Fiona's Escape

Fiona is a multi-disciplined artist and Silversmith, a true craftsman who was looking for her own space to create freely and privately. Working with us gave her the freedom to design a space perfectly suited to her needs, both functionally and ethically. Fiona is environmentally conscious and being told her build would require a costly concrete pad that would damage her yard and risk water damage due to her properties location left her with doubts about her studio. We were able to help her by creating a fully insulated above grade foundation raised up on Perma Columns. This solution drastically reduced the amount of concrete needed, sustained her backyard landscape, and led to a beautiful backyard workshop safe from any future water encroachment. It was also important to her that the design included a small wood stove, both to heat the studio for year round use and to create a warm presence and cabin vibe. While other heating solutions are available for our fully insulated studios we were happy to oblige and the result was a highly functional studio with a beautiful look both inside and out.

Many of our customers find having a backyard studio is useful for creating a unique space separate from the home. Stepping out of the house and into your backyard workshop can put you in a new state of mind, one more conducive to working, leisure, or creativity than your home with all of it’s common distractions. The freedom of owning your own space means you can pursue whatever hobby best suits you. No need to worry about a landlord limiting your noise level or restricting you from fully enjoying your space with rules about when the space is accessible and to whom. Bring in your friends, your pets, your children and fully embrace a new space that is entirely your own.

As with all of our builds, we prefabricated Fiona’s backyard workshop to minimize installation time and maximize efficiency. Our modular construction means we can be in and out of your space as quickly as possible, the structure was up in just two days and the interior finishing can usually be finished in just one week! Our shed models follow this same practice and can be finished in just a single day.

The final product featured a natural pine front face and galvalume steel siding. The finished interior was done with a light stained pine tongue and groove and laminate flooring. The light pine and white accents drove the contrast for her all black wood stove and black iron pipe furniture leading to a bold but ultimately clean look. Fiona’s structure features two windows and a windowed a swing door that let in the right amount of natural sunlight that she needs for her work.

What started as a simple expansion of space ultimately led to creating a home away from home for Fiona. A place where she could create freely and fully relax and be herself. For her perspective on the entire process please check out her blog.

If you’re looking to expand the space of your home we’d love to hear from you. We offer different styles, colours, and heating and cooling solutions to make sure you’re happy with your new studio year round. Get in touch, or explore our gallery for more