RonieM

About 12 years ago my hubby and I re-did the top of our two car garage to make me a sewing studio. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE my space. It is awesome and has almost everything a person could want. I do like how I am isolated and that the space is totally MINE. However, there are a few drawbacks:

1) I have to go outside to get to the garage. Not a problem in the nice weather, but really stinks when the weather is not so nice (I live in the Finger Lakes of NY).

2) The stairs are extremely steep. Not a problem, if my hands aren't full of stuff and I can hold on to the handrail. I have almost fallen more times than I care to admit, and have fallen more times than I have told my hubby.

So I am contemplating a change in the next year or so. I have been debating between a she shed or doing an addition on the house. Cost wise, I think they would be comparable.

As with all my projects/decisions, I do a lot of research, etc. before approaching the hubster. He's a stickler for information and can be difficult to sway if I'm not fully prepared.

So my question is, if you had to choose between a she shed or an addition what would you choose and why?

If you already have a she shed, what made you go that route and do you still love it?

Thanks for your input!

dunster

With a she shed, wouldn't you still have the problem of going outside in bad weather?

NikkiLu

My sister-in-law was a wonderful seamstress (not a quilter) and made her husband suits and all of her children's clothes and she did it all in her family room/kitchen. Then her DH made her a sewing room in the basement and she hated it. So, she moved her sewing machine back in the family room so that she could stir a pot once in awhile, etc. She kept most everything in the basement room though, out of the way. HTH

Oh yes, I know what you mean about the steep steps, my DD has a 2 story house and to get upstairs we go up a very nice, carpeted, STEEP staircase and it is horrible. I have to pull myself up by the railing. Absolutely could not carry anything upstairs too.

sewingitalltogether

I think I like the idea of the separate studio. With big Windows to watch the seasons.

tessagin

I have a bedroom/sewing room. I think first with the measurements of your current room and do you have enough/satisfied and would do with same size or do you want larger. With most additions you have to get permits and that can involve engineers, etc. With a shed, there are various sizes you can build and that would also determine your budget. Would you be able to put an interior stairway in the garage to access your sewing room that may save even more money and not have to worry about potential falls/slippage. I would start with measurements of the space you're using now and go from there. One thing I definitely suggest is that you do not keep the falling from your husband. If I had a shed, it would have to be every bit the size I'm utilizing currently. Like I said measurements are key. Good luck!!

RST

If the cost is about the same, I would do the addition to the house -- it adds to the value of the property, while a shed is more likely to be a liability down the road. You also have the issue of going outdoors in bad weather and heating/cooling a shed, things that are more easily controlled with a house addition. If you like the sense of separation, then put in a good door and some sound proofing. I always think that I should put a screen door on my sewing room -- so I can hear what's going on with the kids but keep the pets off my fabric, but I can definitely see the advantage of tuning everything out.

That said, I think that in our area, a home addition would cost more than putting up a shed-- by quite a bit.

Bree123

I like the idea of an addition -- indoors, hopefully no stairs, safe & heated. I think if it's all girly & frilly with nice organization for all your beautiful fabrics, tools & notions, he's not really likely to bother you in that space anyways.

An addition adds square footage to your home, which in turn adds value. Appraisers typically do not add value for She Sheds & those don't appeal to most buyers. Of course, at least in Illinois, it is much cheaper to pull permits for a shed than for an addition, but I think the increase in value is worth it. If you're worried about noise, you can always use that acoustic insulation & then it's truly like you're in your own little world.

One other little note: if for some reason you end up staying over the garage, maybe you could have him install a dumb-waiter to transport your fabrics & such from inside the garage up into your craft room. I have seen a number of people installing those recently & they are really cool. Work great & then your hands are free to climb the stairs. Too bad they can't build you a little covered walkway out to either the garage or your She Shed. If you could get that, I'd go for the She Shed all the way! If you do go for the Shed, make sure to get double-pane windows & seriously consider spray insulation ... and maybe a heated floor (they're not too expensive to add to a slab of concrete & you can put tile or hardwood over it if you like). Radiant floor heating is one of the most efficient ways to heat a room since hot air rises & it really does keep the room warm.

Also, windows are wonderful, but not particularly warm in the wintertime. Obviously you want some windows to make it bright & airy, but you also need plenty of wall space so they can spray in insulation so you don't freeze. (and you probably want to locate it either close to the garage or house so you're not having to carry stuff a long way in bad weather, or having to run out in the rain/snow to use the washroom (oooohhhh! can you add a 2-piece washroom to a She Shed? ooohh! that would be fun! -- don't tell your hubby it was my idea )

Prism99

I think an addition would be more expensive than a shed; however, I think that's the best way to go. (1) You wouldn't have to go outside in bad weather. Aside from the convenience, it reduces the chances of a bad fall. We are all aging and, at a certain point, balance and reflexes are not as good as they used to be, increasing the chances of a bad fall. (2) It would increase the value of your house because it would add main floor square footage. A shed would probably not increase sale value of your house by much, and might even be a drawback for some buyers. If the cost is nearly the same, the addition would be the better value-for-money in terms of home equity. (3) You can put doors on the addition so you are still somewhat cut off from the rest of the house if/when you want to be alone in your quilting studio. On the other hand, you can open doors so you can easily tend to household tasks such as laundry and cooking.

I agree with looking into the possibility of adding an interior staircase for your current studio. Assuming it's feasible, I would think about making the staircase wide so that you can add an electric stair lift. This could be used as a seat for yourself, of course, but it could also serve as a safe way to get items up and down the stairs. A friend of mine has two neighbors, both of whom had accidents while carrying things down a staircase. They were both very serious accidents. In one case the woman was carrying a basket of laundry down the stairs, couldn't see the stairs, and missed the last step. The other was a woman with socks on who slipped coming down the stairs. These were both interior staircases.

My 32 cents worth of advice...... (taking into account inflation)

laughingquilter

I don't know what size your room is now, but it sounds like the steps are an issue. First of all, is there any way that you could redo the steps so they're not so steep? Or build a landing into them at about halfway? Then, how far is your garage from your house? The reason I'm asking is we're just in the process of building a new garage. It, too, will have a finished room above it that will be my sewing studio. (We're calling it our "garottage" - - garage + cottage). We "attached" it to our house by having a screenporch between the house and the garage. Some say breezeway. It was cheaper than an addition would be but I'll still be sheltered when I go from one area to the next - - I'm from Wisconsin so our weather would be equally wintery at times. Something like that would allow you to continue to use the space that you have that may go unused otherwise.....just a thought.

PaperPrincess

I would also vote for the addition. First, however, I agree with the others about seeing if you can re-engineer your current situation to make it accessible from the house and address the stairs. We have a raised ranch - living space all on one floor, but it looks like a bi level. The garage is under the house, so to get stuff out of the car and into the house, I have a dumb waiter and I love it! Mine is the manual version, uses a rope pulley, but they do make electric types.