Keep Your Man Cave – I’ll Daydream In My “She Shed”

Apr 24, 2015

For years we’ve heard about “man caves” and seen them in all their glory, the wooden walls adorned with pennants from their favorite sports teams and poster of pin-up girls, big screen television in one corner and a fridge stocked with Coors Light next to the leather sofa. But what about the women in their life? Surely they must have an equivalent type of space to find solace right?

They do, and we call them “she sheds”, a phenomenon which has undoubtedly existed in one form or another for centuries. Unlike their male counterparts, women tend to have a bit more decorating sense, and infuse their personal space with a unique style that’s purposeful. Today we share some of our favorite she-sheds with you, and perhaps you’ll draw inspiration from these to create your own backyard haven.

#1. It’s always ladies night in this retro diner. Milkshakes and Marghertas anyone?

Anne and Ian Bate via dailymail.co.uk

#2. Your man won’t be caught dead stepping inside this garden oasis!

Via Cottage Gardening

#3. A fitting spot to do a bit of writing perhaps, summoning the soul of Virgina Woolf.

Via Wooden House

#4. A scarlet bohemian style place to enjoy a cup of tea perhaps, or hang out with your reading circle.

Cuprinol via dailymail.co.uk

#5. A potting paradise for the garderner

Via Heather Bullard

#6. My quiet spot, surrounded by nature and fresh air…

Ann and Brian Bailey via Goodreadsdailymail.co.uk

#7. I’ll just be in my yoga studio, you know, drinking wine…

Cuprinol via dailymail.co.uk

#8. The she shed is where the heart is!

Jamie and Gemma Dix via dailymail.co.uk

#9. Because you need the right inspiration for your potting studio.

Via Wooden House

#10. Put a palm tree in here and have a staycation.

Via Coastal Home

#11. And to think men put lawnmowers and tools in here – this seems like a much better use of the space!

Via House to Home

#12. Even your plants need a bit of inspiration.

Via Better Homes and Gardens

#13. A shabby chic Victorian styled escape to romanticize the day away

Via tinyhouseblog

#14. While he’s watching the “big game” with the guys I’ll be in my Victorian manor with my ladies enjoying a peaceful spot of tea.

#15. The perfect setting for a secret ladies-only dinner club.

via pinterest.com

#16. Don’t even try to park your lawnmower in here!

If you could have your own she-shed what would you use it for? Let us know in the comments below!

I could see plenty of excuses to retreat to my own personal space like this. All I’d need is an electric wire fence around the perimeter to ensure total privacy from the kids and husband, am I right?

5 Dull Garages Reincarnated As Beautiful Backyard Cottages

Apr 23, 2015

If you have a garage that doesn’t get much use, sometimes it makes sense to convert it into an accessory dwelling unit (ADU), which can serve as an extra place to host guests or even a secondary income generator.

The Piedmont

This 300sf cottage sits in the backyard behind the owners primary North Portland residence and serves as a vacation rental unit that earns some extra income.

Coastal Retreat

Arguably one of the more stylish conversions we’ve seen, this sunny California cottage was designed by Beth Dana Design.

Michelle De La Vega’s Conversion

This artist wanted to earn a bit of extra income and decided to convert her garage into this industrial-chic dwelling. An artist and metalworker by trade, you can tell she stamped her own style into the construction, which she did herself.

Photographs by Ira Lippke for New York Times

Maison Garage

Located in Bordeaux, France, this garage underwent the most dramatic transformation on the list. While searching for properties in Bordeaux, the only place within his budget was a dusty garage that his friends thought was a terrible idea – but he purchased it anyway and enlisted help from an architect friend to transform it into a modern bachelor pad that’s oozing with style.

Bright & Spacious Cottage

When the owner of this backyard cottage contacted ART Design Build, they devised a plan to convert the seldom used one car garage into a bright and airy little cottage. Judging by the results, that was a great decision, and the execution was flawless, resulting in a stylish space with a folding murphy bed, loft, full kitchen and bathroom.

Photos by Tsantes Photography

While these designs might get your creative juices flowing, unfortunately it’s not always that easy to get permission to convert your garage into a space like this because of local ordinances. However, assuming you live in an area where you can legally modify your garage in such a way, it seems like a great idea.

She Built This “Prairie Castle” From A Recycled Grain Bin

Apr 13, 2015

For a long time Kate Morris held close a dream inspired by the undulating hills and vast expanse of the Montana prairie. She had always been awe-struck by the serene countryside and the structures that rose from it out of nowhere. Specifically, she had a fondness for massive, cylindrical grain storage bins. Her dream was to one day to build a house out of one of them.

Her dream took flight when she purchased an old grain bin and assembled it on the 250 acre lot that she inherited from her father. Shortly after, she realized that building a house was quite a bit more work than she thought, especially when involving such an unorthodox starting point.

