Charlotte Owendyk knew just what she wanted.

A member of four local garden clubs, she envisioned a little garden house hideaway where she could look out over her Roseville backyard as she planned garden projects – or daydreamed.

"I always knew I wanted one, but with kids in college, we couldn't afford it," Owendyk said. "I bought the cupola and (tulip) weathervane 10 years ago, and they just sat in a box in our garage."

Last year, Owendyk got her wish. Recently retired, the former state worker ordered a pre-fab Summerwood kit from Canada online (shipping included). Once it arrived, the kit took three days for a crew to assemble, and her "Tulip House" was born.

"The tulips pay homage to my Dutch ancestry," she said. "In a way, it's a glorified tool shed. My husband calls it an 'edifice.' But I can bring my portable computer out here and write."

Her poodles – Kelly and Emma – like the house, too. "The big dog (Kelly) sleeps on a pillow under my desk while the puppy (Emma) curls up right next to my computer," Owendyk said. "I look out the window and I feel like I'm part of the garden."

Extending living "room" into the great outdoors is a popular trend, particularly in fair-weathered California. Such garden structures are a way to add some special space with personality – as well as extra storage. For structures smaller than 100 square feet, they usually don't need special building permits – just a flat slab. (But check with your city before starting.)

"An outdoor structure provides a meaningful and personal experience that encourages living a life with nature, freedom, individuality and expression," said garden expert Paul Ambrose, of Garden.com, which features more than 25,000 gardening products including pre-fab garden structures made by Outdoor Living Today.

"Adding structure to your outdoor life can help erase the boundaries between the outside and inside of your home and make your outdoor areas the family's favorite – and healthiest – place to be together."

That structure may be a playhouse – designed for children or grownups. Or it may be a cabana by the pool or a garden "shed" with everything a gardener needs, including space for a library, sink, electricity and computer access.

Besides usefulness, such outdoor structures also provide an attractive focal point while making a personal statement, Ambrose said. Gazebos and pergolas are prime examples of such focal points.

In California, enclosed sheds can be used virtually year round – and not just for storage. They can make a handy home office, ideal for telecommuting.

Petaluma author and TV assistant director Annie Spiegelman, the "Dirt Diva," turned her garden shed into her garden office. She took out the lawn mower and moved in her computer.

"I had been craving my own space for a few years after my son was born and when I turned 40, there was a loud, nonstop Virginia Woolf voice in my head, telling me I needed a room of my own!" said Spiegelman, who was constantly distracted while working inside her house.

Soon after she finished her writing shed, Spiegelman got her book deal for "Talking Dirt" from Penguin Books. "I guess Oprah is right again," she added. "Our inner voice knows just what we need.

"This shed is my escape from the world," Spiegelman said, noting that it's surrounded by her organic garden, a massive redwood tree and climbing roses. "I feel really lucky."

To her 14-by-6-foot Tulip House, Owendyk added a plain hutch, giving her space for books and seeds; she decorated it with Dutch-made floral decals designed for china. For tools, she hung an heirloom oak coatrack from Holland. She personalized the walls with favorite garden-themed photographs. French doors, windows and skylights fill the house with natural light.

"When you're a gardener, you've got a lot of stuff," she noted. "I always thought I should have some place to store the lawn mower and stuff. Now, I have it – except I put the lawn mower someplace else."

Toronto-based Summerwood Products, the maker of Owendyk's Tulip House, has seen its structures become garden sheds, cabanas, weekend cabins, workshops, home offices, playhouses, gazebos, garages and spas. It sells ready-to-assemble kits as well as computerized drawings. (Owendyk spent about $7,000 on hers.)

California is the Canadian company's major market with demand for its unusual structures surging over the past five years.

"A lot of what we do fits into the culture of California life," said Summerwood's Brandon Ruck. "Before the economic downturn, three-quarters of our overall business was in California. (Now, it represents less than 40 percent.)

"The average California buyer doesn't want an out-of-the-box shed," Ruck added. "They want something they can feature, not just a storage building. They want a focal point for their yard, and (these structures) were built to be a focal point."

Summerwood's most popular designs are the gable-roofed Palmerton (like Owendyk's), a California-inspired Sonoma pool cabana and the five-sided Catalina garden house/cabana. Prices start at $2,500.

Tuff Sheds, the nation's leading maker of installed storage buildings, has been making sturdy sheds for 30 years. It annually installs more than 50,000 nationwide, with 10 factories in California. But the Denver-based company now also offers designs that look like mini-ranch houses, barns, gazebos and other specialty buildings.

"Forty percent are used for storage of lawn and garden equipment," said Phil Worth, Tuff Sheds' national spokesman. "But we've definitely seen growth of more creative uses. At least 10 percent are used for non-storage. … We're seeing more and more and more."

That category includes cabanas and home offices but also guesthouses and fishing lodges. Many buyers use them for pet shelters – from chickens to llamas – or hobby space, such as an artist studio. The basic Garden Ranch model starts at about $1,200.

"You'd be amazed what people do," said Jeff Schar of Tuff Sheds' Sacramento showroom in North Highlands. "They use them for just about anything. We even did a two-story 24-by-24(-foot) garage set-up for a model train."

And, yes, people live in them, too.

"Honestly, they do," Ruck said. "A lady in Hawaii bought one of our 12-by-12-(foot) structures and she lives in it year-round. It's next to a waterfall."

Owendyk doesn't live in the Tulip House, although she spends nearly every morning at its desk – and some evenings, too.

"This is my dream," she said. "It took a lot of years before I could make it happen. Sometimes, anticipation makes things better. With this house, the long wait made it special."

Summerwood Products, which manufactures pre-fab buildings such as cabanas and other small rooms, offers this advice when considering a garden structure:

• Determine a size for your structure, then make a "wish list" of all the functions your design should include. What do you want to do with this little building? Do you want natural light or overhead storage? Will you be spending a lot of time inside?

• When selecting a location, consider access to ventilation, electricity and water. (Ventilation is particularly important if the structure is going to be used for other than storage.)

• Choose options and accessories that complement your home as well as your personal taste. Consider how the structure will fit into surrounding architectural features such as rooflines and your home's overall style.

For photos and ideas, www.summerwood.com has a large online gallery. The company also offers detailed computerized plans for do-it-yourselfers.

• Tuff Shed, the nation's largest provider of installed storage buildings, also offers an online showcase of creative uses for its ready-made buildings. See it at www.tuffshed.com. Locally, Tuff Shed has showrooms in Sacramento (3200 Orange Grove Ave., North Highlands), Auburn (4120 Grass Valley Highway) and Vacaville (5119 Quinn Road).

• Backyard Buildings and More, which has a Sacramento outlet at 1627 Main Ave., Suite 5, offers a wide variety of designs including tack rooms, playhouses and "solar sheds," a sun-filled, ventilated project room with a greenhouse roof. Accessory packages turn basic sheds into handyman workshops or other specialized functions. Find ideas online at www.backyardbuildings.com.

• Outdoor Living Today (www.outdoorlivingtoday.com) offers cedar shed kits that look like little log cabins with shingle roofs, Dutch doors and window flower boxes. Other designs include cabanas, garden rooms with porches, a five-sided "penthouse" and a "sunshed" with polycarbonate roof windows.

– Debbie Arrington

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Call The Bee's Debbie Arrington, (916) 321-1075.

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