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Home Office in a Shed by BillyOh

This standard-looking shed is only about 9 x 7 feet, but it's large enough to house a desk with double screens, a generously sized cabinet, and a task chair—everything you need for a functional home office...

 
 

What drew us to this tiny structure was the very basic way in which it's designed and constructed. Called the Woodman Log Cabin, this shed isn't available in the US. It's made by British manufacturer BillyOh, but it looks a lot like the garden sheds we see at places like Home Depot and Lowe's.

A couple of nice features that you don't often see in standard sheds are the veranda and the tilt-out windows, but these are things that wouldn't be too hard to make yourself or hire a contractor to do for you. The design, with its window boxes, built-in desk, and simple storage, seems very accessible. If you own a backyard and you're thinking about setting up a room of your own, this is an inspiring example.

Find more information and photos of the BillyOh Woodman Cabin right here.

Photos: BillyOh, Found via ShedWorking

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Workspace, green ideas, home office, cabin, shed

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Comments (11)

Hate to say it... but this hardly looks like it would function as a home office. If you look closely, the laptop/desktop seem to be Photoshopped in. There is not an iota of "work stuff" around because if you were to include the detritus of working life, this would look like a madman's retreat. Seriously. This is completely impractical. And those crazy flower pots out front make it look even more ridiculous. There are some great pre-fab home office structures out there... but this is not one of them.

posted by solop on October 6th 2009 at 2:53pm
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has anybody ever been in a backyard shed during the day??? holy crap this would be hot as billy hell (especially since the roof is not insulated) and yay, a single floro tube to work by at night...i can see it now! However, i do love small footprint designs and solutions, just saying this can be done better. so if you design your own, be sure and build in insulation (for summer AND winter) and build it with ventilation/AC and heat solutions in mind.

posted by ubertimmo on October 6th 2009 at 2:55pm
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Interesting but I wonder if this shack has any temperature control. I can't imagine working there in the winter...

posted by carrefour_ny on October 6th 2009 at 2:57pm
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too claustrophobic for me - but cute :)

posted by loveoldstuff on October 6th 2009 at 3:15pm
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I like the idea of an office shed. My office is in my living room and this would certainly be an improvement.

I think the photos make the space seem smaller and more imposing than it probably is in life. The lens curves and warps it in ways that make it look really out of balance. I understand that it had to be done that way in order to capture as much as possible with the camera in a small space.

I'm giving this space the benefit of the doubt and I definitely like the idea.

Cheers!

http://www.modernests.com

posted by MODERnestS on October 6th 2009 at 3:36pm
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It all looks fake, doesn't it. But it reminds me of a wonderful piece that Annie Dillard wrote for Architectural Digest. I think they wanted a cool trendy workspace from a cool writer. She's into functional, not trendy design. She wrote about how she and her husband set up garden shed to use for their offices. Might have been quite a while back, if people are interested, I could probably find the article.

posted by JoanneM on October 6th 2009 at 4:04pm
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it's darling, but the interior set up is odd. That big cabinet takes up all the space; the desk placement is weird. Seems this would really only be practical in a very mild climate. With plenty of cash though, you could really build on this idea and make it perfectly functional.

posted by sassypiggy on October 6th 2009 at 4:09pm
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Do a search for "Summer House" and you'll find all kinds of wonderful tiny things available in Europe:

http://www.bbq-huts.co.uk/summerhouses.htm

http://www.diy.com/diy/jsp/bq/nav.jsp?fh_eds=%3f&fh_reffacet=categories&fh_location=%2f%2fcatalog01%2fen_GB%2fcategories%3C{9372012}%2fcategories%3C{9372017}%2fcategories%3C{9372056}&fh_refview=summary&fh_refpath=facet_159016185

Go to this page to view the whole garden buildings brochure (online or download the pdf):
http://www.diy.com/diy/jsp/bq/templates/content_lookup.jsp?content=/content/inspiration/brochures/index/index.jsp

Everything from small storage sheds, no taller than a bike, to buildings I'd like to have as a HOME!

posted by #9 on October 6th 2009 at 4:21pm
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Well the patio stones in the main photo
are definitely photoshopped.

posted by t3d on October 6th 2009 at 5:36pm
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I worry about the fact of how confining it would seem since it doesn't look like you could stand up straight in it. And the no insulation and lack of heating/air conditionings means you might be able to stand to work in this in the spring and fall - but you'd either sweat or freeze to death during the summer and winter months.

The set-up inside looks off balance - the cabinet is squishing the area next to the desk. Putting up shelves on the side opposite of the desk would have accomplished the same thing and made this home office shed seem more open. The chair also looks too big for the space - who needs a rolling chair in a space this small?

posted by ChrisGal on October 7th 2009 at 7:30am
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I think it's cute, but for work (and I am a minimalist)... I think I'd constantly be running back to the house for one thing or another.

I would also feel a bit claustrophobic.

Clear out that desk and cabinet... add sofas and some pillows and have a great reading/relaxation room.

posted by jeffnyc on October 7th 2009 at 8:57am
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