That’s when she enlisted Nick Pancheau, an architect who she had taught in grade school many years before. The two were off to the races, adding boxy punched openings for windows and designing solutions that would transform the cold steel bin into a 900-square-foot home with a cozy and efficient layout.

She came up with creative solutions, like using a mechanic tool bin for a kitchen island, and fashioning a kitchen table with two sawhorses and a piece of plywood.

Using OSB boards with a polyurethane finish helps keep the costs down, and keeps in line with the utilitarian nature of the space.

While many windows afford her that precious view of the prairie, a line of windows in the kitchen faces the interior wall of the bin.

Given the extensive customization needed, the total cost for this project wasn’t too bad, coming in at just over $200k (not including the land). Kate Morris’ couldn’t be happier with her prairie castle, and enjoys the creative approach involved with making it a comfortable place to spend her days.

He Built His Family A Hobbit House From Scraps For $4500

Apr 10, 2015

Simon Dale isn’t your ordinary father and this is no ordinary home. After he decided paying a mortgage and incurring debt wasn’t the greatest thing, he moved his family to the Wales countryside. Armed with a hammer, chainsaw, and a chisel, and with no prior building experience, he set to work constructing a home for his family that Bilbo Baggins himself would envy.

He began with some rough sketches to flesh out the idea…

While his wife and two children camped out nearby, he began framing the exterior using felled timber from the forest. The process took him four months.

If you can believe it, he had zero prior experience in carpentry and architecture! Regardless, he learned how to timber frame and use strawbale techniques just fine.

Giving his son a lesson on structural safety…

“Being your own have-a-go architect is a lot of fun and allows you to create and enjoy something which is part of yourself and the land rather than, at worst, a mass-produced box designed for maximum profit and the convenience of the construction industry.”

He used lime plaster on the walls as an alternative to cement and other potentially carcinogenic materials.

The interior is simply stunning, with a magical aura penetrating every corner.

A living roof of grass and moss covers the roof.

The home blends right into the hillside, becoming a natural part of its surroundings.

Unfortunately the local government pushed the family out of this home, citing a lack of proper permits as the reason. However, since building the home in 2003 the family has since moved into a new home, but Simon continues to work on other similar projects, both for his family and others. This hobbit house remains intact and serves as inspiration for others, along with a place for You can see more of his work on his website, http://simondale.net

This Luxury Bunker Will Make Any Prepper/Survivalist Jealous

Apr 9, 2015

When most folks build a “bug-out” shelter for the approaching end-of-days scenario, they take a fairly straightforward approach. Dig a hole, bury a container, hide lots of water, and just enough supplies to survive. Not this guy. He wanted a more permanent residence, where his family and a few others could carry on existing in comfort. So he got in touch with Al’s Army Navy Store to arrange the purchase and installation of several 32′ x 10′ corrugated tubes that cost around $60k each.

The foundation for the underground bunker is shown prior to being buried underground.

An inconspicuous square opens to reveal the entrance to this underground domain.

When the zombies come or the sky begins to fall just climb down the ladder to gain entrance into this hidden home.

Welcome to your new home! You are now 20′ underground.

Stacked bunk beds offer a place to catch some zz’s while the world falls apart overhead.

The kiddos don’t seem to mind the prospect of their new digs one bit. We’ll see how well they adapt once they learn there’s no exiting.

Demonstrating the under storage beneath the beds…

This news anchor takes a tour of the home, and exits through the secret escape hatch.

There’s a working kitchen, though we don’t see any stovetop. We’re thinking Sunday mornings without pancakes might not exist in the post-apocalyptic world…

A diner-style table provides a place to gather and share stories of zombie killings and fending off roaming vagrants.

A bunch of stinky teenagers living in tight quarters would be enough to drive most people back up the escape hatch to face reality. Luckily there’s a full bathroom, with a 2-in-1 combo washer to ensure your clothes stay fresh.

I hope they have a stockpile of DVDs somewhere!

The master bedroom seems nice. Does she come with it?

These images show the layout of the secret bunker, accessible through the main home.

The Atlas Survival Shelter comes complete with bunk beds that have under-the-lid storage, an escape hatch for emergency attacks, mudrooms with a lockable laser cut interior door, countertops, a kitchen with a sink, low voltage electric lights, electric outlets and a toilet. If that doesn’t impress you much, you can also go for the optional flatscreen TV, shortwave radios, camera surveillance, 300-5,000 gallon water tanks, 100-500 gallon fuel storage tanks, DVD player, power-generating exercise bicycle, red oak cabinets and beds, solar panels, restroom facility or an electric toilet with tank. Sounds like you’ll have just about everything needed to stay happy, healthy, and safe!

A Green Courtyard Grows Inside This Renovated Home

Apr 9, 2015

Architect Andrew Maynard saw endless potential when he looked at a ragged old apartment in Seddon, Australia. He saw light and air, ground and sky, inside and out. He saw an opportunity to create something truly unique: a home that literally blurs the lines between shelter and landscape.

