home away from home
HE SHED-SHE SHED
An Essex Fells designer converts a flooded pool shed into a backyard getaway
WRITTEN BY CINDY SCHWEICH HANDLER PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF VIC WAHBY
T
his 430-square-foot dwelling comes complete with
living room, kitchen, bath, loft, vaulted ceiling and
fireplace. If the same details were named in a New
York City real estate listing, it would attract a lot of
interest (and dollars). But it’s not in New York, or for
sale: It’s the former pool shed of Essex Fells interior
designer Kathy Cook, owner of Kathy Cook Interiors.
When Cook and her husband bought their home 25 years ago,
they filled in the existing pool and rented out the shed as “bach-
elors quarters,” says Cook. “Then when we had our kids, it was the
‘nanny shack.’ Then it was a junk pile, and then the pipes burst.”
Her son, she says, had always wanted a place for hanging out,
studying and playing music with friends, so a few years ago, when
he was in high school, Cook installed new ceramic flooring, lighting,
fans, a door, a hot water heating system and air conditioning, and
renovated the bathroom. “When he’s home from college, friends
come over and they sleep out there,” says Cook. His two sisters —
26
FALL 2019 MONTCLAIR MAGAZINE
one is older, the other his twin — occasionally
enjoy it, and Cook herself likes to use it when
working on her laptop and for cocktail parties.
“That’s why I call it the He Shed-She Shed,”
she says.