Almo Troup, principal of the Australian firm Trouthouse, was looking for a little more space for his architecture and furniture design practice. He found it in his own backyard.

Almo says the shed that came with his Preston, Victoria, home was “completely unusable,” yet he saw potential in that little backyard hut beneath an ancient apricot tree. Built by the previous owners 30 years ago, the structure had holes in the roof and cracks in its cement panels, but it also had good bones.

With a little sweat equity and $6,000, Almo transformed it from an eyesore to an ideal workshop—a minimalist and highly functional 290-square-foot space he affectionately dubbed the Apricot Studio.

Instead of a full-on renovation, Almo approached the project as more of a rethink, repurposing and rearranging almost all of the existing materials to create something new from something old. “It was a bit tricky, because the plan was to have an idea for what I wanted to do—but not before I had an idea of what materials were available,” says Almo. “It made it more economical, but also an interesting design exercise.”

He discovered all the framing timber from the original shed was salvageable, so he repurposed it into a storage unit and workbench. (For the new frame, Almo sourced sustainable, “very affordable” timber from a Melbourne supplier who salvages fallen farmland trees.) Though the previous roofing material was full of holes, it works perfectly in its new role as rain screen cladding.

Almo also salvaged cement sheet planks from the shed wreckage that were heavily damaged—many broken into pieces or riddled with chips. He made the inspired choice to cut the planks up into shingles, which now clad the front entrance. “It’s a facade we haven’t seen before, and it cost nothing,” he says. “It’s my favorite material we used.”

Another detail that brings the designer joy? The rusted steel shroud around the windows. Though it’s a new addition to the material palette, its patina gives it a sense of age, and it doesn’t contrast too dramatically with the other humble finishes. “It didn’t make sense to have precious materials in this process,” says Almo. Still, the weathered steel frames the panes so beautifully that it feels precious all the same. “It creates a little portal into what’s being created inside,” he says.

$1,300 Framing	$325 Windows	$30 Doors
$585 Roofing	$620 Internal Lining	$420 Floors
$65 Decking	$100 Cabinetry	$780 Electrical
$50 Light Fixtures	$1,000 Corten Shroud	$650 Guttering
$25 Orange Curtain	$40 Blinds
Grand Total: $5,990 USD

Almo kept costs low by doing the labor himself and with friends. Hiring an electrician was the biggest splurge—they wired the shed to accommodate a 32-foot LED light strip that runs around the interior frame. That light strip is sandwiched between layers of polycarbonate sheeting. “Polycarbonate panels are commonly used on shed roofs to create a rudimentary skylight,” explains Almo. Here, daylight pours through the panels when the sun’s out, but at night, the light strip provides a diffused, ambient glow.

The hut is now split into three zones: one third is a desk area and material storage library; one third acts as a garden shed and enclosed workshop; and the section at the back is an outdoor, undercover workspace. All three segments overlook the garden, including, of course, that 150-year-old apricot tree—the sweetest possible spot for Almo to enjoy the fruits of his labor.

More Budget Breakdown stories:

An Architect DIYs a Luminous Work Shed for $10K

A Seattle Architect Crafts a Hardworking Shed for Just Over $2,200

A Garden Shed for $43K? It’s Not Meant for Storing Tools

Project Credits:

Architecture, Interiors, Cabinetry: Trouthouse Design / @trouthouse_

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