After closing the shop last year, I needed somewhere to work from home. I already had a She Shed rough and ready that needed some updating. If only I knew how much! Follow along the journey of My She shed workspace home office build.
She Shed
This shed is where it all began for me, This was the space I used to first start upcycling furniture almost 14 years ago. It was a bit rough but had plenty of space for my ever-growing collection of crap!
I decided on refitting this one instead of buying a new one or rebuilding … I should have thought that through a bit more ha.
After ripping off the white cladding on the front, the roof needed replacing, with new joists and well, the entire roof. I decided I needed a new door and went looking on Market Place. I found a bifold door that had been manufactured opening the wrong way for the client and so i got it for a steal.
The wall had to be knocked out and new supporting pillars built. the old windows looked taty with the new door in place, so I replaced those too.
Internal work
The inside also needed more work than I first thought, but I could see it all coming together. The floor’s wall and ceiling were waterproofed. Insulation was installed on the floor under new floorboards. All of this was done after an internal wall was knocked out.
Lighting up the she shed
The electrics was the next big job on the endless list and I made sure there were plenty of outlets and lights. I wanted some hanging lights at this end to hang over the double desks I had envisioned going here. I had mocked up a design in Canva and knew it was what I wanted.
After the electrics were installed including the internet connection which guess what? turned out to be a little bit of a nightmare! The walls were plastered and a mist coat applied before the floor went down. I opted for laminate wood flooring, it was a cheap option from B&Q and the whole flooring was very inexpensive.
New workspace and office
Next up was to get some storage sorted for the stock, at this point in time lockdown is in full swing and I’m packing boxes on my kitchen table with stockpiled up high in my hallway … not ideal. I went for these metal shelving units and sprayed the Gold, I didn’t like the steel look, with the walls being white and the floors a grey I wanted some warmth.
Next up I bought some off-the-shelf kitchen units from Wickes and Karen and I spent a good few hours putting them together. A length of faux marble worktop and some kickboards and we had a packing station and storage for boxes and my personal paint supply.
I kept my counter from the shop for storing all my tools and more of my personal paint collection and brushes etc. I must confess to a paint brush addition! Some girls like shoes.. I love brushes!
Home office
After completing the kitchen end ( all except the kickboards which I still haven’t got around to doing ) the office space was next. I had already found the desks I wanted from Ikea similar to this one and spent some more hours putting those together. I got some pretty lights and got Ed & Co Designs to make new shades for them. The office chairs I just couldn’t find in a pink anywhere so settled for these grey ones instead.
Ready for business
That essential was all done on the inside the last thing to do was the new cladding on the outside and plastic capping for the roof line. All the stock was moved and I no longer had to pack boxes on the kitchen table!
Would I do it again? I’m not going to lie, it was probably more expensive than buying one of those put-together ready-made offices. I love the space and enjoy throwing open the doors and letting the sunshine in while I’m working.
Pro’s and Con’s of working from home.
Working from home has its pros and cons like anything. I can pop in the house and put a load of washing on or dinner, the con side is I find myself in there late at night still working as I can wander back and forth between the house and the shed/office/workspace. All that being said I love the space and it works which is the most important thing.
It is a space to work in making it more enjoyable and it’s big enough to grow and change if needed. The paint looks fab on the shelves.
So what do you think? Have you got a home office? Let me know in the comments below.
