The HalfWay House: A Beautiful She Shed
We recently had one of our shed customers send us some photos of her finished out she shed. We were so impressed with what she had done, that we did some more follow-up with her and asked her if we could share her photos and shed story with the rest of the world. Thankfully, she agreed.
It started out as just a storage shed for winter storage of lawn equipment and summer supplies. Jodi wanted a nice shed that would complement her lawn nicely and provide a secure place to protect their lawn chairs, summer toys, lawn mower, and other summer outdoor supplies from the harsh winters. But when summer came the shed was nearly empty. One evening while sitting down in the shed, Jodi had an idea.
THE MOSQUITOES ARE TO BLAME
Jodi and her husband live beside the Jamestown reservoir in North Dakota. This makes for a beautiful setting to hang out in the summer evenings, watching the sun set over the water with family and friends. But, there is one problem: Mosquitoes!
Oftentimes the mosquitoes get so bad in the evenings that it makes hard to sit and relax outdoors. Jodi told us that they will often be driven indoors by these pesky bugs and “once you go in, you don’t go back out.”
But, the mosquito problem gave Jodi an idea. Why not fix the shed up as a nice hangout spot and mosquito escape for the summer when it is nearly empty anyway!?
So, this summer when her daughter and son-in-law came home for a visit, Jodi took advantage of the extra help, and they tackled the project of turning her shed from a plain storage space into a beautiful she shed / hangout space / mosquito escape.
THE MAKING OF THE SHE SHED
Jodi took a very DIY, hand-on approach to her she shed project. She wanted the shiplap look inside, but instead of spending the money on shiplap, they just purchased sheets of plywood and ripped them down in 8” strips for that. A simple paint job later and the walls of the shed looked quite classy.
Jodi used a really nifty light hack to provide lighting for the she shed. Using the “Magic Light Trick”, she retro-fitted some wall sconces with LED light pucks that are battery operated and remote controlled. These sconces are a beautiful touch to the she shed interior and the light from them adds a nice comfortable ambience to the room in the evening hours as the sun is setting.
When we talked to Jodi, she was waiting on the arrival of some exterior solar shades from Blindster.com that she will install over the doors. These will spell the defeat for the mosquitoes when they launch their regular attacks.
Jodi and her daughter did an amazing job at interior decorating and furniture setup also. In talking about the furnishings she said, “I made sure to buy furnishings that fold down and take minimum footprint space to accommodate our lawn mower and golf cart for the winter.”
A NEW KIND OF HALFWAY HOUSE
Jodi and her family have dubbed the she shed “The HalfWay House.” But it’s not your normal halfway house. ? The shed is situated halfway between their house and the lake. Hence the inspiration for the name.
Jodi reports that she is making really good use of her new shed retreat space. She will often go down, open up both sets of double doors and relax in the she shed. “I read, paint, have sleepovers with kids, entertain friends, and watch sunsets from the HalfWay House” say Jodi.
In the near future she plans to purchase some blow-up mattresses to make it even better for the grandkid’s sleepovers also when they around. That should give grandma some pretty good brownie points! ?
When we talked to Jodi on the phone, she was planning on having friends come over that evening about an hour before sunset to relax together in the HalfWay House, sipping on some wine, and watching the sun set over the lake.
It sounds like a dream!
Jodi says that she is so happy with the quality of the shed and that they were “very pleased with the customer service” that we provided in their shed purchasing process. We’re quite pleased with how well she has done in making one of our sheds a beautiful space. Good work, Jodi!
