From Corinna:
We desperately needed an extra room for our teenage son, but lacked the money to extend our home. I work from home as an interior designer, and had a garden studio built in the backyard about 3 years ago with a tiny 2 meter by 3.4 meter deep garden shed annex. So late last year, I bit the bullet and converted the shed.
I had a total budget of $6,000 AUD, which included carpeting, insulation, painting, and electrical works, as well as plastering, a custom made mattress, drapery, wall decals and all cabinetry. The only things that we already had were the bedding, blinds, and the antler wall sconce which I sell through my business Hunter & Ivy.
I managed to convert this dog-box into a really functional, bright room with heaps of wardrobe and other storage, a study desk and a queen-sized loft bed. My son, who just turned 18, is now the envy of all his mates... and he gets the privacy he craves for sneaking in and out of the home when the mood takes him.
Thanks, Corinna!
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WOW! I'm so impressed!
Love it! I need that "Phone, Key, Wallet" rug, I have a post it on the back of my front door, the rug is so much better.
lucky kid!
super cool, can't believe the budget. must be very handy. can't imagine any teenager not loving it!
Love the open white space.
Though I appreciate the need for privacy, the blinds feel a little constricting. Perhaps instead curtains that could hang over the window for privacy, but then be pulled back or draped in an attractive way to reveal the day?
I love the mirror! Can't believe no one has commented on it yet. :)
Overall, excellent work. I love it!
Lucky kid! Most adults I know would be over the moon to have such a beautifully designed space!
LOVE the keys, phone, wallet rug!!!
your teen's retreat is nicer than my whole house.
Please tell me where you found that Keys, Phone, Wallet rug!
You can get one at Urban outfitters!
http://www.urbanoutfitters.com/urban/catalog/productdetail.jsp?id=16588782
Adorable but I must be tired because for a minute I thought "why is that dog on the wall?" Hi, Wednesday.
Watch out. With a space like that, any kid is going to be hard-pressed to leave home.
hahaha the dog pic confused me too
So no shower or toliet?
Love it..forget the kid, I want it for myself! I thought the mirror was a really cool framed window until someone else commented on it.
Curious- is that a pretty temperate climate there? Just curious how the little room is heated/cooled if there's any weather changes? Fans and space heaters or is there something else? It looks great! Wish I had a space like that at that age, very awesome.
I was thinking the same thing as SKIPPINGDAISIES was...kid may never leave home. If they were to add plumbing..the cost would have sky rocketed. Although it has a bed, the post indicates that this is a retreat so I would take it that he might have a place inside as well but not as cool.
Very nice renovation! He is definitely a lucky guy :)
ANyone know wher I could buy wooden boxes like the ones with the shoes in them?
looks great, but they started with a pretty fancy "shed".
Corinna gets my vote for world's coolest mom. This is better than some apartments I've lived in!
Great for your son, but I want to know where you now put all those gardening things?
Love this! I wish we had the climate to pull something like this off.
Thank you AT for recognizing that not all "kids" are still in cribs.
Very nice space for an 18 year old. Where did you get the wooden boxes he has his shoes etc. in?
love the carpet texture and color, is it wool? manmade? for a teenager though...
Lucky kid. If I were this teenager I would have a contest to see how many friends I could sneak into my shed at night. I'd try for 8.
Hi everyone- I'm the person that designed this room, so I will try and answer your questions. The carpet is polypropylene, bought as a remnant from a carpet shop for $30- but after trying to lay it ourselves for hours and it looking awful, we hired a carpet layer to professionally install it. This was actually the toughest part of the Reno!
There is a fan which sits on top of the cupboard next to the bed to use on hot days and we will use just a small bar heater or similar in winter if necessary, but haven't required one yet. My husband and I were very, very vigilant in stuffing really good insulation into every tiny nook and cranny, so this really helps with temperature control.
The blinds can fully open or be pulled right up if you want ( my son never does this...). There is also a set of sheer curtains on either side of the glass doors if he prefers to use these- which he does pull across when the doors are open as they sway nicely in the wind.
The rug is indeed from urban outfitters and the mirror I made myself when I couldn't find one I liked to go in the room. It's just an mdf board with a cheap cupboard mirror that you can buy at hardware stores for about $30 - I then spent about 3 nights layering driftwood around the frame, allowing time for the glue to set. The most girls I've seen on the bed at the same time as my son is 5... The wooden boxes I bought from a strawberry farm that used to use them for picking- each one was handmade by the original owner about 40 years ago. I still have a few and could probably get more. Re where did the rest of the stuff get stored? In our attic and underneath our house. Will get another shed for the side of the house when we figure out some more stuff.
Dillon (my son) lives in the room all year round now. No toilet etc, yes that would have been way too expensive and the room is much too small anyway. He just trundles across the garden into the house when nature calls.
I would have killed for that room as a teenager! I'd be pretty happy with it now, come to think of it...
wow. Best before/after ever!
I hope you included condoms in your budget or you'll be adding a nursery to that thing.
Teehee, that cracked me up @beccawebber! It's alright, we've had the "birds and the bees" talk a looonngggg time ago...;). Good that you think it's a chick magnet place, my son will be very pleased...
I spent some time in Melbourne many years ago. Lovely city, but cold as brass monkeys in the winter! (Was inspired to go there because I am such a fan of the writer Helen Garner! "Monkey Grip" is one of my most all time favorite books.). So, I am so impressed that this shed was turned into such an incredible retreat! Shame it's wasted on the "ankle biter" but! It would be MINE ALL MINE!!! Your son is one lucky kid & I hope he appreciates all your effort & sacrifice. I, too, love that mirror!!! Great job. Beautiful.