After organizing the shed in my backyard, I took all of my girly fabric scraps, a can of spray paint, and half a can of latex interior white and made this plain old shed my girly getaway.
With easy views of the garden and the kids fort, it is the perfect space for working with plants, potting, photographing product and relaxing in a space that is completely, fully girlalicious.
A craftsman’s fairy tale cottages built with reclaimed materials
Don't let kids have all the fun: these flights of fancy aren't just for playhouses. They also make sweet guest houses and saunas.
The main piece of furniture in the space is this giant hutch. Found for $15 at my local thrift store, it works perfectly as a storage piece for china (girly picnics, you know!), pots and other gardening and crafting supplies.
Covering the file boxes with fabric and the addition of a little bunting was all it took to girlify the piece!
That little rocker in the corner started out life as a dirty old $2 auction find. After sanding and painting the frame, I added Coke bottles in a matte blue to the back and my little Red bebe collected “flowers” for a little more whimsy.
That bunting spans the entire back wall of the shed, and joins magazine cutouts, a vintage suitcase, various yarns and thread and garden tools and hats — all in shades of pink, white and natural brown.
Where did all of this stuff come from? Well, I have a problem of collecting items that don’t go with anything in my house. Every time I see an incredible deal on an item that I love, it is hard for me to pass it up. Therefore, I had thrift store curtains, a book full of magazine prints, hoards of pink and purple thread and yarn and just a ridiculous amount of super girly fabric. Shifting my focus to the shed allowed me to create a space that welcomed all my girly stuuuuuuuf with open arms. The paint was all leftover paint sitting in the garage and not a single thing was taken out of the shed. It was all just rearranged and added to.
Why is everything all white? Two reasons. I have been wanting to do an all white room for a while now, but I like the paint colors in our home right now, so it would be foolish to paint just for the sake of painting. The shed however, greatly benefited from a wash of white. It went from practical and utilitarian to light, bright and inviting. The second reason is to provide a backdrop for photography. White is a favorite background of mine, and I designed the vignettes in this space specifically for photographing product.
It’s good to have a space just for your needs 🙂
This looks beautiful! Quite cozy and a nice little getaway. 🙂
I like white, it’s fresh and clean and looks great with any and all brightly coloured decorations, I don’t know what so many people have against it.
Your little shed looks beautiful. very calming.
As much as I love what you’ve done, I can’t help but think the white will invite SO. MUCH. DUST! And dirt. Sheds are places of dirt and grime and half open paint cans and pots-without-plants, etc. It looks lovely and not like anything that I’ve just said. But won’t it still attract dirt and dust?
How do you deal with that problem? Personally, I probably would have painted it a light brown/beige colour with white highlights so that the dust wouldn’t bug me. But it wouldn’t have looked so pretty.
Thor is a perfect name for a cat! You are my hero. 🙂
I also love your idea of making a separate area for just you, with all your stuff you love but doesn’t have a place in your house. I will have to try to make a space like this for me…
Oh this might be the coolest shed ever. WANT! (But where would I hide my rototiller?)
Shawna – my stuff like that is behind the screen 😉
…and Thor thanks you very much…he’s quite the tiger in his own head… 🙂
About the white…I used a bit of a gloss finish, so it is easy to clean if I want to, but honestly, I love (LOVE) the dirty finish white gets on it with a lot of use. I’m excited for the place to “settle in” and start getting scratched up and a bit dirty – you know what I mean?
Anywhooo…thanks for all the comments – hugs and kisses – MMMMMMWAH!
My god woman! This shed is fantastic. Right along the lines of my dream get away for sure. I used to think I wanted to build a cool little house in the backyard for the kids but now I’m thinking it’ll have to be for myself! Maybe we’ll have to share…
That is just so very lovely … wow!