I just read a really interesting story the other day on FastCompany.com about a new type of structure that some homeowners are using to create home offices or private spaces in their backyards. As someone who works from home, the trend looks like a cool idea. For starting prices of about $7,000 to about $32,000, homeowners can add "sheds" to their backyards that can be used as home offices or as private spaces away from the rest of the house. (Perhaps as a crafting or writing room, or even a space for Dads who want to get away for a while from the wife and kids. Or, if you put a TV and a gaming system out there, you can stick your kids out there.)

I say "sheds," but these spaces aren't anything like the typical backyard sheds. Take a look at the photos in the FastCompany piece, and you'll see gleaming hardwood floors, desks, ambient lighting and lots of windows. Those spaces certainly beat out the dark, windowless hallway that I work in. And at those prices, they are less expensive than adding on an extra room to the house, too.—Lauren Baier Kim