Planning the Farmette Cabinette

Over the past few months, James and I have been trying to come up with a solution for me to be able to focus more on my food blog, Grace and Good Eats.  I do most of my work in the heart of the home- our kitchen- which proves difficult when the rest of the family wants to be in there with me.  Without physically leaving it’s hard for everyone (myself included) to understand that I am “at work” even though I’m home.

My mom suggested that we look at building a “She Shed” on our property to serve as my office.  At first, I couldn’t wrap my head around the idea, as I already have a dedicated office inside and I would still need access to the kitchen for creating recipes.  The more James and I discussed it, the more it made sense, and the Farmette Cabinette Kitchenette was born!

• Things to consider when building a She Shed: What will be the purpose of the She Shed? What size will you need? Will you be running electricity/ power to the unit? Will it need to be completely sealed off from the elements, or will it be more of an extension of an outdoor patio? 

I say “Cabinette” because that is what the structure is referred to by the builder- Lelands Barns.  It comes standard with 2 windows, a door, and a 4-foot covered porch.  The exterior is fully painted and finished with shutters and trim.  We drove to our nearest Lelands to see them in person, which I highly recommend if you are considering a shed.  It was extremely helpful to be able to stand inside and get a feel for what size we needed.  I chose a 10×20 configuration (this includes the 4-foot porch) and I upgraded to add more windows and an air conditioner cut out.  The dimensions are measured from the outside- meaning, the interior is really only 10×16.  One thing I didn’t think about was the loss of space due to the interior studs.  I accounted for the porch, but I didn’t factor in losing another almost 1/2ft inside because of the walls.  We were on the fence between the 10×20 and 12×20, and had I thought to consider the loss for finishing the walls, I might have justified the cost for the extra two feet.  I also recommend going to order in person because you are able to customize more than what is allowed online.  I was able to center my door, position my windows exactly where I wanted them, and see the paint colors in person.

• Things I wish I had known before building a She Shed: How to properly measure the interior. What is included in the advertised base price (delivery, site leveling, etc).  That I could add more customizations than what is allowed online.  

I say “Kitchenette” because that is what we will be adding to finish out the interior.  Like I said before, it didn’t make sense for me to have an office without access to a kitchen.  My She Shed will be finished out with cabinets, countertops, an island, and a sink.  I will also add a mini-fridge and hot plate.  I plan to customize the setup for shooting more videos in the future.  While it may not be my “dream kitchen” to scale, it has been fun to plan a kitchen from scratch.

• Where to splurge when building a She Shed: If you think you need more space, now is the time.  This is obviously not something you can “upgrade” or add on later.  You can scrimp and save on the finishings, but you can’t create more square footage.

Because we live over 75mi from Grandview, TX the cabinette will be delivered fully completed rather than built on site.  The estimated delivery is 2-3 weeks and I CAN’T wait!  James is panicking to get other projects finished up because he knows that I will want the #FarmetteCabinette finished by the time it’s unloaded from the truck- ha!  I will document the process here on the blog as we go, so stay tuned.

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