Hey, youngun.....I will be back later to share info about sheds. We have several shed threads on this forum, and you can find many ideas to improve the way yours looks. It won't remain an eyesore for long. Ciao, will be back later.

OK I dashed out just as it was getting dark to get this. No time to clean it up. It is what it is a garden shed. It holds all our tools and my sprinklers and pruning things and tons of junk I make things with. The wagon holds all fencing things so when I need to fence I just bring the wagon with me so I have everything I need. I do not do much of that here which is good but when we had 100 acres or the 8 acres or even the two acres I fenced I did not want to make trips back to the house for one thing.

The shed is made of satellite dish fins and tin from the old roof off our shop building at the last house. There was very little cost in this. It works perfect for the mowers. The other one is in the carport for the summer but goes back in this shed for the winter.

Part of the shelves are made from the centers cut out from the house doors they put the long glass windows in. Like our front door. They are really strong and free for the asking. You need to be creative with them but I made them totally work for me. Wish I had some more and next trip to town with the truck I will see about getting a few more.

I hung some shade cloth on the one end just to hide the stuff inside from the sewing room window.

Here is a link that might be useful: Ugly but usable garden shed.

idaho- I love the shape of your shed! How fun! The metal stand the cat is on is just lovely. What a find! So many times I've longed for a wagon, though I have only a small city yard. I'm constantly running back and forth to the shed (and misplacing things in there). I think I'll look into your door idea. We have a few salvage places around there that tend to have doors. The length would be great for the size of my shed. Thanks for running out to take a picture. You're too kind.

Young-gardener, I bumped up a thread about sheds, but it is only one of several you can find on this subject at this forum. So I will leave you to do your own search.

I recommend that you do the search from the page showing general listing of threads in our forum. But do NOT use the search box at the top of the page. Scroll down near the bottom, and search from that box. It is located just above the box you'd use to create a new subject.

This is my shed. I love, it but wish I'd made the front porch deeper. And I wish I kept it cleaner. :)

pfmastin, your shed is absolutely adorable!!! What kind of things do you keep in there?

pfmastin- Your shed has more curb appeal than my HOUSE! It's adorable! I love the idea of the blue-green doors. I wish ours had power, because your lanterns look great! Maybe I could hang some that hold candles (for looks, not use).

Thanks, Moccasin! I didn't realize there was only one working search box. I'll do some digging tonight.

Cleaner? No way, it looks perfect as it is. You are supposed to have dirt in your flower beds, PFMastin!

LOVE what you've done, but I know what you mean about a deeper front porch. However, the curve of the roof is in perfect proportion as it is. Perhaps a pergola across the front one of these days, if you still want a deeper porch look. Top drawer there!!

Thank you for your nice words, everyone. I am embarrassed to say that the inside of my shed is in shambles. It needs a major clean out, toss out, straighten up. I'm waiting for cooler weather to do it. I designed this shed and if we ever had to leave this house, I'd be very sad to leave it.

kiki...I keep everything in there. There is a row of windows on the exterior wall on the right side and my potting bench. I start seeds there in February and germinate them on heat mats. There are cabinets for storage, a table and lamp and a filing cabinet to keep garden notes/catalogs and all that kind of thing. There are trash cans filled with bird seed and a rack for all the big garden tools. And if I don't hurry up and clean it, I won't be able to find any of it!

pfmastin, I adore your shed! Looks better than my house too. Too cute!

My shed was just an ordinary shed. I can't find a picture of it before I started reworking it. One day I was playing around with some old barn wood pieces and decided to recover it, and faux the trim. Then we took down the spot lights and added an old style lamp. I never have gotten around to painting the hinges black.

Before:

After:

Love this post. Please keep sharing your sheds. I have two which really need some details. Rustic is my thing and love the old town looking shed.

What unique sheds! I need to finish a garden I haven't even started before I can get a shed. LOL ;o)

My potting shed was the buttery for the dairy farm--long before we bought our home. It needs some work :(

I keep frequently-used gardening tools in an old outhouse that sits closer to the house.

shades, love the old sink--is it soapstone or zinc?

pfmastin, your shed is adorable!

marti8a, I can imagine a hitchin' post in front of your shed!

marti8a...what a great idea and so creative. I love the western theme. mama_goose the outhouse is perfect!

Mine is made of metal, painted the color of rusty red. I've thought of doing a free-hand painting of sunflowers over it.

Marti, honey, you are GOOD with redoing small outbuildings! Didn't you update your garage too? That old barn siding on the shed is very appropriate.

And younggardener, even if your shed has no door, it does have a really nice doorway. You might consider putting an arbor across that space. Two posts left, two posts right, and with some strong wood supporting it above. Some morning glory or other light weight vines would not become too heavy across it, and the look of the shed from your house would be kicked up a notch...

