It is not just appeal to young families with children either, even grandmas like to have a play area for the visiting grandchildren.



Many kinds of extras in a property can often clinch the deal for an undecided buyer. If two homes have the same appeal, but one has a small garden shed with a nice big window overlooking a workbench - guess which one will sway the deal!

There are always jobs wanting to be done on moving in, and a ready made workshop area will appeal to both Mum and Dad.

Mum will think 'How great that he won't mess up the counter tops because he has his own place for repairs'! Dad will probably think slightly differently: 'How great that I have a place to escape to and work in peace.''

To add to the aesthetic appeal of the natural wood look of the shed, you can group a matching bench, table and a few trees nearby to make a pleasant feature in your yard. If you are a carpenter and can make your own shed, it is probably worth the cost of the extra wood to build an extra one foot in length for a wall of storage shelving. This way it will also appeal to non DIY buyers! The better your shed, the harder it will be to turn down.

Likewise the playhouse.

You can make one wall of blackboard so that can draw all they want on the walls, and another of cork board, to pin up artwork. They can also make as much noise as they want, and the cork will deaden it slightly. All the mess and the spilt drinks and cake crumbs can stay in the playhouse. Some clever carpenters even build a little home that is identical to their own big home.

The playhouse will give them a lot of creative freedom, which is one way of fostering their own resourcefulness. Many a mother has slung a blanket over the clothes line and made a 'house' which has kept the children happy all day.

There is still a demand for this type of traditional playhouse, but also on the market, in both plans and kit form are forts, castles and log cabins. A tree house is also another possibility. These can have ropes and rope ladders hanging down, and will keep a kid amused for hours on end! Definitely a realty plus!

Whatever you chose to build, make the structure an asset to your garden, it should look good with shutters and its own deck and have trees planted around the entrance. Such a building really can help to sell your home, it is very difficult to ignore the repeated pleadings of, "Oh, can't we have it, please mum?"