Cozy Sheds

This is not your father’s tool shed. Welcome to new-age sheds—no longer dirty, dilapidated depots to store lawn mowers and power tools, but another way to play with making a small dwelling both functional and chic. Cozy Shade Lane reminds us that we don’t have to live large to live beautifully. This charming cabana was transformed in the hands of tastemaker and designer of Pansy Bayou Studio, Casey Stephenson, who knows a thing or two about breaking design rules and stepping up interior aesthetic with plant creations. Casey customized the wee woodshed dressed in white with the help of local shed company, Superior Sheds. The 100-square-foot styling shack fills the space with “happy-making” plants and goals for effortless creative collaborations. Inside the shed, delicate glass vases await hanging clipping tools and blooms basking on open shelving. 

Casey also uses her intimate woodshed to design tabletop arrangements for custom gift ideas and boutique social gatherings. Modern vessels of all shapes are prepped and ready for creating lush flower arrangements, while hand-drawn plant sketches are tacked up for inspiration. The Shed now acts as a “mini wingman” to her main homestead and breathes as a Floridian woman’s playground—fully-furnished with her figurative works, books on surfing, hordes of clipped palms leaves, roadside native foliage from the Gulf Coast and minimalist furniture. Drawing on the tiny house phenomenon, she makes more with less by utilizing its natural surroundings to create a dreamy space that represents modern living but on a smaller, more manageable scale. The lush outdoor vista surrounding The Shed was brought to fruition by friend Brent Adams, of Bodhi Tree Landscape & Design. “I could envision a completely cloistered double lot in downtown Sarasota, and it was my goal to make it happen,” she says. Cozy Shade Lane’s outdoor upgrade includes outstretched traveler palms, draping bleeding heart vine, bromeliads, air plants and succulents dripping from unexpected surfaces. The picturesque garden and simplistic decor boasts outdoor pillows, string lights and Palm Beach umbrellas for when Casey invites friends and local creatives to her dreamy, tropical bungalow.

See more of the "she-shed", surrounded by unpretentious pleasures in its quaint locale at @theshedbycase or #cozyshadelane. Photography by Wyatt Kostygan.

Humble Bars

Let’s take a moment to collectively agree that every memorable event needs a brilliant cocktail station. The latest tiny mobile bar trend is here to switch your drinks into high gear with its adorable, retro-inspired look and go-anywhere ability. Inspired by Prosecco vans and mobile craft beer bars found all throughout Europe, Get Cozy is now newly establishing itself in the Tampa Bay area, with the portability to run the gamut of Florida’s west coast in its petite roadhouse voyagers. “I’m very excited to get things started in this area,” says Get Cozy Caravan Club operator Margaret Gorey. “I believe Sarasota, Bradenton and Venice will be perfect locations considering all of the weddings, meetings and events that take place year-round, and what a beautiful place to begin with!” The progressive bar on wheels can be stocked to the hilt and staffed with full-service bartenders—you just provide the alcohol and Margaret’s team is down to travel virtually anywhere. The understated tin cans are Piaggio Ape mini-trucks and other one-of-a-kind vintage vehicles reimagined as tiny mobile bars with big personalities.

Small enough to drive through a set of double doors is faved caravan “Bubbles & Brews.” It has seven taps to pour refreshingly chilled prosecco and craft beer, as well as batch cocktails dispensed from the covert kegs. The lifestyle-driven caravan camper is available to work corporate, public and private special occasions—with the ability to fit into warehouse spaces, offices, hotels, rooftops, vineyards, breweries, parks and backyards and interior spaces. Whether it’s a whimsical bohemian wedding or for offbeat executive entertainment, it undeniably surpasses having to rent out a hall or find a quiet corner in a restaurant during happy hour. The truth is, this hipster locomotive will be the talk of the party with all your guests roll up a boutique mini-camper that’s been reimagined into an elegantly styled bar with tires and booze and people are going to talk and take pictures. It’s like a magnet. Cheers, tiny merrymakers.

Get Cozy Vintage Mobile Bars, Tampa, 804-683-3683, @getcozyvintagemobilebars.

