Love shack

We have a storage shed that came with our condo. It was in need of coat of paint so I decided to take it up a notch and turn it into a cute garden shed replete with faux windows, window shutters, decorative trim and vivid colour.

The first thing I had to do was to scrape all of the flaking and peeling paint off of the exterior of the shed. This was a large task and I think I’ve built up some muscle from the job. The prep work needs to be done on any painting project to get a finish that not only looks good but also lasts.

Next came a quality exterior primer to seal the bare wood and provide a nice base for the colour coat.

I really liked the quality of the Beauti-tone interior paint that I used on my recent bathroom renovation so I decided to give the exterior paint a try. I chose a rich shade of blue called Ocean Spray for the walls and Terry Towel White for the trim. I played around with these colours on Beauti-tone’s website (beautitone.renoworks.com) beforehand and knew the contrasting colours would be lovely on our little shed.

It was still too cool outside to paint when we began this project, so in the interim we measured and cut the wood for our faux window frames and decorative trim and painted them indoors. I had picked up four pieces of scrap rough, live-edge wood pieces that I intended to use as shutters on either side of two of the windows.

Once the weather warmed up, I was able to prime the entire shed. I then painted two coats of the lovely Ocean Spray blue on the walls of the shed and painted the existing trim in Terry Towel White. All ready the shed was looking fabulous.

I found a length of leftover wood from a former project at our cottage that was scalloped and my husband installed this as decorative trim at the roofline over the doors. We painted the scalloped trim in the contrasting blue to make it stand out. This added a whimsical touch to the entire project.

My husband measured the interior area of the faux windows and marked out each square. He painted the area in a charcoal colour with a satin finish to mimic a windowpane (Beauti-tone’s In The Black).

Painting the windowpane area black mimics a window with the light off inside the structure. Using a glossier finish helps it look a little more realistic. (Homebuilders often install faux gables with window on rooflines. They sometimes use a similar technique but will use a pane of glass on top of the black paint.) We then installed the window frames and mullions, which were painted white beforehand. We installed the shutters on each side of the windows and the overall affect is absolutely charming.

I asked around to see if any of my friends had an old pair of rubber boots and wouldn’t you know it, one of them did. After I drilled a few drainage holes in the soles of each boot, I filled the feet with gravel (which helps with drainage but also weight the boots down, keeping them from toppling over) then topsoil to the top of the boot.

I chose yellow flowers to play off of the dark blue paint and set the boots just beside the shed doors. Too cute!

A once-boring storage shed is transformed into a delightful garden shed.

A project like this can help transform your yard into a pretty oasis and it isn’t a difficult nor an expensive project. It just takes a bit of time and elbow grease to get the job done.

Other ideas for your garden shed:

You could add in window boxes under the faux windows and fill them with live flowers for added colour and charm. Plant crawling vines along the base of your shed and allow the vines to cover the side of the shed via a trellis. Add decorative birdhouses of various shapes and sizes onto the walls of the shed for a whimsical touch. You may even get some nesting birds at your shed.

If you’re a good painter, hand-paint birds, butterflies and ladybugs on your shed. Surround the shed with painted rocks to add colour and fun. Let the kids help with this project. Install a faux picket fence around the shed (right onto the wall) to add a quaint touch.

A garden shed doesn’t have to be totally utilitarian. Have some fun with it.

connieoliver2016@gmail.com