BERKLEY — When Mary moved into her Berkley home 15 years ago, she knew she wanted to replace or revamp the existing shed in her backyard.
As the years passed, Mary, who works in commercial real estate finance, came back every once in awhile to the idea of building a new shed, but it wasn’t until about a year ago that she decided to get more serious.
Her home office doubled as a work space, an art studio and an all-around paperwork magnet.
“My office had both a desk and an art table in there, and it just got to be too much stuff everywhere,” she said. “My father passed away a couple years ago, so there was also a lot of paperwork from that as well.”
Mary also had a new granddaughter and could see retirement ahead within the year.
She wanted to eventually have a space where she could fully immerse herself in her art projects.
“I wanted a place for me to putter around, somewhere I could make quilts for my granddaughter and nephew,” she said. “I liked the idea of having a place where I can walk away from a project instead of taking it down or putting it away.”
Mary found Modern-Shed online last spring, and when she decided to move ahead with building her 10’ by 12’ shed, the process didn’t take very long at all.
“The crew was fantastic,” Mary said. “I think they finished in a day and a half. They were really efficient got along well with landscaping crew. I found that everybody was extremely responsive and very helpful.”
While building her Modern-Shed art space, Mary also revamped her garden and a one-bedroom apartment cottage that’s also on her property.
The garden creates privacy between the Modern-Shed and the cottage, which she plans to furnish and eventually rent out.
Mary now has a workspace to complete her art projects, while also enjoying the view of her garden.
“I like sewing, collage and other different creative projects,” she said. “It’s nice to have it all in one place. I just really haven’t had time for it, but it’s something I’ve always looked forward to having more time to do.”
Mary is also impressed with how peaceful the shed is, despite being located near a busy street.
“I got exactly what I wanted,” she said. “A quiet space to pursue my interests.”