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When a homeowner needed extra space for her growing business, she also looked no further than Modern Shed for her minimalist she shed, with a sloped roof, clerestory windows, and personalized window and door locations. A color scheme that worked with the colors of her historic home also on the property gave it its finishing touches.

In San Luis Obispo, California, this rustic she shed was constructed in less than three months and was heavily inspired by the existing buildings on the owner's vast property. Doubling as a guest bedroom and the owner's own retreat, a delicate color palette of pale green and white contrasts with the live-edge pine siding on the exterior, which was repurposed from a felled tree on the property.

In Avalon, Australia, Olaf von Sperl and Cindy Goode Milman designed a she shed for the corner of Milman's backyard with $15,500. As an artist, she sought a space that would work as both a functional studio as well as a place of respite to enjoy the beautiful year-round weather of the area. With a roof of translucent polycarbonate panels topped with a planted green roof, this she shed is one-of-a-kind.

With a front facade of glass, inviting double doors, and engineered wood cladding, this prefabricated she-shed was designed by Studio Shed and is often used as a home office for women starting their own businesses or who wish to work without leaving their children for the day.

The couple also built an outhouse for the bathroom area.

A look at the 600-square-foot studio. The open space offers beamed ceilings and is a blank canvas for the new homeowner.

Technically, this small building is not a tree house, since it’s braced at the ground by supports, but Grey didn’t want to compromise the tree, which “doesn’t have a very long lifespan,” the designer says. “So, I didn’t want to jeopardize however long that tree had with any excess baggage.”

This barn-like residence enjoys sweeping views from all sides to the picturesque Northern California landscape that surrounds it: Mayacamas Mountains, roaming sheep, and Monterey pines. An L-shaped ipe deck connected the main residence to an art studio and forms a cozy courtyard, complete with pool.

Black-painted window and door frames contrast with the white-painted steel siding and offer a crisp, clean aesthetic for the exterior of the cottage.

Green roofs are aesthetically pleasing and have multiple positive environmental benefits, even if they are small in terms of square footage. Here, a green roof blooms atop the detached garage of a home.

Visiting a Manhattan apartment designed by Tim Seggerman is like sitting inside one of Nakashima’s cabinets, a metaphor realized most fully in an ingenious "library"—really a glorified cubby with a banded maple ceiling, conjured from a free space adjacent to the loft bed.

If you frequently entertain guests in your home, or love holding long leisurely dinner parties on the weekends, it’s a good idea to keep these points in mind when designing or remodeling your kitchen. Here are some tips on how to turn this functional area into a space that's fit and fun for gatherings.