“Honestly, I think my garden shed studio came about from Dino wanting to get all of my sewing stuff out of our house!“
While it is a cold and snowy winter day here, I am dreaming about warmer weather and really wanted to write about something spring.
I thought you might enjoy a little look back to another spring when my garden shed was delivered and how it looks these days.
Come and take a little tour of my garden shed studio with me!
My Garden Shed…the beginnings of a studio
Fall 2008
While Dino was shopping at The Home Depot, he noticed a great end-of-season sale on their sheds. After he came home, he forgot about them. It was a few days later, while we were at Baja Fresh celebrating Lydia’s birthday, that he remembered and since the store is right around the corner from the restaurant, we decided to go for a look. I had joked with my sister months before that I wanted a little building. How Dino knows what I am thinking, I am not sure, but God did I get lucky with this man. The next thing I knew we bought a shed.
On the morning that it arrived, I watched my shed sitting on a big flatbed truck backing down our very tiny alleyway. We had to dig our entire boxwood hedge up so that the truck could get through and place the shed in its permanent location. My heart was pounding so hard because that opening was looking very small from the vantage point I had on the back porch.
The drivers had no problem getting through and had it settled in its new home in no time. Now the planning could begin!
My Garden Shed Studio Exterior
BEFORE
AFTER
The Building
For the exterior of my garden shed studio, we did not need to do much. We added a window box and reconstructed the door with a wood planking and window.
We were unable to locate an attractive shed door so we transformed the original by adding our own window.
The charm that this window brings to the outside of my garden shed studio makes it look more like a little cottage. I hope to add a porch and tin roof someday!
I gave them both a fresh coat of paint.
The garden
The gardens around the little studio shed are a mix of an English cottage garden and a potager.
Or at least that is what I try to make it look like.
Both of these styles are inspired by two of my favorite gardeners (and artists) Tasha Tudor and Beatrix Potter.
I love the look of a layered, full blooming garden with a mix of perennials, annuals, edible flowers, and vegetables.
You can never have enough roses!
Inside my Garden Shed Studio
BEFORE
AFTER
After my garden shed studio arrived home, we spent the spring getting it ready. We wired it, insulated everything, and used t11 siding for the walls to make it look like beadboard. Cut some simple boards that we already had for molding. We painted the walls Silver Sage by Restoration Hardware and the trim is Downy Gray. I still love those colors, 13 years later!
Having a very low budget, most of my furnishings are estate sale finds,
with a few pieces from Ikea.
My friend Jessica has a small interior design business called “The Painted Nest”.
She helped me organize and arrange everything.
This is where most of the Ikea wares came in.
It’s amazing how a little organization can work to make a small space feel bigger.
Of course I’m not perfect, and things do get scattered and messy a lot.
Flowers always help with that, and kitties do too!
Thanks so much for touring my garden shed studio and seeing its progress.
I am excited to continue transforming this and the gardens into the cottage style that I love. Follow along as I have plans to renovate its front garden this spring!
SAVE THIS FOR LATER
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