The inside out home makes one emphatic, yet simple architectural expression in the form of an extruded space topped with a symmetrical gabled roof. The result is a modern play on traditional vernacular and presents a blank canvas that is then painted with open walls, neck pinching skylights and greenery that seeps in from the surrounding gardens.

It must feel nice to take a hot bath with the sun shining down and nature surrounding you.

The architects have dubbed the project as “deliberately incomplete,” which is made clear by the ruin-like aesthetic of unfinished walls and roofs. Of course, certain areas of the home can still be closed off from the elements, but a large section of the living space is only semi-conditioned, leaving it up to mother nature to control the interior comfort.

Former Horse Stable Turned Into A Rustic Dream Home

Apr 8, 2015

A once rotting and abandoned shell of what was once a horse stable has been transformed into this stunning dream home. Designed by Abaton Architects, the home sits nestled between the rolling hills of Spain’s Extremadura region and uses natural, raw exterior materials such as stone and unfinished wood to blend itself with the surrounding landscape.

Cat walks circulate around the upper perimeter of the main living space and allow people to easily move about while preserving the sense of open space.

The open floor plan creates light and airy interior spaces subtly accented by a soft, muted material palette. The main focus seems to be centered on framing the spectacular views.

While the original horse stable proved too decayed to be used as a foundation, you can see how it played a role in the inspiration behind the overall design.

The architect made sure the countryside is always at arms reach by punching tall openings at every opportunity. The home literally spills out into the landscape and locks the grade in place with a series of terraced rock walls, culminating at the bottom with a swimming pool that overlooks the valley floor.

This Adult Version Of A “Treehouse” Reminds Us Of Our Childhood Dreams

Apr 8, 2015

This 800sf treehouse by Castanes Architects brings a modern twist to the idea of what a treehouse is, and shows us that remembering what it was like be young again has its advantages. 16 foot tall ceilings and a towering wall of glass highlight the single-story cabin, found in Hood Canal, Washington.

The distorted scale makes it appear deceptively small from afar, but a closer look reveals a behemoth of a structure that has room enough underneath it to give shelter to a pair of cars. A motorized staircase lowers to the ground, and raises when the owners are away for security. A cantilevered deck extends the main living space past the tall glass facade.

The interior displays simple decor, with light toned woods radiating a gentle warmth. A vintage wood fireplace anchors the space and draws attention upward to the exposed beams high above.

Moving Walls Allow This Home To Adapt As Needed

Apr 7, 2015

A while back we profiled a very interesting home that used a row of moving walls to create unique spatial arrangements. This offered the owner a creative way to make the most with their small space. Today we take a peek at another similar setup, which is equally fascinating.

They call it the “barcode” room, perhaps because of the appearance of the walls when squished together. The concept was designed by Studio01, and received a special design award and was shown at Tokyo’s Designer Week 2012. The blend of unfinished plywood, white walls, and light flooring may not appeal to everyone, but the focus here is on utility – not interior design.

Studio01 says the “furniture walls” move freely from side to side, allowing the owner to configure the room to his needs.

Most of the furniture works double-duty. Shown above you can see the four blocks functioning as a bed support and below they work as seats for the dining table.

Going forward we hope to see more building plans made available for others to complete something like this. It seems like a great way to build an affordable living space that brings a ton of functionality with it.

This Family Built A 100% Sustainable Floating Offgrid Eco-Fortress

Apr 7, 2015

Growing up, most of us had a friend whose parents owned an impressive house, but I guarantee none of us had a friend with a place like this. Owned by Catherine King and Wayne Adams, this eco-fortress of sorts can be found floating off the coastal inlet of Cypress Bay in British Columbia.

They call it “Freedom Cove” and the colorful offgrid home consists of a series of 12 structures. They share the place with their two children, Eleanor and Alistair, and seem to have a great system in place that has allowed them to live a self-sustainable existence for 20+ years.

There’s a greenhouse and garden system that provides food year-round. At one point they even had a hen-house, but were discouraged by the frequent attacks by hungry sea creatures. The family takes advantage of the heavy rain during the winter to collect water, and uses a waterfall nearby in the summer. Electricity comes courtesy solar panels and photovoltaic generators.

A wooden walkway connects each of the unique structures and the bright pinks and blues accenting the entire layout do more than hint at the couple’s artistic skills.

The couple earns extra income from their art – Catherine is a painter, writer, and wood carver, and Wayne sells carvings and candles in nearby gift shops.

Below you can see the workshop where Wayne does most of his carving, along with some close-ups of the finished candles.

If you’re in the area and want to check this place out, your in luck because curious visitors can take a boat tours of Freedom Cove or a sea kayak tour to get a personal tour.. In fact, they encourage visitors to spend time on the fortress.

This certainly has to be one of the most impressive offgrid homes we’ve seen. While the lifestyle isn’t for everyone, those looking for inspiration to escape mainstream society and forge a life of their own can find inspiration in their story.

Thanks to http://www.vanguarddivers.com/