5 Tips and Tricks to Help Turn Your Backyard Shed Into an Office
More and more people around the United States are being given the option to work from home. This is true for people who own their own business, do freelance work, or work for a company. About 43% of employed people throughout the nation say that they do at least some of their work at home, according to reporting done by the New York Times. Many use backyard office sheds.
There are a number of reasons people are asking to be able to work at home. This saves them time on the commute to and from work, it is convenient and gives people options for a more flexible work schedule. This is very important for people who have young children or are taking care of older family members. While, working from home can give you the flexibility you need and make it easier to take care of children when they get out of school, have a snow day, or need to go to the doctor, there are some pitfalls to this. For many people working from home is challenging because it is easy to be distracted by cleaning that needs to be done, the television, or just the chance to sit on the couch with a good book.
This is where a backyard office shed comes into play. By creating a space in your home that is just for work purposes, you can go into your affordable backyard studio and focus on the work you need to get done. Here are some ways to make that happen:
- Start with the right prefab backyard studio. When you are looking at sheds that you know are just going to be used to store your tools and whatnot, you do not need things like windows and floors. When you are looking to put together a backyard office shed, you need it to have windows, a decent floor and be big enough to hold your desk and office equipment.
- Put in power. You are going to need electricity in your backyard office shed. You will need lights, power for your printer, computer and whatever other devices you use to do your work. You should check with your town or city to see if you need to get a permit to add power to an outdoor shed. When you are putting in the power, remember you need receptacle covers and switches for your lighting needs.
- Put some insulation in. Another thing you do not need in a shed that is just for storage is a lot of insulation but you want that when you are using your shed as an office. You will want the area to be comfortable to work in so you will have to regulate the temperature. Insulation can do a lot to maintain a comfortable temperature while keeping the moisture levels low and protecting you from any extreme weather events you have in your area.
- Finish the shed. Adding drywall to your shed will give it a more finished look and feel. You can also put in baseboards, window casings, and crown molding. Sure, you are not going to live in your backyard office shed but you can do things to make it a comfortable space to get work done.
- Put in a rug and paint the place. Again, your backyard office shed is not going to be a place where you invite company in or sleep in but you can make it more pleasant for you. When you spend a lot of time in a place, it is nice for it to look and feel good. Painting the walls and adding some nice flooring can give your shed office more livable, which can help increase your productivity while you are working in there. You can also create a nicer space by adding photos and other items.
Working from home has a lot of great benefits and huge drawbacks. It can take more discipline to buckle down and get work done when you are surrounded by other, fun things you could be doing. Putting in a backyard office shed can do a lot to really keep you focused on your work
and the tasks at hand.