Out Back
From city slickers to country bumpkins, homeowners have always longed for a special place from which to escape the toils of day-to-day life.
In 1783, Marie-Antoinette notoriously commissioned architect Richard Mique to design a Petit Hameau (Little Hamlet) of small buildings on the grounds of the Petit Trianon at the Palace of Versailles. Fleeing the scrutiny of the royal court, Marie and her attendants would run off to the mock farm, dressing up as milkmaids and shepherdesses and pretending to live “normal” peasant lives—–which we can only assume involved eating cake.
Nearly 150 years later, British author Virginia Woolf heralded the benefits of a private abode in her 1929 book A Room of One’s Own with its famous phrase “a woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write fiction.”
A more modern, unisex version of backyard escapism comes in the form of miniature prefabricated outbuildings. “The traditional definition of a shed is a lean-to or stand-alone structure that provides shelter or storage,” says Debra Prinzing, a freelance garden and design writer and our expert reviewer this month. “I tried to come up with a contemporary definition: a space that contains whatever you’re passionate about.”
We’ve rounded up five of the mini-modulars that make the perfect homes (but not too far) away from home.
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Standard Cabana
- Made by: Modern Cabana
- Price: $11,500
Articles
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Pod Space Prefab Garden Sheds
Two years ago, Ben Lord surveyed the garden sheds on the market in his native England and didn’t like what he saw. Cookie-cutter designs and drab interiors dominated even as habits were…
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Shedded Bliss
A prefabricated shed sited on a Finnish island provides a perfect summer getaway.
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Office Shed in Miniature
In preparation for our upcoming outdoor issue, we've been examining all manners of outbuildings: prefab sheds, tree houses, architectural follies, even chicken coops. The recently introduced…
Products
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Out Back
From city slickers to country bumpkins, homeowners have always longed for a special place from which to escape the toils of day-to-day life.
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Magic Box
Each built with custom dimensions / 11' W x 11' D x 11' H model
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Studio Shed
Dwell Collection
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Mapping Prefab
In just under ten years, dozens of prefab projects from all over the world have graced the pages of Dwell. We sifted through our archives to find some of our best-loved pieces, revisiting stories…
Tips
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Think Smaller. Think Efficient.
Don’t target a prefab project and forget to adapt your wish list to fit the capabilities of the task at hand. A prefabricated house or commercial project has certain limitations, one of which…
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Prefab is Not Necessarily Less Expensive
It certainly can be, but as with any project it depends on the architect, the fabricator, and how everything is organized in anticipation of installation at your site. Your architect needs to be…
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The More Complete, the More Prefab
There are quite a few companies out there that are marketing “prefab” but not all of them are designing and producing entirely finished products. Many projects we have seen appear to be…
Event
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Prefab Education Workshop
Join Ryan E. Smith, professor of architectural technology and author of Prefab Architecture, in the Prefab Education workshop on January 13th, 2012. Learn about the history of industrialized…
Table of Contents
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Out Back
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