SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA — This past spring, as the country began to grapple with the impacts of COVID-19, Kevin started thinking of the future.

“I began working from home and my kids were home from school, and I could see, looking down the road, that we might be in this for awhile,” he said. “This thing might rear its head again soon, and if that’s the case, I knew I would need a place of privacy to do my work, and the kids would as well.”

Now, with fall approaching and the “new normal” fully in swing, Kevin is happy he made the choice to build a Modern-Shed this past July. In fact, he wishes he had built one “years ago.”

Kevin is able to work from home for his job in the entertainment industry, and his two children — a high-school student and a college freshman — are both at home doing school remotely. His wife goes into work as an essential worker in the Public Works field.

“We had been toying with the idea of doing a shed for a few years,” he said. “Modern-Shed was on my radar because I liked the way they looked and it wasn’t just something that was a shed turned into an office — it was purpose-built, whether they’re for an ADU or a hobby shed.”

Kevin and his wife, Michele, live in a 1400-square-foot home built in the 1950s, with a backyard that wasn’t being utilized as much prior to building a Modern-Shed.

Expanding the home wasn’t cost-effective, so building a Modern-Shed that could be a “catch-all” room was the way to go.

They built a 10’ by 12’ Modern-Shed that was erected in 2.5 days.

“Before you know it, it comes and it’s here,” Kevin said. 

Kevin had an easy time work with Modern-Shed design professional Jeff Bergerson, who helped him save on costs when he could.

“Jeff helped me save some money here and there, wherever he could,” Kevin recalled. “He walked me through any sort of questions I had, about one siding versus another, or about how I wanted the windows in a certain position and advising me what would be load-bearing and not. He was very straightforward and helped me plan out my costs.”

Kevin outsourced the electrical, flooring and drywall work. He opted for a sliding glass door and small windows on the east-facing side. 

He drew much of his inspiration from looking at photos on our website of other sheds. 

“I knew I I didn’t want to have too much light coming in, since we already had some from the transom windows,” he said. “I had a good feeling it was already going to get a fair amount of natural light. A lot of my work requires color accuracy on my monitor, so I didn’t want a lot of light on my computer.”

The shed — which is primarily used as a study room for his daughter, the college freshman — came out better than the family could have hoped for.

“We are ultimately super happy,” Kevin said. “I wish we had done this years ago. Sometimes it takes something like working remotely and everything going on to push you in the direction.”