Storage Turned Studio

Sometimes the best projects come from the most unexpected places. This was certainly the case for Pat Nichols. What started out as a simple storage shed project was soon transformed into a much needed creative workspace.

Tuff Shed was an easy choice for his new building. “Once I saw all the options, it was a no-brainer that Tuff Shed was the place to get my building,” says Pat. He worked with the Boise, ID team to make sure the building fit all his specifications, including adding extra natural light with four windows and a skylight. After the building was installed Pat also worked with his local team to add on a custom awning to the front of the barn.

Pat first purchased his Tuff Shed Premier Tall Barn to be used as a storage shed. He was beginning to renovate his home and needed a little extra room to store household items while remodeling. But when the 16x12 barn was installed on his property, Pat began to see a new use for the shed. “After I began the interior finishes in the barn, I realized the shed was just too nice to store my junk in, and it would actually make a perfect studio.”

The barn now functions as Pat’s workspace for creating resin LED sculptures. The process for these sculptures includes quite a bit of soldering, wire work, UV gluing, and milling work. Before his new barn was installed, Pat used a corner of his garage for his art, making sure to carefully clean his space between each step of the projects. “I needed to isolate the dust from the milling and the soldering area. The barn is the perfect place for it.”

Now that the studio’s interior is finished, Pat is ready to begin work remodeling his family’s home. “I don’t have a strong background in home improvement and this barn was a great way to teach myself a lot of the principles. It was the right scale to get a feel for a lot of different materials and processes.” While he may have lost some of the extra storage space he first intended, the new barn studio is more than worth it.

One of the most notable interior customizations is the catwalk and ladder. Pat scoured YouTube for tutorials and built the ladder and shelves himself. For one of his first projects as a DIY beginner, we think Pat is showing some true potential.