, quickly installed floor system, and solutions for uneven surfaces. And then there’s the cost savings of Modern Shed’s buying power. “While we have felt the pinch over supply challenges for windows or doors over the past few months, we do have the buying power to keep costs as low as possible,” explains Jeff. Along the way, Rafal contacted Jeff, who was more than happy to assist however he could. “I tell everyone I know who is thinking about doing what I tried to just give you a call,” said Rafal. “It’s more than a great design it’s a thoughtful process.” Thank you, Rafal!
SAN DIEGO – As a successful architect in Southern California, Nastaran knows what she wants from the spaces she designs: aesthetically impactful style with the highest quality and functionality for the budget. This is why she came to Modern Shed when it was time to expand the square footage of their living space. She deeply appreciated the high standards of quality to which Modern Shed builds our products, and knew that her investment would stand the test of time.
Nastaran first started looking at a home gym from Modern Shed back in 2016 while she was remodeling their home with her fiance, but the project was put on hold to divert the funding to the essentials going on in the home. However, as the pandemic hit, Nastaran found herself needing a home office space quickly. While her previous research regarding Modern Shed combined with her expertise as an architect herself dramatically sped up the process to plan and purchase her new office, Nastaran also valued her Design Pro, Trevor’s expertise and professionalism in helping the entire process run smoothly, especially as pandemic-related delays started to affect the delivery time frame. She also adds that his knowledge and explanation of the design and build process would be invaluable to someone less familiar with the ins and outs of construction.
“I definitely made it a bit more interesting for Trevor and the installer, Chase,” Nastaran reflects. “I came to them with a full electrical work up for puck lighting and the ceiling fan, even a floor outlet. They were great! They wired in all the conduit based on my instructions.”
The investment in their property was well worth the investment in time and resources to help Nastaran bring her long-term vision for their outdoor space closer to reality. Even though her 120 square-foot shed is currently being utilized for an office, she already has plans to bring the home gym or even a guest space back into the area when she returns to work in her usual office. “I really appreciate how functional and flexible the space is. It’s just beautiful. If I had to do it all again, I’m not sure if I would eat up 30” of space for the lavatory. It will be handy for guests someday, but right now it doesn’t really get used,” Nastaran mused.
Overall, though, she is absolutely pleased with the whole process. “The install was just amazing. The shed itself took just four days, and they stayed for 10 days finishing every last detail for us. Being in the industry, I’ve worked on projects that are in construction for two or three years, so that’s just brilliant.”
“I would recommend people think of their project as a long-term investment and really think ahead. For example, we also wired for a mini-split to cool our Modern Shed, which will be installed in the summer. The more thought you put into it, the more you can enjoy it!”
“I just love coming out here to work, or just rearrange my space. It’s quiet and serene. We even joke, it’s probably sturdier than our house!”
From his background in finance, and later software solutions, the question of ‘why’ has driven him to look deeper at what solutions the people around him are asking for. He joins the Modern-Shed leadership team now with a vision of not just growth, but continued excellence in craftsmanship and service.
“What I love about Modern Shed is there’s so much demand for our product.” Marc has seen and heard the concerns from potential clients who are excited about what we do, but our sales and manufacturing teams are just so busy that we’re not able to get it done for them. “That is step one moving forward: being able to fulfill demand and deliver what they want. And not just any shed, but deliver a service and a quality that Modern Shed is known for.”
“I always wanted to buy a smaller business and run it. One of the things that drew me to Modern Shed was my family now lives in an area and time where there’s a massive housing shortage, and a lot of challenges to expanding the square footage of your existing home, which is also happening across the US. I did some investigating, talked to Ryan (Smith/founder) and Tim (Vack/GM) and listened to their approach to the solution and saw a huge opportunity to grow and expand the company, and provide a quality product to anyone who wants it, all across the country.”
“My long-term view is that, as housing prices continue to increase, more and more people are relying on their home as an investment in their financial stability. We want to make sure that when you’re making investments in improving your most valuable asset, your Modern Shed is truly an extension of your home, not just a place to store bikes and rakes. This could be an office, a gym, or even a second living room.”
The Modern Shed team is excited to work with Marc to implement his vision of scaled operations and expanded offerings, and appreciate his drive and enthusiasm for all that we do! We look forward to bringing you continued excellence in quality and service, with style.
SONOMA COUNTY – Paige always knew that having a beautiful home library was a priority. Growing up, her family amassed an extensive collection of beautiful and rare books, many that she looks forward to passing on to her own kids someday. But when Paige and her husband began remodeling their current home, a library/office took a back seat to other more costly projects.
However, as the COVID pandemic wore on through the summer of 2020, Paige knew it was time for her dream space to take precedence.
“In August, I had just started researching home office sheds online. My daughter was getting ready to start her senior year of high school, and we all really needed our own space to work,” she recalls. “I had a vision for an office shed that could also be a Secret Garden escape to read and relax. And taking care of our library collection was a huge concern; I had to be sure we could control temperature and moisture to protect those treasures.”
Paige enlisted her son to help sketch up some ideas for her, and continued to make calls and do research. “It was between [Modern-Shed] and another large shed supplier. They gave me their standard, out-of-the box option and told me, ‘It will probably work fine.’ But when I talked to [my Design Pro] Jeff Bergerson, he really took the time to understand our vision and help perfect it. He really bought in to the whole idea!” Paige was so impressed with the care that Jeff took to both meet her aesthetic and care for her book collection, she knew that Modern-Shed would best meet her needs.
