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Souped-up sheds give families new backyard options

Posted at 5:16 PM, Jul 10, 2017
and last updated 2017-07-10 17:16:57-04

Adding another room onto your home can be expensive. So more and more families are now creating a unique space in their backyards; giving them room for hobbies or even growing families.

Kenzie and Carson Sisler have plenty of toys to play with and plenty of shows to watch. And while it seems like they should be enjoying those things in a playroom inside their house, they are actually doing so in a shed outside their house.

"When our parents tell us to go outside we come in here cause it's technically outside," says Kenzie Sisler. "So we can have free time not in our rooms," says Carson Sisler.

At 100-square-feet their clubhouse isn't what comes to mind when you think of a backyard shed.

"The other side is what you might consider a more traditional Tuff Shed," says Shannon Sisler who designed the space. "And this is where we actually store all of our bikes and all of our outdoor gear."

Sisler designed half of the shed for storage and half for a clubhouse, inspired by pictures she saw on Pinterest. She originally wanted to attach a garage and loft to her home, but found the price to be astronomical. So she opted for a shed instead.

"For me I thought this was very cost effective," Sisler says. "I felt like we got a lot for a minimal amount."

Phil Worth works with Tuff Shed, the company that built Sisler's shed.

"I would say that you know anywhere between 10 and 20% of our customers now are using their buildings for a more unique use," Worth says. 

He says he's seen some pretty creative uses for the small buildings.

"We've had people send us photos of buildings that they used as astronomy buildings where we'd have to actually build a way for them to roll back the roof," Worth says. "Or they might be into quilting or you might just need a place to read a book in the backyard."

As much as Kenzie and Carson like their space, their mother may appreciate it even more.

"We still can keep an eye on them but we can actually have some adult time," Sisler says. "So to be honest it's actually a pretty nice compromise."

Proving that now, a shed is much more than simply a shed.

People are using backyard sheds for things like gardening, recording studios, shelters for animals, man caves, she-sheds and even living spaces.