Tiny Houses

There’s a strange kind of serenity stepping into any one of the dozen tiny homes perched up at the south end of Siesta Key. Meet the tiny houses built on custom steel trailers with radial tires, safety brakes and stabilizing jacks—all rolled into a neighborhood alignment and stylized with their own themed features that set each one apart. When you step inside the modular interiors, be surprised by how spacious they’re capable of feeling despite their bijou size, ranging from 100 to 400 square feet of infrastructure. “The hard thing is that every county and municipality is different in terms of zoning regulations. Places like Portland, OR are very tiny-house-friendly, whereas here it can be more challenging,” says Megan McFadden Schmid, reservations manager for Tiny House Beach Resort. “This is the first of its kind in Sarasota.” The pocket-edition vacation homes are available in one-, two- and three-bedroom models, have pet-friendly options and even a model with a corner bathtub to fill with tiny bubbles. They all include an outdoor patio area with lounge chairs, and some even an outdoor shower or island bar.Renters sacrifice nothing of their daily habits—equipped with a living area couch, coffee table and flat screen TV, as well as a fully stocked kitchenette rigged with tableware, stainless sink, induction burner (which uses less electricity than a regular stovetop), and an inconspicuous microwave and fridge that take advantage of compact compartments—specifically designed to fit perfectly in the margins like a slinky black dress. If the tiny model is a “two-story,” test your climbing coordination with the rolling library ladder or luck out with the units that have spiral stairs instead—headwaying into the snug sleeping lofts where you’ll be pleased to find a full-size mattress, window skylight and closet or cubby space for your belongings.  Of the 12 humble abodes to choose from, pick the dwelling that best fits your style and stay. The repurposed Lifeguard Stand units encompass life-by-the-sea digs, while others like Dragonfly give off a very cabin-in-the-woods feel. Feminine and fun, the Eleanor and Flamingo houses come brightly colored and filled with girly interior decor, while Aqua and Blue Oasis give off an industrial college-dorm vibe for dudes to max out in a more manly pad. The Margarita remains quintessentially Florida, vibrant with Margaritaville furnishings and “it’s 5-o’clock somewhere” adornments—perfect for a fun family vacation. But for the couples looking for a romantic rendezvous, the Sand Dollar and newest addition Seashell set the tone with relaxing beachy themes. Currently available on online booking sites like Airbnb, VRBO, Booking.com and Expedia, guests gain access to all the resort’s amenities—including outdoor grills for barbecuing, beach cruisers to ride down to the Village and a thorough guide to Siesta Key destinations/excursions. “Tiny House Beach Resort has seen large family reunions come through—booking five or six at a time. We’ve also had bachelorette parties, bachelor getaways, babymoons, corporate retreats and local staycationers from inland looking to enjoy the coast in a different way,” says Megan of travelers straying from high-rise hotels and lavish beach resorts. “We try to remain competitive with hotels, but we think here you get more and you get an experience.” You may downsize on ceiling clearance and room volume, but never on hospitality or experience. And if nothing else, it’ll encourage you to not overpack your suitcase with nonsensical outfits. 

Tiny House Siesta. 6600 Avenue A., Sarasota, 941-474-3782, @tinyhousebeachresort. Photographed by Dylan Jon Wade Cox.

Get the Tiny Homes Look—

Busy Studios

Can’t concentrate in an office cubicle and not really into the whole co-working, shared spaces? Tiny Studios pioneers a rad business model recycling and repurposing used shipping containers to create your dream workspace. When owner and interior designer Tamaryn Sullivan started a small online retail store Caco and Kai, she had an overflow of inventory and needed a professional space to house it properly. Rather than destroying the dining room and leaving it completely unusable with mounds of fabric and sewing machines, Sullivan wanted a small, unattached locale separate to her home that could keep all of their work in one spot.

“My dad’s a local general contractor and had this extra shipping container lying around, and I thought, ‘Man that’d be such a cool little studio if you put an A/C in there and make it a separate office space to work,’” she says. Together they built out the 20’ container into what would become the inaugural project of Tiny Studios. The empty, life-size box transformed into a modern architectural, sustainable studio—much like an adult-version tree house (except situated on ground-level to minimize visits to the hospital)—whether you need a professional storage unit to hold materials and extraneous props, a personal hideaway to get work done, a private gym/yoga studio to practice in or an intimate greenhouse.

The containers also have the ability to be placed on wheels to create an opportunity for a traveling art gallery or pop-up shop to export to remote weekend markets. These mini-hubs are available for rent or purchase, with five different models or “settings” to choose from—Office, Bungalow, She Shed, Man Cave or Retail. You can even have Tamaryn source, customize and build your atelier unit just the way you want. “My brother’s thinking of even doing his massage therapy practice out of one for his clients now,” she says. “Anything’s possible at this point.” *SRQ holds no accountability if you end up vibin’ out in your comfy, new studio during office hours and procrastinate work assignments.

Tiny Studios, 740 Commerce Dr. Ste 6, Venice, 941-223-3068, @tinystudiosfl. Photography by Corey Woosley.