From Backyard Shed to Laid-back Surf Shack

They say “Necessity is the mother of invention.”, so when Tyson started sleeping in the sunroom rather than in the bedroom with Hudson on his weekend visits home from school, we realized that we needed to create more space to accommodate our kids becoming older teens and young adults. And since neither moving to a bigger home or building an addition was a viable option, we started thinking outside the box. Tim and I decided that the easiest, most affordable, and quickest option was to turn the backyard shed into a livable space for Tyson. And because I am constantly inspired by the beauty of our California coastline and the laidback lifestyle of our beach town, I knew immediately that I wanted to turn it into a surf shack.

The shed : Before

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In order to start with a blank canvas, we removed everything that was being stored in the shed and then we ripped out all the builtin shelves and workspaces. And even though we planned to use the loft as a sleeping area, we ended up needing to completely remove it and then rebuild it at a lower height.

Then I used a paint gun to spray the interior of the shed white. This was the first time I had ever used a spray gun, but it ended up being pretty simple to use and a big time saver. I was able to paint the entire inside of the shed in one day. It took two coats of primer and one coat of paint. I used the same color as I’ve used throughout my house, Dunn Edwards Whisper White, because I love the color and we already had some leftover from previous house projects.

Next, we laid Nobelford Oak laminate wood flooring. Even though we had no prior experience laying down flooring, we found these to be surprisingly easy to lay and we got it done in just one morning. After a little trial and error, we found it easiest to put an entire row together and then slide and snap the whole row into the previous row.

I spent hours flipping through my favorite coastal inspired interior design books (like this one) and perusing Pinterest to find inspiration and nail down how I wanted the space to look and feel. As much as I love white everything in my own house, I knew that wouldn’t be functional or work well in a space for Tyson. We needed to make it relaxed, comfortable, and able to withstand a little beach sand and mountain biking dirt. Peyton and I scoured FB Marketplace and OfferUp to hunt down the perfect, unique pieces.

One of the first pieces that Peyton and I found for the Surf Shack was a West Elm leather sofa on Marketplace. We were drawn to leather because it is both masculine and highly resilient, making it a great choice for a laid-back surf shack. Plus, the sofa is a rich, caramel color, has modern lines, a beautiful, worn patina, and it fit perfectly under the loft. It was a solid starting point and everything we decided was then based off of how well it played with the leather sofa. This was challenging at times because it’s not my normal style, but it’s always good to be challenged and I knew we could make it into a relaxed, cool surf shack. I drew a lot of inspiration from this room at Kelly Slater’s Surf Ranch.

I wanted to create a small space that resembled a kitchenette, but would do double duty as a desk and dresser. We found two black kitchen drawer cabinets on Marketplace and then bought Ikea Saljan countertops to go on top. For an easy backsplash with a relaxed, coastal feel, we put up beadboard panels painted with Benjamin Moore Revere Pewter. I found the vintage metal stool on Marketplace. The flags are hand-made by Slightly Choppy and represent special beaches and places in CA our family has visited and made memories.

Peyton found a flat-weave rug on OfferUp with a bold pattern and a little bit of color that brought the room to life. We also found a weathered pallet behind a warehouse, tore it apart, and re-built it into a rustic coffee table. Then we attached it to the top of a dolly that we found thrown out with someone’s trash. I made the Beach/Mountains sign because we have the beach one way and mountains the other and Tyson enjoys visiting both.

The ladder is an old RV ladder that we also found on Marketplace, which is a little nod to the RV trips we’ve taken together as a family.

Hudson and I searched through a box of used surf fins at a secondhand sports store to bring a splash of coordinating ocean colors above the doors.

White bamboo cordless blinds

This room is a reminder that one man’s trash is definitely another man’s (or woman’s) treasure. Inspiration is everywhere when you have eyes to see it; and by mixing old, new, and vintage finds, you can create a unique, casual, cool, laidback CA Surf Shack!