I've looked through two really nice books about sheds, and I'd love to post some pictures from them. But I hesitate to do so. But maybe one or two? The one I'm thinking about for YOUR situation, younggardener, is what they did with some canvas (think fabric painter dropcloths sold at Home Depot in various sizes) With heavy metal eyes on the top, you could string this on a tightened wire across the top of your shed doorway, and pull it closed or tuck it back out of the way at other times. I still like the arbor too.

I created a new album on Tinypics about sheds. I'm having trouble w/my computer today, so I won't put pics here. But I did include inspiration photos from 2 really good books about sheds....one is for MamaGoose's buttery, one is for Scott, then FlGargoyle will like them all, one is a caravan, one is for YoungGardener, and I think Marti would even enjoy some of the pics, even with her fantastic barn sided shed. If I can get this computer responding right, I might be able to upload photos to this thread later.
Anyway, here is the link to the new album.

Here is a link that might be useful: Sheds/Outbuildings Inspirations

Thank you ML. We closed in the old garage and made it the den, and then we built a new garage. That may be what you are thinking of because I just posted pictures of it too.

I love those pictures. You can post all you want as far as I'm concerned. Shed eye candy. lol

There used to be a shed blog, but it's been awhile since I've seen it. I think the person quit updating it.

Marti, the shed blog that Debra Prinzing had is now changed to another more inclusive blog. Sheds are still there, but she now paints with a broader brush. Debra is a garden writer, and the one who wrote STYLISH SHEDS AND ELEGANT HIDEAWAYS. Totally lovely shed eye candy. Somme of the inspirational photos in my album came from her book. And from the other book by the Country Living folks, SHED CHIC.

Wow, marti! I NEVER would have guessed that was the same shed. YOu added so much personality! I should hire you to make over ours!

mama, I adore your red shed. It makes me dream about what the rest of your haven must look like.

jannie, you should try! Then, post pics. :)

Moccasin- What a great set of pictures. They make me want to build a whole slew of little sheds. I like your fabric idea and will run it by DH. The arbor idea suits my taste perfectly. If only my DH was handy!

I always wanted to remove the metal from our shed, leaving just the wood framing. Then, we could hang old glass doors and windows in the framed sections, creating a breeze shed for a swing. I'd love to have a sitting shed in the middle of a shady garden. We'd have to build a second shed for our stuff, though, and that's not in the budget. I'll keep dreaming....

Well, I cheated. I bought ours from a fantastic company called Reeds Ferry. We had to tear down the collapsing ~1910 "garage" (too small to fit even a compact car) beside our 110-year-old house and replaced it with a smaller 8x10 shed which was the most appropriate size for where it would be located. Also, the bigger the space, the more stuff you accumulate... this one's just right for the lawnmower, rakes, snow shovels, and a couple of those metal utility shelf units for smaller stuff. (Of course right now it's total chaos in there... LOL) DH even drilled a hole in the front of the wheelbarrow, one of those heavy plastic ones, so he could hang it on heavy-duty hooks and get it out of the way. (I got him one of those folding wheelbarrows and it was awful!)

It cost less than the shed kits from Home Depot etc. once you added in all the stuff you really need that ISN'T included in the kit (like the base/floor, and extra roof supports for snow loads or high winds, yadda yadda), and it's a rock solid little structure. They even matched the colors of the roof shingles and siding (an odd cream color) to the house, and matched the window shutters to the existing house doors. Yes, it has functioning windows, with screens and shutters! It was so hard to find a shed with a shape (especially roofline) that looked right with our little old house without going completely custom which was WAY out of our budget, but I'm still thrilled with ours.

I need to take some more current pictures but haven't gotten around to it yet since we still haven't done anything about landscaping.

(I am not associated with Reeds Ferry except as a very satisfied customer.)

Our shed isn't fixed up cute; it's just cedar like the house. It's about 10 x 12 with a porch the same size. It's sheetrocked inside, with tile on the floor and a couple cabinets, a table and chairs.

{{!gwi}}

Hi, Old_Gardener! Now we have one each, young and old gardeners here! Your shed window is fantastic, and OMG it is sitting there midst those very tall trees. It is as neat as a pin, waiting for someone to drop by.

what purpose did you have in mind when you built it and located it by that high fence? Is that your driveway where the tiretracks are? Is the ceiling open to the rafters for a sleeping loft? There seems to be a tiny gabled roof showing this side of it. Is that for firewood?

Looks like a little piece of heaven to me.

That is funny, oldgardener and young-gardener. LOL

moccasinlanding, to answer your questions, yes, that's our driveway and the tall fence is to keep the deer out of the garden. The shed's ceiling isn't open to the rafters, unfortunately. When my husband was building it, I suggested we leave it open for a sleeping loft but he preferred to enclose it, I don't remember why. But, he's the builder, so he got to do it his way! LOL

The purpose of the shed was mainly to use up leftover building materials. My husband used to have a construction company and he had bits and pieces of materials laying around, including the window and tiles, and he thought he'd put them to good use.

