The right fit

PORTLAND – When Sheila discovered Modern-Shed, she knew it was exactly what she had been looking for.

For about 20 years, Sheila has worked as a licensing agent for artists, working in production design and brokering deals between artists and manufacturers.

Her work often leads to a messy office, and when she moved from California to Portland, her mess came with her.

“I took over the second bedroom right away,” Sheila recalled. “But I wanted to use that room as a real guest bedroom, for when visitors came over. My husband and I started to explore other options. We talked about expanding the house, putting my office in the garage or looking for offices outside of the home. I can do my work from anywhere, but I need a space of my own.”

The most expensive option they considered was moving to a new home entirely.

However, when a friend showed her what Modern-Shed could do in her own backyard, Sheila knew it was the right fit.

“When I first saw it, I thought, ‘That’s exactly what I want,’” she said. “I didn’t look further.”

In addition to being the least costly option they’d considered, another factor for choosing Modern-Shed was the speed at which Modern-Sheds could go up, Sheila said.

“That it was done in three days was ideal,” she said. “I didn’t want construction going on for weeks. That was a big factor, that and that we can take it with us when we leave.”

Sheila and her husband opted for a 10’ by 12’ Modern-Shed, but Sheila loves her new shed so much that she almost wishes she had gone bigger.

“I love it so much that I want more of it,” she said. “I like that I can always add more to it, but I think the size right now is perfect for what I do.”

Sheila chose a green mossy color for her shed, with a dark grey trim.

“I look at a lot of trends for work, and those two colors together seem to be a trend right now,” she said. “I’m a green color. It’s the color of moss, so it fits right into Portland winters. The grey accent sort of grounds it.”

Sheila was happy with the Modern-Shed crew, especially with how flexible they could be.

“I had a fence I thought would have to come down, but they made it work without taking it down,” she said. “There were no obstacles. We added stairs at the last minute, and they didn’t even flinch. They even stayed an extra half day to do it. They all knew their jobs and they all seamlessly did their jobs and knew what they were doing.”

Sheila had the help of an architect to design her shed, in particular with the placement and size of the windows.

Her Modern-Shed home office has two long vertical windows that offer cross-flowing air with two other smaller windows, in addition to the door and clerestory windows.

“The size dictates that I be really judicious with my space,” she said. “Some suggested I go with the largest doors possible, but I felt it was too much of a fishbowl. I have plenty of light. It’s absolutely perfect. I’ve been in there all times of day and night. It’s so well-insulated.”

Overall, Sheila would say that the entire process with Modern-Shed was easy because of the vast array of options available to her and how accommodating her salesman, Mike Probach, was.

“If someone is going to do it, I suggest getting some other eyes on it because a lot of my great ideas came from other people,” she said. “My husband, neighbors, my architect all helped. Mike and Modern-Shed could make anything possible.”