Size: 288 square feet (27 square meters) Where it is: On a sprawling riverfront property in Michigan Hardworking feature: Instead of tearing down an unused garage, these homeowners gave it new life as a garden-shed getaway. Judi Duncan Yantiss took the opportunity during her home’s renovation to revive an unused garage that came with her property. She saved windows from a cabin being renovated in their area and installed them around the shed’s perimeter. A contractor raised the foundation and installed a cupola on top. Since the shed is so close to the house, she wanted it to look like the home, and installed every single cedar shake with her husband. “This, I guess, is the playhouse I never had,” she says. Now she can read or relax on a hammock she has hung inside or even have guests spend the night. “Time means nothing and escapes me in this familiar structure. Minutes and hours pass, and I am totally in that moment more than at any other time,” says Yantiss.
2. Going Off the Grid in 140 Square Feet Vina Lustado spent $40,000 designing and building her Ojai, California, home, which is just 140 square feet. She pays $200 a month to rent the land her tiny home sits on. Location: Ojai, California Size: 140 square feet (13 square meters); 1 bedroom, 1 bathroom That’s interesting: Lustado considers this her “forever house.”
Cost: You can find basic, off-the-shelf sheds made from plastic and resin at local big-box stores for about $600 for a 7-foot by 7-foot unit or around $1,700 for a 15-foot by 8-foot unit. Online prefab companies like Studio Shed sell contemporary units made from cement-board siding and corrugated metal that start at $7,000 for an unfinished 8-foot by 10-foot unit. (The company also offers a lifestyle interior package that includes denim insulation, full electrical wiring and fixtures, seamless drywall cladding and various flooring options.) Larger prefab units can cost upward of $20,000. A custom shed designed by a professional designer will likely start at $50 per square foot but can be as high as $200 per square foot, Conroy says.
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