7 Best Design Practices and Ideas for Outhouse Designs

Do you often wonder what you could possibly do to declutter your house while creating a little extra storage without interference?

Do you have permission from the zoning commission to construct an outhouse or garden shed but don’t know how to integrate it into your overall homesteading plans?

Did you build an outbuilding but you’re having difficulty organizing the space for better design planning?

Often, our homes are overrun by unnecessary tools and gadgets which, when the time arises, we can’t find. These organizational discrepancies are often avoided by cramming these tools in metal boxes where they tend to rust or get tangled up which causes more problems than they solve.

An outhouse or outbuilding is a perfect solution to solve this problem. Hence, today, we will discuss the various means of home decor or more to the point, outhouse design plans for your garden shed.

Read also – 50 Amazing Front Porch Decorating Ideas

Image Credit: pinterest.com

So what exactly is an outhouse?

An outhouse, as the name suggests, is a construct outside of the perimeter of your home, while still standing on your purchased land.

It is a simple solution to organizing your household while creating a separate work-station for your remodels, potting, planting, or even installing a composting toilet.

Allow us to elaborate…

You see, an outhouse is situated on-ground yet separated from your home. It is like a detached garage but serves multiple functions in your everyday life.

For instance, let’s say you have a clutter of tools and outdated gadgets lying around the house. Now, these cannot really be stored in the attic because you may require them frequently. However, keeping them in the house can be hazardous as people can get hurt, especially children, they can rust from negligence, or you might find it difficult to organize.

Therefore, an outhouse can provide a sanctuary to carefully store and even organize these items while designating a workstation where you can carry on with your woodworking projects, create DIY design ideas, store your log for the winter, etc. It is like a storehouse outside of your living space.

Additionally, you can convert this space into an outhouse bathroom for the construction crew or for personal use under special circumstances. If you are fond of gardening and potting, then the limited space can hold all your equipment. We have a variety of ideas, so let’s discuss them to create an efficient outdoor storage shed or composting facility for you.

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1. It all starts with a defined plan

Everything goes well when you have a well-defined plan.

Ask yourself, why do you need the outhouse? Do you need to store gear or do you need it to serve as a workstation? Do you need a place to hang your equipment after a long day of gardening and not track mud into your beautiful home? Or do you need it to serve all these purposes and offer a place of privacy as well?

It will help you plan the next few steps. When you know the purpose of your outhouse design, you can choose appropriate roofing and flooring. You can also choose how big or small it needs to be.

If your outhouse is to be converted into a composting outhouse or an outdoor latrine for workers or special circumstances, then you need to install a wholesome septic system in order to prevent any smell and decay. Call a holder and ask them to install a proper composting outhouse plan. Consider the airflow so your outdoor toilet remains daisy fresh at all times.

On the other hand, if you plan on using it as a workstation, consider planning how you want to arrange your tools. A workstation should always be organized so you can find what you want in the minimum amount of time while being able to reach everything quickly as and when required.

One such way to do this is by hanging your tools on the walls. Create subsequent crevices that will support each item as per its weight. Make sure that everything is within arm’s length so you can work efficiently and quickly. You can add cubbies beneath your workstation with some reclaimed wood or use pallets to store things.

Speaking of storing, you can also convert your outbuilding into a garden shed or storage shed with some paper holders, small DIY woodworking, pallets, or even a carefully organized system.

Planning is crucial in outhouse designs as the space is limited and the purposes can be innumerable.

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2. Choose from multiple outhouse design plans

Although an outhouse has limited space, your design ideas need not necessarily be minimalistic. You can cram a lot of stuff into your outhouse storage shed or create an open-planned garden shed for convenience.

If you are stuck for ideas, consider checking pics on Pinterest or Flickr for outhouse plans that appeal to you. Just because it is used as a storage unit or outhouse bathroom doesn’t mean you can’t pretty it up with some beautiful home decor from Etsy.

The outhouse building usually stands off-grid so try to think of innovative solutions for this space. You need not stick to the usual just because other people do it. You are privy to a certain amount of private time and this space can be dedicated to that.

If you do not wish to install a closed outhouse then consider converting it into a she-shed or small indoor garden space for serenity. You can use reclaimed wood to construct some DIY shelves or perhaps use the wooden pallets laying around the house to create a small DIY bench where you can chill.

An outhouse bathroom is an overly popular design in suburban areas. A tub is not likely to fit into the small space but how about adding an outdoor shower to hose down after a day of rigorous gardening? You can even use outhouse ideas with a nice warm toilet seat and a paper holder for the toilet paper. Although this is not something people like to talk about, however, we are bouncing ideas so why not throw it out there? Think about how peaceful it would be to have a private outhouse bathroom to gather your thoughts without being interrupted.