Mostly it's for fun. We sit there on the porch and admire the garden sometimes.

oldgardener...How beautiful! The shed AND its surroundings. That's a great sittin' porch. :)

moccasin, I can't access your link--maybe it's my computer.

johnmari, love your shed AND your house, bay window, porch, everything!

oldgardener, what a cute shed, and beautiful picture--interesting contrast between the snug little house and the towering, snow-covered trees. I love the window--we have two octagon windows on the backside of our house.

Mama, not sure what happened to the link. And tonight I am in no shape to figure it out. I've been working on my blinking computer all day long, the DVD drive quit, so I cannot back up my photos. I'll try another time to link to that album on sheds. Otherwise, it'll have to wait until tomorrow. Law of diminishing returns has set in.

Here is a link that might be useful: Mocc Landing tinypic albums

Thank you, ML, the link is working! I love those magical pictures, especially the caravans. The stone building with the pergola and picket-fence bench gives me something to think about...

Mama, I thought you might be the one favoring the caravans. You have enough space at your farm/house, to roll a caravan all around. Aha, glad you are finding inspiration in the stone building. If you have a library close by, see if they have a book called SHED CHIC published by Southern Living.
Try not to drool all over the pages. :)

I have been missing so much. Love all the sheds. Mama_goose my sink is just galvanized from Army surplus.

Lovely snow picture and shed. Would love some of that snow here. Been way too hot.

Chris

This is a great little thread. Young gardener, I don't see a picture in your post at all.

Chris ~ I think you made a neat shed from recycled materials and it works fine for what you need.

pfmastin ~ your shed is adorable. Very cottagey and I love the color of your doors.

marti ~ What a fun transformation. You guys did a great job.

Moccasin ~ What a wonderful bunch of sheds. It almost makes me wish we had more property to make some of these sweet little buildings.

johnmari ~ I love your home with wrap around porch and your sweet shed.

Old gardener ~ Love your woodsy shed, that window is wonderful and it looks like a winter wonderland. Your DH did a fantastic job with left over materials.

We have two little sheds, one is 8'x10 and has lawn tools, generators and other stuff stored in it. We put an awning out front, with a little stoop for sitting on. The other is my shed and it is 6'x8', hold my washing machine, household supplies that we buy in bulk, small gardening tools, some art supplies, sea shells, a small desk and a chair. It does tend to get piled up with stuff though and every once in awhile I have to rearrange and purge. I also have what I call a 'student painting' of a nude hanging in there. She's too big to hang in our cottage.

{{!gwi}}

The dried up Christmas wreath made from Norfolk pine with seashells, is hanging on the door that leads into the secret garden. This picture was taken in April.

{{!gwi}}

These next pictures were taken in July.

{{!gwi}}

This is standing inside the secret garden.

{{!gwi}}

I am standing under the lattice roofing looking south, shed door is on the left.

{{!gwi}}

That's it for now from Plum Cottage.

Have a great Sunday ~ FlowerLady

Thanks for the tour, FlowerLady! A great Sunday morning visit.
One thing I really like about your design, other than the use of the greenery, is the siting of the St. Francis statue. It is centered on the window behind it, with the peak of the shed roof framing it like an alcove in a church. You did not simply plop it down anywhere in your garden, you placed it with great deliberation and foresignt. I think you achieved the maximum effect.

You probably know the name of the patron saint of gardeners. I think it starts with an "F"? I've wanted a statue of him in his robe with his gardening tools in hand, but you don't ordinarily find his statue as often as you do St. Francis. If I learn his name, this time I will make a note on my Blackberry which goes with me on every shopping trip.

I'd love to come visit you in the garden one quiet morning when the dew is still on the leaves and talk politely stopped while the birds had center stage. Many folks prefer sunsets, but I prefer dawns....when things are beginning and not ending.

Moccasin ~ Thank you for your kind words. St. Fiacre is the patron saint of gardens and gardeners. (I had to look it up.) I've never seen him but he would be a welcome addition to my gardens if I came across a statue of him cheap. This one we have of St. Francis we picked up at a local flea market many, many years ago for $10. He is very heavy as he's made out of cement.

My gardens are always a work in progress. I too, like mornings.

The statue of St. Francis has been moved around the gardens several times, always in some sort of cul de sac, or grotto feeling place. I like him where he is now.

I don't pray to saints, but I do love the simplistic and kind sentiment of St. Francis and have read his writings and agree with quite a bit of what he wrote.

Here is another picture with the crepe myrtles framing him.

{{gwi:629245}}

Have a nice afternoon.

FlowerLady