In this day and age with a fickle economy it really pays to buy products with the long term in mind. This is most certainly the case with buying a shed, and specifically you should be looking into garden shed design.
Many people neglect to seriously consider garden shed design when wanting to invest in a new garden building. They will go to their local hardware store and choose between a select few. These sheds are generally prefabricated and very general in design, a one-size-fits-all kind of deal.
But more important is your needs - not only today but for the foreseeable future too. Do you have a large garden? If so, I always advise people to buy a bigger shed they originally plan. The size of the garden and the size of the shed go hand in hand; if your garden is more than an acre, get a 10x12 minimum!
Another question I advise you ask yourself is what do you plan to keep in the shed? For general items such as tools and a lawnmower this isn't an important question - everyone keeps tools and a lawnmower in their sheds. But other items can call for specialist design; let me explain with one example:
Ride-on Mower
With a ride-on mower there are certain criteria that you need to fulfill - security and accessibility. For security you should have a strong wooden structure and a more than your garden variety padlock - much more an anti-corroding, grade 5 padlock.
Accessibility is important because you want to be able to drive in a drive out without any struggle. The features you need here are a strong ramp to drive up, and double doors foe ease of access - these are features you won't generally find in your everyday shed at the hardware store.
And this all brings us to the question, what can we do if the shed design we want isn't available at the hardware store?
Simple, build it yourself. Now I know it's easier said than done but I'm telling you that with a good set of shed blueprints ANYONE can build a shed. Like anything it's just step-by-step. What's more, by building your own shed you get a lot more satisfaction from using it - you'll take better care of it too!
To find blueprints just head to Google and search for 'shed plan' + 'features you want'. It also helps to look for quality indicators such as testimonials.