A lot of people believe that an outbuilding is barely worth putting in much thought and home decor. They could not be more wrong. An outhouse is a perfect place for serenity and composure. Even if you wish to construct a composting outhouse or a beautiful outhouse bathroom, consider the design you most desire.

A modern outhouse is also a possibility these days where you can instill various Alaska-oriented design ideas or simply place some woodworking designs by Ana White and transform this space into an outdoor room.

Read also – Types of Interior Design Styles

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3. Create a section for all your tools

Now, to elaborate on the most usually designed outhouses, let’s see what you can do if you wish to use the space to store your tools.

The outbuilding is an excellent location to create a storage shed for your various tools that are simply lying around the house hurting people needlessly. It is a dangerous precedent, especially if you have children or pets in the household who run around willy-nilly. The rakes, hammers, saws, and whatnot is really not something you want to run into.

Therein comes the design ideas where you can convert a simple outhouse into an organized little workspace. You can go all OCD about it and sketch out where each item of the tool is supposed to go, much like Trinity in the hit sitcom, Dexter.

An outhouse provides free space to organize your tools, be it manual or electric, for when you need them. You no longer have to worry about seeking them in clutter or worrying that they will rust. Just remember to install steady roofing to keep out any seeping water. Also, consider implementing a drainage system or at the very least, a waste disposal system.

If you are fond of DIY creations, then this small space can be your tiny little haven where you can design and build your baby’s crib, or maybe a small patio swing for you and your spouse, or perhaps a dollhouse or pirate manor for your kids. You can make excellent memories. You can even design the DIY outhouse itself.

But there is something extraordinary that you may not have yet thought of. When we say tools, it doesn’t necessarily refer to all manners of handiwork. Outhouse ideas can be instilled for arts and crafts as well. Build your own little studio with some paint and easel or a pottery wheel and clay. You can literally carve a small space into your personal workshop.

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Image Credit: pinterest.com

4. Instigate a gaming room or safe house for gadgets

Just because it is an outhouse doesn’t necessarily mean that it has to be dedicated to storing items or creating an outdoor bathroom.

Consider this: Do you need a space to relax and play with the new console you purchased a week ago? Maybe your kids keep taking it away or your children keep getting in the way when you are cleaning and organizing the house. Perhaps your home is a bit too noisy with all the sounds from the game console that keeps driving you crazy…

Here’s a plan. Convert your outbuilding into a sanctuary for your avid gamers and gadget lovers. Who doesn’t like some private time to sit and surf the internet, perhaps sipping on a glass of wine or chocolate milk, unwinding after a long day, right?

An outhouse can be many things. A gaming room is just one of the many ways to isolate the clamor to a smaller region and keep your home noiseless. Not only does it provide privacy but it also helps kids socialize. You see, in today’s fast-paced world of technology and growing environmental stress, kids do not have the liberty of building treehouses to chill with their friends. This is especially saddening in suburban regions where children playing on the street or screaming at each other from their backyards was a common incident. Now it’s a thing of the past.

These days, children prefer socializing over social media through their gadgets or high-end gaming programs. While this is frowned upon by most parents, and rightfully so, there is not much we can do about it. Times have changed; we need to roll with them. Hence, consider placing some bean bag chairs or a small comfy couch to build a cozy gaming room.

The kids can play to their heart’s content without getting in the way of their chores and still have a thriving social life in the confines of the small room. It is adequate as well as a necessity in this era to keep them grounded while still providing them with a means to do what the times demand.

A gaming room or a simple sanctuary for your gadgets does require sturdy roofing that will keep out the water and sleet from the environment. Take into account these factors, and voila! You have yourself a safe house for your electronics.

Did we mention how useful it is to store these things outside your home so people inside the house actually connect and communicate with each other and not spend all day on their gadgets?

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5. Store your gardening equipment with ease

Have you noticed how many times you or your loved ones take a rake to the face or someone hurts themselves because they used the garden shears?

This is because the inside of the house is no place to store your gardening equipment. Storage shed off-grid is a perfect solution to accommodate your viniculture, horticulture, agriculture, or simple gardening gear. Not only do you have the unprecedented space and convenience to arrange all your tackle and apparatus but you can also organize them as per your usage.

We suggest using the discarded wood pallets to create slanted shelving. You can nail them in and arrange your equipment as per the weightage that they can carry. You can further use a rope and pulley system to hang lighter things up higher.

Have you seen the pics of some beautiful indoor outhouse gardens? It doesn’t take a lot of work and all you have to do is potting your plants that are too delicate for the outdoors but too seething to keep inside the house as they attract a lot of insects.

