In the United States and United Kingdom, tens of millions of people own outdoor garden sheds, and according to a recent survey 77% of them just use the additional storage space for old tools.
For better or worse, some people go the extra mile. Others go the extra mile and then keep going until they’ve reached the point of no return. Then they keep going. For example, here are four insane shed ideas that will put your DIY projects to shame:
1. The Watts Towers in Los Angeles
In 1921, Italian immigrant Simon Rodia told his wife he was going out to the shed in his backyard. He started building a metal structure with ornate walls, using colorful tiles, broken glass, cement, and steel to build a dazzling structure that rose hundreds of feet into the air. And he didn’t stop. He spent decades building the Watts Towers higher and higher, deaf to his neighbors’ complaints.
Eventually, the city condemned the structure and brought in a demolition team to tear them down. What they didn’t know — Rodia may have been crazy, but he also knew what he was doing. The structures were so sound that the truck they used to tear them down broke. The towers stand to this day nearly a century later, a testament to the lengths a man will go to spend time tinkering in his backyard.
2. Become a Billionaire
Sure, you like to go into your shed and garage to unwind, work on home improvement projects, whatever. Well here’s some info to make you feel like a lazy slob. Silicon Valley giant Hewlett Packard is one of many companies that started out of a now mythical garage, when Stanford buddies Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard designed a device for audio engineers.
That shed is now an official California Historic Landmark, designated the “Birthplace of Silicon Valley,” for finally bringing sheds online.
3. Win a Nobel Prize
World famous scientist Marie Curie is hopefully the only Novel Prize winner to spend most of her time stuck inside a shed. It probably says something about the way women were treated in science that the double Nobel Prize winner conducted some of her most famous work inside a tiny little shed. Unfortunately, the highly radioactive materials she stored inside her shed led to her death. Some of her notebooks are kept in lead boxes because they’re still dangerous today.
Curie was awarded twin Nobel Prizes in both physics and chemistry. So unless the Nobel Prize committee starts granting twin awards for weed whacking and lawn mowing, Curie puts your DIY shed projects to shame.
4. Amish Garages and Sheds
In the days of old, Amish communities would come together to build and raise an entire barn in just 10 hours. Unfortunately, community barn raising has since gone extinct, but Amish built garages and sheds are still popular today.
Buy Amish Built Garages, Amish Sheds Online
Although barn raising has fallen out of fashion, Amish furniture and Amish buildings are still sold all over the world. Amish goods are 100% handmade from wood, and you can buy the best Amish sheds in New Jersey from a number of retailers. You can also buy sheds online, although the manufacturers might not have a website themselves. If you’re looking for DIY custom shed inspiration, or want to find out more about sheds online, feel free to click around.