Crafting out a new space

When husband and wife Russ and Fay considered adding onto their home, they quickly realized that the addition would be too costly and time-consuming.

Russ and Fay live in a two-bedroom, 1000-square-foot home and are used to living in small spaces — for several years, the couple sailed halfway across the globe in New Morning, a cruising yacht that they designed themselves.

The couple has sailed more than 16,000 miles, traveling from anchorages in Maine, across the Caribbean, through the Panama Canal, across the Pacific Ocean via the Galapagos to French Polynesia and finally to their home in California.

When they decided to return home full-time, Fay needed the additional space to work on craft projects.

“My husband uses one of the bedrooms for his office, and I was using a furniture piece that converted into a desk in the dining room,” Fay recalled. “I found myself migrating to the dining room table for crafts projects that needed to be tidied up each evening so dinner could be served at that table.”

A landscape designer friend suggested that the couple look at placing a shed in their backyard years ago, so when the time came for more space, Russ and Fay returned to the idea.

“Having an additional 120 square feet of space that became available for full-time use within a couple of months was very appealing,” Fay said. “No architect, no contractor, no building permit … (and) no heavy machinery to dig out a foundation.”

From the time the couple decided to move ahead with a Modern-Shed to the project’s completion took about two months. The only permits the couple needed were for zoning and electricity.

The installation crew, led by Jerry, showed up on time and helped Fay with a custom work bench

“When Jerry tells you he’s going to show up, he’s there,” Fay said. “Jerry and his crew were outstanding.  Polite, engaging, considerate and tidy and open to custom detail projects like the bench.”

Fay shows off her shed to prospective clients in her area.

“I really like and believe in Modern-Shed,” she said. “Life is good.”

— Arla Shephard