Modern Shed
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In the early 2000s, Ryan and Ahna Smith, both architecture graduates from UCLA, moved to Seattle and purchased a charming midcentury home that suffered from a common problem: no storage, no workspace, no room to grow. As trained architects, they saw the problem differently than most homeowners. Rather than accept the standard options of either a bland prefab shed or a months-long custom renovation, Ryan designed something new: a modern, factory-built studio that honored the home's aesthetic, preserved the yard's existing landscape, and could be installed in days instead of months. That first shed was built for the Smiths' own home, and its success sparked something bigger. It inspired an art studio for his wife, and soon their neighbors and friends were asking if Ryan could build them the same thing. What began as a private solution to a personal problem became Modern Shed, and in doing so, Ryan and Ahna invented an entire product category that barely existed at the time.
Twenty years later, Modern Shed has built a substantial portfolio of backyard studios, home offices, guest houses, and accessory dwelling units across North America, and the company remains under its founders' leadership and philosophy. The company has continued to operate at a fundamentally different scale and approach than its competitors. Rather than offer a catalog of fixed models with limited options, Modern Shed works backward from each customer's specific needs, and every structure is custom-designed by the company's team of design consultants before a single panel is fabricated. This is not a zero-based design process each time, which would be chaotic; instead, Modern Shed has developed three core model archetypes, the Shed, the Peak, and the ADU, each of which can be sized and customized extensively to fit different purposes and properties. A Peak is essentially two sheds placed front-to-front to create a gable roofline, providing more interior volume and a more formal appearance than the single-slope shed roof. An ADU is the Peak framework expanded to residential scale, suitable for full living with bedroom and bathroom included. Within each archetype, a customer can select window placements, door styles, siding materials, roof slope, interior finishes, roofline pitch, foundation configuration, and other details, all through direct collaboration with Modern Shed's design staff rather than through an automated online configurator.
The physical materials and construction approach reflect the company's architectural roots. Modern Shed uses what they call a True Open Joint Rainscreen system, a detail derived from high-end residential architecture that allows moisture management behind the siding rather than trapping it against the structure. The primary siding options include James Hardie fiber cement board (durable and paintable) or clear cedar accents for a more traditional appearance. Windows come from brands like Marvin, Andersen, Milgard, and Codel, mounted with operational styles including casement, sliding, and awning windows, as well as fixed transom windows that sit high on the walls to bring natural light deep into the interior while maintaining privacy. Doors run to over two dozen options, ranging from sliding patio doors to French double doors, all selected to match the specific aesthetic of each project. Interior finishes typically feature pre-finished birch plywood, which is both durable and warm, and the company offers corrugated metal siding as an alternative for customers seeking an industrial or contemporary look.
The customization process itself is part of Modern Shed's value proposition. Unlike buying a standardized product, a customer works one-on-one with a specialist who guides them through the design choices, helping think through how the space will actually be used. Will you need a door on the south side to access the garden, or would east-facing French doors be better for morning light? Should the roof be steeper to shed snow in Maine, or shallower to minimize height restrictions in a neighborhood with strict regulations? These are the conversations that separate a good fit from a space that felt right on paper but disappoints in use. Modern Shed charges nothing for this consultation, treating it as part of the sales process, and the resulting custom design is locked into a quotation that remains valid for 14 days, after which it expires due to fluctuating material costs. This pricing model reflects the reality that Modern Shed is not a commodity product; the company factors in real-time material costs and builds each structure to order.
Pricing for Modern Shed structures does not follow a published list. Instead, each quotation is generated after the design consultation and reflects the specific footprint, materials, and complexity of that particular project. The company does not publicly advertise price ranges, which means a customer must contact them to get a realistic figure. However, based on industry context, a typical small modern shed starting at 10 by 14 feet (140 square feet) might run somewhere in the $15,000 to $30,000 range for the kit and factory work before shipping and installation. A Peak model, larger and more complex, could run $25,000 to $50,000 for the structure itself. An ADU-scale modern shed at 14 by 24 feet with full bathroom and living features might land in the $40,000 to $70,000 range for the kit. Installation costs, which include foundation prep, delivery, assembly labor, and any electrical or mechanical work, are layered on top and vary significantly by region. Modern Shed acknowledges this by providing comprehensive cost estimates covering structural materials, freight, electrical infrastructure, and assembly labor, a transparency that contrasts with competitors who often leave those expenses vague and leave customers to scramble for contractors.
The company has expanded its manufacturing footprint to serve different regions. The original Seattle factory continues production for the West Coast, and in 2025, Modern Shed opened a Michigan fabrication facility to reduce lead times and shipping costs for customers in the Midwest and East Coast. This regional expansion is significant because it means a customer in Michigan or New York can now receive a custom design faster and cheaper than when the structure had to travel across the entire country. Modern Shed also offers financing through Acorn Finance, with rates beginning at 4.99%, and many customers explore home equity lines of credit (HELOC) or other refinancing options to fund their projects, treating the structure as a home improvement or investment.
Modern Shed's design philosophy sets it apart from competitors who emphasize standardization and speed. The company explicitly rejects the idea that automation should be the primary value driver. Instead, Modern Shed argues that experienced designers working directly with customers produce better outcomes than an online tool that constrains choices into predefined boundaries. This is a bet against the trend toward self-service configuration, and it works only because Modern Shed has enough demand and enough design expertise to absorb the overhead of manual consultations at scale.
Modern Shed is ideal for customers who care deeply about design quality and are comfortable collaborating on a custom project, and who value working with a company that has deep roots in its market and genuine architectural credibility. A creative professional seeking a studio that feels cohesive with their home's architecture will appreciate the design-forward approach. A homeowner adding an ADU to their property who wants it to complement rather than clash with the existing structure will find Modern Shed's consultative process worthwhile. Someone who has lived through a previous construction project and learned that the cheapest option often produced the worst outcome will likely see the premium on Modern Shed's service and materials as justified. For customers willing to invest time in collaboration and who see the design process itself as valuable rather than as friction to optimize away, Modern Shed delivers an experience that mass-market competitors simply cannot match.
Modern Shed stands as the original pioneer in the backyard studio category, and two decades of consistent presence in the market demonstrates that the company has sustained demand for a reason. Their structures routinely outlast cheaper alternatives, require less maintenance, and age more gracefully because the core materials and detailing were selected by architects rather than procurement teams optimizing for cost. For anyone seeking a design-conscious, built-to-last backyard studio, Modern Shed remains the standard against which others are measured.