The outhouse isn’t just the place to store the plants and gardening equipment but also to store away fertilizer and pesticides required for the health and wellness of your foliage. These items cannot be left in the open with the climatic changes and they are too smelly to keep inside the house. Therefore, the outhouse is the perfect storage shed for such natural elements.

There are excellent options available on Etsy such as hanging pots for your plants, or the enclosed wooden cabinets by Ana White that would perfectly complement your design plans and brighten up the interiors of the storage shed. Consider placing an area rug and a stool where you can sit at your workstation to design ideas for garden beautification.

Image Credit: standard.co.uk

6. Create an outhouse bathroom

You may have an old outhouse sitting on your grounds with a toilet seat or an outdoor shower that was initially used as a bathroom years ago. This is due to an old tradition where most people believed in creating an outhouse bathroom in order to keep filth out of the house.

This is not a matter of discrimination but simply to maintain hygiene within the household. You see, in olden times, they did not always have the means to build an indoor bathroom as either there was limited space or a dire need to keep the dirt and dust out of the house due to limited cleaning facilities.

This concept was later adopted by porter-potties and movable bathrooms. Eventually, it was conceptualized into an outhouse bathroom.

Now for bathroom design ideas, since this space is outside the house, you may want to consider warming it up with a heated toilet seat and a steam shower. This is simply to ensure that while in there, the user doesn’t suffer from hypothermia.

Speaking of a steam shower, you can also consider converting your outhouse bathroom into a steam room. Ordinarily, wood is an excellent choice for a steam room, therefore, using some reclaimed wood you can really build it into a comfortable space. Not to mention, adding some home decor pieces from Etsy could liven up the outhouse bathroom much like your indoor lavatory.

If your outhouse is going through a remodel, this might be a good time to consider installing a paper holder and a towel rack if you want the outbuilding bathroom decor to be cozy and comfortable. Needless to say, a full-bodied septic system is a necessity and you have to pay special attention to the airflow to ensure that the inside space doesn’t get mucky and uncomfortable.

Potpourri, some scented candles, maybe an area rug can really turn this space into a modern outhouse bathroom with adequate amenities and appeal.

Read also – 14 Best Bathroom Remodeling Ideas

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7. Build a composting outhouse or agricultural storage shed

Lastly, let’s talk about the extraordinary quality of a composting outhouse. This is not to be confused with an outhouse bathroom with a composting toilet. No. This what we are talking about is a revolutionary method of creating a space for your own gardening mulch and manure.

To be perfectly honest, there really aren’t a lot of design ideas that go into constructing a composting outhouse. You can very well use the roofing system to store some of your climbing gear and whatnot, but focusing on the interior makes for a simple outhouse.

You see, if you are enthused by gardening, horticulture, agriculture, and all the botanical sciences, then converting your outhouse into space to develop your own compost may be an ideal plan. It is needless to spend chunks of money purchasing manure and soil fertilizers.

Did you know that most of the mulch accumulated from shaving trees or clearing your grounds and even some portions of your garbage can be used as nourishment for the soil?

Yea, it’s true. All you need is a little knowledge of what portion of the muck is useful for your plants, shrubs, trees, etc., and what you need to throw away. And of course, you must know how to decompose these substances to create the fertilizer. Sure the outhouse is going to smell a little as you cannot install proper airflow in most situations. But that is why we have air fresheners and exhaust fans, even electric air purifiers.

A gardening and horticulture enthusiast understands the importance of making your own manure in a compost outhouse. It is highly nutritious and serves well to grow healthy foliage. Therefore, your simple outhouse doubles as a compost maker with minimum effort, and you have a healthy lawn or garden. It is also good for the environment which only adds to the benefits.

Read also – 10 Reasons Why Landscape Architecture Is Important

Image Credit: greenretreats.co.uk

And there you have it. An incredible array of usage and functionality to transform your simple outhouse into a multipurpose haven. If you still have difficulty visualizing the concept for your small space, try our Foyr Neo app which presents an option to choose your floor plans and spaces for accuracy.

To make things easier, the Foyr Neo application offers a step-by-step tutorial as to how to use the app efficiently. You must have an idea of what you desire to do with the special space and plan in advance. Then use Foyr Neo to envision the fixtures, home decor, woodwork, etc. for your Privy. Once you have a clear understanding of what the overall space should look like, you can begin your construction or remodel your old outhouse.

It is best to have clear outhouse plans before you start the implementation rather than redoing it because things didn’t quite turn out as you imagined.

Now that you have our incredible ideas and an app at your disposal, what are you waiting for?

Get started on constructing and designing the best and most efficient outhouse that matches the standard of your beautiful home.