Thanks to Richard from WhatShed.co.uk for this guest post about cool things you can do when you add power to your shed.
Ok so the title may make you think that we are talking about putting guns on the roof, zombie proof shutters on the windows and so on. But actually what we are talking about is electricity. That is right in the year 2017 we have this great thing called electricity and it can be used to make your shed, workshop or just general garden building even better! well actually it has been around a little longer than that, but you know what we mean. We want to give you guys a few ideas and maybe even a little inspiration about some fun and cool things you can do when you power up your shed! We will also share with you a few garden buildings that we think would be ideal for you.
Have An Epic Man Cave!
Having a man cave is the cool thing these days. A space where a guy can do what he wants, watch movies, play videogames, watch the match or just do whatever it is he wants. But in a space that is all his own. Well one way to have a man cave and not lose a room in your house is by using some kind of shed or workshop. For a man cave you will certainly want to make sure that you have plenty of plug sockets as you will no doubt have many cool things you want inside. Also by having your man cave outside the house you have far less chance of your other half yelling at you to come and do something when you are trying to watch Luke Skywalker take down the At-At on your big screen TV!
You can easily get a well made and strong garden building that would work well as a man cave for under a grand. So the actual building does not have to be as expensive as you would thin. A great example is this awesome looking Dutch Barn inspired shed. It first of all has a really cool look.
But it also offers you a lot of space. One thing you really want to watch for is the headroom on offer and this particular shed has lots of headroom. Last thing you want is to be hunched over in your man cave when walking around. Also the higher the roof the more cool stuff you can hang from it. This is also large enough to fit in a couch and an entertainment centre.
Get Fit In Style With Your Own Home Gym
Ok so we kind of see the irony of going from a shed where you can sit on your rear end, drinking beer, chowing down on Pringles while watching football to a home gym, but this is something more and more people are using sheds, workshops or even better if you have the funds is something like this cool garden room.
A gym membership these days can cost anything from £15 a month all the way up to £50 so really you could argue that in the long run a home gym in your shed is going to save you money in the long run. But what do I need electricity for if I am just having a gym in my shed? Is no doubt what a few of you smarty pants have said. But to have a proper home gym, you will want some kind of cardio equipment in there and to get the best ones, you have to power them up. The last thing you want is a manual treadmill!
Things like weights and a weight bench will not require power, but if you do have power in there then you can put a TV on the wall and a sound system which will make working out much better. For example if you like football then you can go on a cross trainer or a treadmill while you watch the match and best of all as you have a home gym, you will not have to bring the treadmill into the living room, scuff up the carpet, ding the skirting board and get an earful of your other half. Yes you could have a home gym without powering up your shed, but we can assure it that it will not be as cool or as motivating as one that does!
Give The Kids An Awesome Place To Play With A Kids Playroom
Having a bunch of kids running around the house, shooting Nerf guns, screaming, watching annoying YouTube videos can test the patience of a saint. Not only that kids seem to go out of their way to cause damage to every room they are in! Then you can make this a dream hangout spot for kids. Now we have heard that people have converted a regular shed into a kids playroom, not put any power in there and everything has been fine. Now for younger kids who like to just run around crazy this is fine, but by putting power in there you are actually future proofing your kids playroom, hangout zone or whatever name they want to call it.
What we mean is that older kids will certainly want at least a TV in there. So they can watch YouTube or play video games or even just listen to some music when they are with their buddies. Which by the way just think about that for a second, your kid and all their little friends are hanging out in the garden instead of in your house! Anyway electricity is essential for a teenagers play room as they cannot go more than five minutes without looking at some kind of electrical device. We guarantee you that if you were to tell your kids that you were making them a special room just for them in the back yard one of the first things they will ask is if there is going to be a TV in there!
Become A DIY Master With Your Own Workshop
Ok so this is kind of boring and the most obvious one and that is why we did not put it first. But the fact of the matter is, you can have a way cooler and more practical workshop if you have it juiced to the max with electricity! Now you can have a fine workshop without electricity, but what about if you want to work at night? What about if your battery in a particular power tool is dead and you need it directly connected to the mains while you use it? What if you want to rock out to a little Iron Maiden when you work? These are all important and valid questions that can be easily answered if you have power in your workshop.
If you had something like this large 16 X 10 workshop then just think of all the epic power tools you could have. You could have workbenches with plug sockets built right in there is honestly no end to the cool stuff you could make in a workshop with power. And like we said before you can work through the night as you would have light in there. Although if you are running power tools at night you can expect a rather unpleasant conversation with the neighbours.
Host Parties And Dinners
Ok so clearly from the name, we were not entirely sure what to call this. But the idea of this is having a nice space in the garden like a corner summerhouse for example. Where you can have a dining room table and host some fun little shindigs with some good friends and family members that your other half forces you to put up with. Well while you could sit out here in the dark with candle light like you are in the dark ages. It would be much better if you had power in there so you can have lighting, music and maybe even a TV so you can keep an eye on the match while listening to your brother in laws fascinating story.
Many people would love to have a spot in their house where they can have people over for dinner, but a large dining table can take up a lot of room. Building a conservatory or an extension can cost a huge amount of money and in all honesty not give you the same kind of space something large like a good sized summerhouse can. We honestly think that anyone who is planning on getting a summerhouse in their garden to enjoy company has to think about putting power in there.
Get Creative With Your Own Art Studio
Ok this on may seem a little out there, but please hear us out. Far more people use a shed, workshop or even a summerhouse like this one as an art studio, pottery studio or just as a space where they can be creative than you would think. We found this very interesting and in all honesty, we feel that it is impossible to have this kind of creative space without having power to the structure. We say this because what if you get a creative spark at 9 pm and it is dark outside? Having power in there allows you to work on your art when you want to and not when the sunlight dictates. If you are into pottery then you simply must have some kind of power in their so you can work.
Adding electricity to your artistic space will also allow you to do more than just ensure the place is well illuminated. You could do things like have a small electric heater so you can work comfortably in the winter. A TV or stereo could even be put in there to help give you a little bit of inspiration or even just give you something to do when you are at a creative roadblock. If you are a creative person and you want a nice space to work then a shed with some power is the best way to go.
A Little Word About Putting Electricity To Your Garden Building
Ok so running an extension cable from your kitchen to the shed is really not the way to go or what we are talking about here. If you are putting electricity in your shed, workshop, summerhouse or whatever it is. Then please, please make sure you do it properly. Actually unless you are an electrician we advise that you do not do it at all and hire a professional.
There is a great blog post here about putting electricity into your shed and please make sure you read it before you try and do a quick and easy job yourself.
