BOTHELL — When Alyse and Jesse discovered Modern-Shed, they realized that it was exactly what they’d been looking for.
A huge fan of the online pinning board Pinterest, Alyse often found herself perusing the site’s garden section, pinning photos of a variety of greenhouses that might complement her backyard.
More and more, she began to see photos of sheds that looked more like modular, chic studios, rather than a typical garden tool shed.
After more research, Alyse discovered Modern-Shed, based in neighboring Seattle.
“We’ve lived in our home for nine years,” Alyse says. “It’s a three-bedroom house that we love, but I work from home part-time and we have a two-year-old daughter. There is an expiration date on the house that has been approaching.”
The couple had considered adding onto their home and even moving in order to have more space.
“Jesse plays music and he’s been dying for his own space and so have I,” Alysa says. “Everything we saw wasn’t a viable option until we saw Modern-Shed. It was like, ‘Oh my gosh, people can actually live in these and have guestrooms and offices.’”
Alyse visited Modern-Shed’s Facebook page, which “opened the floodgates,” she says.
“It’s cool to see the specs on the website, but it was even better to see what other people were doing with their sheds,” Alyse says.
Once they decided to move forward with Modern-Sh
ed, the couple knew they wanted two sheds.
While Jesse wanted the space to play on his drums, practice his guitars and mix music, Alyse, who works part-time from home for Bing Maps, wanted not only to be able to work in peace, but also have the room to think creatively.
In addition to work, Alyse’s Modern-Shed is also her space to make jewelry and work on scrapbooking.
Eventually they decided to build two 12’ by 16’ sheds, instead of building a larger 12’ by 24’ unit with two rooms.
“We have very different styles and we wanted the sheds to fit in the yard without overtaking it,” Alyse says. “The biggest thing for us was that because they are under 200 square feet, we didn’t need a building permit.”
Being able to plan, design, build and live in a new Modern-Shed within three months was very appealing.
“We had considered adding on, but it’s a huge rigamarole with the city and then you have to work with contractors for months,” Alyse says. “With a young daughter, that’s just not something we wanted to do.”
The couple liked that Modern-Shed could build sheds that could withstand the wet weather of the Pacific Northwest.
“We went with Modern-Shed because we wanted the experience they had,” Alyse says. “I was pulled in by the videos on the website. I saw it as a long-term investment. It’s not just a temporary solution.”
Alyse describes her style as rich in color, but modern, while her husband gravitates more toward a warm, lodge-y aesthetic.
Alyse’s Modern-Shed home office is painted in a rich blue and has large, wide windows and a sliding glass door to maximize the amount of natural light that comes in.
She plans to also design her garden around the new studio.
“Because I work from home a lot and because we live in the Northwest, I wanted as much natural light as possible and to feel like I was close to my outdoor space,” Alyse says. “My first love is gardening. Also, with making jewelry, natural light is important.”
While the same size, Jesse’s Modern-Shed music studio feels more intimate with tan and red accents on the walls and fewer windows.
“For him, he really just needed the space,” Alyse says. “Since he plays guitar and drums, he had to think about soundproofing, which is easier to do with smaller windows.”
The couple would consider another Modern-Shed because the process was so simple and easy, Alyse says.
“It’s instant gratification,” she says. “Modern-Shed was really flexible and easy to work with, and the staff was phenomenal … Everybody who sees the sheds is impressed. They’re impressed because it’s not a billion-dollar solution. It’s a simple solution.”
