Exactly the way you want it |

Greater Bay Area — What do you do when you want to jam out, but don’t want to bother your family? That’s where Modern-Shed comes in!

Jeff W. has been playing the guitar since he was 10, and he still owns the first guitar he bought when he was 13.

Now, he has close to 28 instruments, plus amplifiers, pedal effects and more musical accoutrements.

“All of a sudden, it all fills up,” he says. “I realized it was time to move my stuff out of the house. I love playing the guitar, but my family doesn’t want to hear it all the time. So why not take advantage of someting like this when we had the room in the backyard?”

Jeff found Modern-Shed through an Internet search, poring over all sorts of options — Modern-Shed offered him the best layout he could find, and he loved how you can design the sheds the way you want them to be.

His 1920s, Mediterranean-style stucco home has two bedrooms at about 1,300 square feet, but has a deep backyard with a detached garage and a small shed that houses all of their camping gear and sports stuff.

With room for another shed, he contacted Modern-Shed in May and connected with Modern-Shed design pro Jeff Bergerson.

Jeff W. likes how the clerestory windows of Modern-Sheds bring in light, without the glare and direct sunlight that a typical window on a wall can bring.

“You don’t want guitars in direct sunlight,” he says. “I like that I still get a nice, sunny place. The way the sun travels, I can really regulate the way the light comes in.”

Jeff Bergereson helped Jeff W. think critically about the placement of the windows and doors that Jeff W. did choose.

“I had an idea of what I wanted, and he would just listen to what I said and say, ‘You might want to think about this or think about that,'” Jeff says. “He was very helpful in placing my walls and windows. I have two walls without windows. When the summer comes around, my overhang helps shade. I get the sun the way I want it.”

Jeff also researched soundproofing and insulating, and completed the insulation work himself. He applied a triple coat of stucco finish to match his home, which added more insulating properties.

“I can play at a volume I am comfortable with and it doens’t bother anybody,” he says.

Jeff is happy he doesn’t have to worry about disturbing his neighbors or his family anymore. 

“I can do what I need to do,” he says. “When I played in the house I played softly, but some songs need to be heard. It works really nice because you get the sound you like.”

 Jeff advises prospective Modern-Shed customers to take their time and plan out exactly what they want, including how many outlets they should have. He put in 10 because he didn’t want to have to run extension cords around the space. 

“Think about how you want it finished, what kind of light fixtures you want, what kind of floor,” he says. “Make sure you know the electrical part of what you want to do and have a finished product in your head. Think it out so when it’s done it’s exactly the way you want it.”