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transformation, shed, 3-car garagearchitect on demand, advice without strings

Okay, okay. You are probably tired of hearing about my garden. Let me tell you about the transformation of the garden shed/3-car garage instead. Located toward the back of the site, that’s where all the garden paths lead — away from the pressures of the city life, through a blue door.

transformation, 3-car garage, shed

Said blue door opens to the Garden Room previously known as a falling apart 3-car garage. Built in 1923, the old structure measuring 17 feet deep by 27 feet long by 10 feet tall had a leaking roof and was quite favored by rodents.

I gutted it and divided anew. Now, 2/3 of the shed is a single volume housing the office/library/meditation room. The rest of the 3-car garage — what amounts to one parking stall — is taken up by the bathroom/sauna.

transformation, 3-car garage, shed

The transformation of this 459 s.f. garden shed aka 3-car garage began with the exterior walls.

The north wall, the one facing the garden, besides collapsing structurally — its foundation was practically non-existent because of the invasive tree roots — had no openings. I reinforced and punctured it with an entry door and two almost floor-to ceiling windows. The south and the east sides located on the property lines were left blank. Two of the retractable garage doors on the west wall were taken out and replaced with clearstory windows. They maximize on the unremarkable view and aid with ventilation.

transformation, 3-car garage, shed

As a result, the interior is flooded with light. It streams through vintage industrial metal sash windows that feel as if they were always there. The windows and the front door were purchased from an architectural salvage. Even though they had to be refurbished, I felt that something brand new would’ve been out of character.

As mentioned in the previous post, two partitions of the old 3-car garage were disassembled and reused. They comprise weathered (filled with the building’s history) wood fencing material.

Not depending on a large team, specialist advisers, or complex program, it’s fun for me to strive for a certain level of inventiveness.

transformation, 3-car garage, shed

The opened-up space is supported with new exposed wood beams. They serve as space “dividers” overhead, helping to organize all of the functions below.

Speaking of functions, this converted 3-car garage/garden shed has a lot of them! Since the space was limited, there was only one way of arranging/integrating the elements and it made sense to plan all the furniture and fittings as part of the whole. The interior features custom-made birch plywood cabinetry with consistent details. As in all of my projects, with this transformation I sought to achieve more with less, to find a fit between architecture, art, and product design.

Comments

  • Mia S Kazovsky
    July 19, 2017

    By the way, I am not tired of hearing about your garden! 🙂

    • Alla DIY Ally
      July 20, 2017

      Oh good! I can’t help myself, anyway…

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