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FALL HOME & GARDEN REPORT I iJBm. 1 ' il | fP'SJaMtB # r \\ ' *'%?' ~x f _ . Mwyy ; I jygPjrj -l ‘ ,t .^ GETTING AWAY FROM IT ALL (Without leaving) Homeowners squeezed for space are turning to cozy "cabins" they can build in their backyards. These affordable, DIY units are extending our living space like never before. By Jeffrey Ressner S A SINGLE MOTHER living in Austin with her 16-year-old son, Sydney Rubin adored the archi tectural style of her 1952 two bedroom bungalow. But she des perately needed more space for a home office. Adding a new room would have run about $40,000, A and at least double that to convert her carport. Either way, the renovations would have compromised the 6 USA WEEKEND • Sept. 14-16,2007 ■fc i jr “■* -* I Mg is *" pH home’s original design. Instead, Rubin came up with a novel solution: a tricked-out backyard cabana that transformed her garden area into an idyllic workspace. “I know it sounds flaky, but it’s a really inviting, happy-looking structure,” says Rubin, who bought the upscale cabana online after mulling over her various options. The 140-square-foot unit took a couple of workers just five days to build using prefabricated materials, including gorgeous tight-knot redwood panels. Tbtal cost: $22,000. Now she has a home office, a garden feature and a conversation piece. “Every time someone comes over, they ask the same question: ‘Where can I get one?’ ” These days, the answer is easy. Prefab cabanas, or “cabins,” as people also call them, experienced a resurgence in the 19705, and in the last few years sev eral companies have popped up selling hip backyard lodgings perfect for ait studios, meditation rooms or guest quarters. Keep in mind, however, that tradi tional “bonus room” additions generally are more sturdy “They’re less expensive than an addition and a great way to escape from loud family life in the main house.” HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHK than cool prefab modules and may deliver a better re turn on investment when reselling your home. Although separate structures like these often are used for storage, they also can offer homeowners a real refuge a different room in which to work, play or just relax. It’s almost like having a vacation home in the backyard. The units range in size (100 square feet and up) and are detached from the main residence and immobile. “A new trend definitely started in the building industry,” says Casper Mork- Ulnes of Modern Cabana, the maker of Rubin’s cube and one of at least a dozen firms offering the nifty single-room nooks. “They’re less expensive than an addition and a great way to escape from loud family life in the main house.” Garden rooms in general have become a popular concept as homeowners seek ways to expand exterior living and leisure spaces beyond wooden decks. Some daring folks are experimenting with cargo contain ers; others park gleaming Airstream trailers in their yards. Jo Stougaard of North Hollywood, Calif, pitched a large canvas tent in her garden, decorated it with safari gear, framed Hemingway photos and African knickknacks and now r often hosts fun dinner parties there that is, when guests aren’t sipping martinis inside a nearby Tiki hut, which serves as yet another outdoor room. Sometimes fun is trumped by function: Richard Cornelius of Cincinnati spent nearly SIO,OOO on a Cape Cod-styled mini-home that he uses to hide his swimming pool equipment. Popular for many years in England, the too-cool garden-room trend got a spark here in early 2004 when Gen X-slash-Y craft magazine Ready Made published a cover story featuring a $1,500 super shed by California designer Edgar Blazona. With its Cover photograph by Jean-Yves Bruel, Masterfile Oakes photograph, above, by John Black/honestimage T.E). Oakes, seated, and wife Jennifer built a "playhouse” in their backyard in Kentucky.