| By :
Jamie Simpson
Most people think of a shed and they imagine a dark, cobwebby structure filled with gardening tools -- everything from wheelbarrows and pruners to rakes and shovels. Sometimes, it could be filled with the household sporting equipment -- volleyball nets, bicycles, skateboards. But sheds can be used in much more innovative and creative ways, making them a structure that adds to the design and decor of your yard as well as adding useable and uncluttered space for your family. For example, a shed can be a writer's retreat or library. Add a small gas stove or wood-burning stove and it can develop an aura of a small cabin in the woods. Fill shelves with books and board games, add a game table for the family and you might find it a welcome retreat space. Some sheds can be created as indoor/outdoor spaces with double-hinged panel doors that allow the entire wall of a shed to be opened to the elements. A carefully designed patio extends the space and makes the environment even more enticing. This type of shed also can double as an outdoor kitchen for use in entertaining and summer barbecues. For families with children, sheds can be designed as a play area -- a space that allows parents to send their kids out to play even when it's raining and know that they will be fine. This type of shed often can be built with a ladder and loft area to create a treehouse-like experience, allowing kids to feel that they truly have their own secret hideaway. But if your shed is built for any of these uses, what is to happen to all the needed tools of family life? Those wheelbarrows and shovels and bicycles? The beauty of building an innovative shed lies in creating the structure for a double-purpose use. Many sheds can have one large storage space reachable from both inside and outside for tools and other storage uses. Then, the remaining two-thirds of the shed space can be designed with a retreat in mind -- everything from the writers studio to the kids' playroom or an artisan space. Just remember the key to having a shed that you use and enjoy lies more in organization of the space. Sheds can be designed with this in mind. The wide doors that open to the outside, for example. Additionally, built-in nooks and shelves go a long way toward organization. And if you need a large space, sheds come in many sizes and styles. Some are as small as 100 square feet while others rival the size of a small house. They key is figuring out your needs and then selecting the solution that will help your family the best.
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