BHG.COM/DIYMA G A Z I N E DO IT YOURSELF Summer 2020 49BRINGING THE INDOORS OUT The small shed in Michelle Adams’
Michigan backyard, above right, isn’t just a spot to stash garden
implements—“it’s become my favorite little hangout,” she says.
Ordered at Home Depot and customized to her specifi cations, the
Tuff Shed structure includes windows, a skylight, and paint that
matches the main house. Michelle outfi tted the interior, above,
with pegboard (to hang tools), a trestle table crafted of IKEA parts,
and a vintage wire Bertoia chair scored for $20 at an antiques
market. The shed can serve as an offi ce or a shady spot for
Rufus the pup as Michelle works in the garden.“DON’T GET ME WRONG,” SAYSMICHELLE ADAMS. “I HAD A LOVELY
LIFE AND AN AMAZING CAREER INNEW YORK.” She was the editor in chief of Domino
and cofounder of Lonny and by any estimation had “made it”
in the big city by the time she turned 30. “But I also felt like
I was actively choosing my career over my family,” she says.
“I was ready for a change of pace, and I was ready to have
a life outside of work.” She packed up her 475-square-foot
apartment and moved to Ann Arbor, Michigan, just a few
miles from her parents.
Her new digs? A 2,200-square-foot Colonial built in the
1920s that she actually owns—and that she put much thought
and elbow grease into furnishing and decorating. “When you’re
renting,” she says, “it’s much easier to have a trendy place, as
opposed to when you own a house and have to make expensive
renovations. That was a huge eye-opener when I moved into
this house. How do you design a home that feels relevant today
but still timeless so you don’t have to redo it in 10 years?”
The answer, it turns out, is to surround yourself with things
you love, treat the outdoors as an extension of the interiors, and
invite people over—often. That spacious square footage, after
all, is meant to be shared.48-57_Adams.indd 49 FINAL 2/24/20 9:08 AM