Paige decided on a 12 x 10’ size shed, with 2 windows and sliding doors built on a standard foundation. She choose dragonfly green color for the exterior paint and blue inside. To finish the interior space, she went with custom shelving and found an amazing chaise to complete the relaxing library. The installation took about a week, and then finishing the interior took just a couple weeks more. And by November, Paige’s daughter was setting up her laptop for school every day in their new space!
“My kids just love going back there for a quiet retreat, and the neighbors have all asked where they can get a shed like ours! We tell everyone to call Modern-Shed.”
Paige also advises potential clients to be realistic about the costs of each aspect of the building and finishing. “Jeff was great about walking me through his estimates for each step of the process, but I tried to convince him I could get it done for less. At the end of the day, though, Jeff was right on!”
“It was totally worth it,” Paige adds, “to get exactly the space we wanted and know that it’s done right.” We’re thrilled Paige and her family can enjoy their back yard escape for years to come!
Modern-Shed is excited to welcome a fresh face to our social media and marketing team!
Rachael comes to us from the Denver area with a background in digital marketing and customer relations. She has been embracing the work-from-home life for over a decade, using that freedom and flexibility to raise her two kids while growing her career.
“When everything shut down last March,” she says, “I was grateful to already be in a position where I could manage my work and homeschooling the kids. It wasn’t easy, but we set our schedules and dedicated workspace, and made it through!” Having a great partner who was also working from home definitely helped too, she added.
“I was very excited to come across the opportunity to work with Modern-Shed as the Social Media Director. My experience in marketing to the interior design and industrial manufacturing communities made for a seamless transition into the ADU and extensible living space world. We’re already looking at our HOA covenants to see how we can add additional living space and storage to our home.”
When Rachael isn’t out enjoying everything the Rocky Mountains has to offer, you can find her right here on our blog, newsletters, and of course our social media channels like Facebook and Instagram. Connect with Modern-Shed today to find out how we can get you the space you need to live your best life!
PALM DESERT — When Tom and Casi moved into their 1,740-square-foot Palm Desert home four years ago, they identified a spot where Tom could eventually have a home office.
Each of them work from home — Casi works as a financial consultant for a high-end designer, while Tom, a former stand-up comedian and actor, writes content for programs such as awards shows or music specials for a Hollywood producer.
When it came to their new home, they worked with their builder/designer to create a space exactly how Tom wanted it — however, Casi was the first to land a job, so Tom found himself back to where he started, working from various spots in the house, such as the dining room table.
“Her jobs tend to be long-term, while mine are a month at a time,” Tom said. “The office became hers, so I patched along for a couple of years.”
When the COVID pandemic struck, they began to research home offices they could put up in the backyard. Their experience with Modern-Shed went quickly.
“We were stuck at home, and in late August, well into the COVID experience, I showed Casi what I had seen online,” Tom recalled. “To my surprise, she agreed to build one. Our first email was sent in September and we were building in November.”
Tom was attracted to the design of Modern-Shed, with the transom windows and the look of the wood coming from the eaves. Casi watched all of the videos on Modern-Shed’s gallery online to get a sense of everything someone could do with a shed.
If you’re just joining us, check out our previous posts about being mentally prepared, physically prepared and operationally prepared for Working From Home. In this post, we’ll talk more about getting the work done amid distractions.
The Key Word: Discipline
As I mentioned in earlier posts, staying focused on work can be challenging while working from home. The inclination to go to the fridge, do laundry or other chores are “in your face” when you are at home unless you have a completely separated space like a Modern-Shed. If you are in the dining room or down the hall, it is all too tempting to throw a load of laundry in or get a snack from the fridge. Here are some ideas to help keep those distractions under control.
Avoid the kitchen and use it as you might a “break room” at your old workplace. Keep a small fridge in your workspace to keep snacks and beverages in. Not that taking a break is a bad thing– it isn’t — but not if it is a several times during the day.
Schedule times during the day for a specific “break” to see your kids, talk to your partner, take a short walk or exercise.
Create rules in the home regarding interruptions by loved ones. Talk with loved ones about urgent, critical, important, or can it wait until after work hours? interruptions
Dress for work if it helps you stay focused and makes you feel like you are “at work”.
If you feel compelled to do something that could pull you away from work, such as laundry, set a timer on your phone beforehand for 5-10 min in case you go off on a tangent.
Set your alarm: Some folks can be on a flexible schedule but most need to be at work certain times of the day. Be careful not to run into the trap of “… oh, I can get to that later…” or “…I could work tonight instead of today…” I suggest keeping regular work hours and ask the boss what they require from you. If you are recently self-employed, create your work hours, track them, and stick to it.
Some of you may have never set up a computer before because you have an IT person at work. My guess is that if that is the case, your IT person will guide you to get things set up at home. Many businesses use a virtual environment or remote desktop that, once set up, your IT department can access.
As stated in an earlier blog post, your desk size and location are of utmost importance. Two of our Modern-Shed employees have monitor arms which allow their external monitors to be positioned any which way that suites them. This is very helpful for numerous reasons, not the least of which is switching it up occasionally to make things more interesting or moving your personal position in relation to sunlight as the seasons change.
Plenty of desk space, plenty of natural light!
My monitors sit on my desk but swivel and go up and down. They are also curved slightly which helps the transition from one to the other and keeps the screens a better relative distance to my eyes. Typical computer systems include a computer or laptop, keyboard, mouse, monitor(s) and printer. If you use a laptop with a built-in keyboard and trackpad, I highly suggest getting an external ergonomic keyboard and mouse … believe me, it will make your daily computer tasks much easier and help reduce chance of carpel tunnel.
The first purchase after your desk and chair is a high-quality surge suppressing outlet station with enough outlets for your computer, monitor(s), and any other expensive equipment. These units help control power to these items and reduce the chance of damage in the event of a power surge through your home. Continue reading →
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