PORTLAND — When Kristen used to work from her home’s spare bedroom turned home office, she found herself wasting a lot of time.

“I would think, ‘I should be working. I should be writing this article,’” recalls Kristen, a freelance automotive writer and book editor. “Instead, I’d putter around and read and go downstairs and then realize I hadn’t gotten any work done.”

Kristen began doing Internet research on how to have a separate work space — the idea seemed to be gaining traction, as more people gravitate toward having a home office separate from their home, she said.

In most of the articles she read, Modern-Shed kept popping up.

“I went to Modern-Shed’s website and downloaded the catalog and kept going back to it,” Kristen said. “By the end of February of this year, I made the decision to call.”

Kristen hasn’t looked back since — she purchased a 10’ by 12’ shed, which she personalized with green panels indoors (inspired by the leaves of a wild iris she saw on a hike) and inspirational quotes.

“It’s made a difference already,” said Kristen. “I just needed that mental break. My Modern-Shed is still in the backyard, so I can see my house from here. But it makes a difference to have to go out the back door, cross the yard and go into a separate space.”

Now, when Kristen’s at home, in her 100-year-old house, she spends time with her husband, three cats and her dog.

And when’s she’s at her Modern-Shed writer’s studio, she’s writing.

“When I’m out here, there’s really nothing else to do,” said Kristen, whose dog curls up with her in the studio. “It’s really become such a dedicated space already. When I know I’m going to work, I stay out here. If I know I’m not going to work, I stay inside.”