Under the Cedar Tree

SEATTLE — “This was a cool way to have our backyard actually work for us.”

Eric and Rebecca are counting the ways that their Modern-Shed Airbnb, actually two sheds connected by a deck, has been a positive addition in their lives.

Already comfortable with renting their entire house on Airbnb when they go on vacation, the couple started to think about building an additional unit in their backyard to bring in additional revenue.

“We were really looking at how it would be a good idea to do that to off-set the mortgage and add to the square footage of the house to raise the equity of the home,” Eric says. “Once I realized adding 240 square feet would effectively pay off the construction cost in equity, it was a no-brainer. That is more or less what happened. If I can increase the monthly cashflow by $1500 or $2000 a month through the profit of an Airnb and if we wanted to sell the house, we’d make all the cost back, then why not do it?

Another positive? Eric and Rebecca’s 1914-built pre-Crafstman-style home in south Seattle sits elevated from street level, and the backyard, while picturesque with a large Cedar tree out back, wasn’t a space that was fully functional or that they couple spent large amounts of time in.

“We have a cool backyard, but we weren’t really using it, and we didn’t have a reason to make it look nice,” Eric says. “Now, it’s a little secluded place that other people can enjoy.”

Modern-Shed, which Eric found through Google and Instagram, not only had the style that Eric was looking for, but the prefabricated element of the sheds made it easy to haul parts up the two flights of stairs you need to traverse to reach the house and backyard from the street.

“When I looked at building something in the backyard at first, it was kind of a nightmare,” Eric recalls. “What was attractive to me about Modern-Shed is you can carry all aspects remotely to the site without any heavy equipment, no crane. There would be no other way to get a solid structure built.”

Modern-Shed design professional Mike Probach responded quickly to Eric’s requests and worked well with the couple to help them figure out the logistics of potentially needing a permit in Seattle.

“Mike helped us figure out what we needed to do to build it without triggering costly construction permits that would make it not workable for us cost-wise,” Eric says.

Eric and Rebecca’s Modern-Sheds are 15 minutes from Seatac Airport and close to amenities and access to I-5.

The sheds feature a shed with a double bed and restroom with a composting toilet and shower, and another shed with a kitchenette, desk and couch that can turn into a single bed. There is also central heating, cable TV, and WiFi.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The sheds were built in January, landscaping was finished in May, and by mid-June, the place was already up for renters.

The cozy guest house features a shed for  earns rave reviews: Book your stay today — https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/34815725