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Backyard shed to studio transformation

Kermit
Amassing an Audience
Kermit
Kermit
Amassing an Audience

An old backyard shed with broken windows and a leaking roof was transformed into a funky studio perfect for working from home.

 

 

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The project

 

I was organising my photos over the weekend and stumbled across our shots for a project at our old inner city house.

 

When we bought it, there was a grungy old brick shed in the small paved backyard that had an outdoor loo and climber all over it.

 

It was dark and dingy with broken windows and a broken door.

 

It was even pretty useless as a storage shed as the roof leaked - it just had various bits of old unsecured tin (and even bits of cardboard!) as a roof. 

 

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We wanted to use it as a backyard studio/office space so wanted to make it a lot lighter and more pleasant inside, add a sink and some storage space.

 

First we opened up the front so we could install some sliding doors.

 

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Opening up the side with glass and sliding door was a great move for a reasonably small space like this. It made it feel so much lighter and brighter, and was particularly handy in summer.

 

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Then we added a pitched roof to make things more spacious inside. A pitched roof would also allow us to have a loft-style storage space over the separate toilet.

 

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Having the high pitched roof on a relatively small structure was a great move to make it feel more spacious and add precious storage.

 

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After painting the bricks, we added a few finishing touches like simple curtains and a step using some of the old bricks. We were really happy with the finished result. It was a very cheap transformation but really increased the value of the house for us (and hopefully the future owners, too).

 

In inner-city places space is always at a premium so it was great to have a large and separate home office. It was also a space that was very cool in summer and easy to warm in winter.  

 

Before and after

 

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Other backyard studio projects 

 

Bunnings Workshop member TheSaltyreefer built a large 6m x 9m studio for his finance to work from home, with regular video updates of the build as it progressed.

 

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Currently still a work in progress, the DIYgals are already receiving plenty of accolades for their new backyard studio project.

 

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Workshop community manager Jason replaced an old garage with a bespoke poolside studio, complete with storage room and bathroom.

 

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Comments
Dave-1
Community Megastar

Good Morning @Kermit 

Love it! Thats a lot of work but so worth it :smile: The high pitched roof is a nice thing to have for sure. It would really ad dto the airy feeling of the space. Did you line the underside of it with plaster/timber or leave it bare?

 

Any chance of an outside shot to show the roof line more so? :smile:

 

Dave

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