How to Transform Your Garden Shed into a Focal Point

Get Creative with Paint, Yard Art and Plants to take your Garden Shed from Drab to Fab!

When we moved into our house back in 2000 there was a relatively new storage shed in the back yard. The prefabricated kind of small building that Lowes and Home Depot sells. It was a 2-tone blah beige. The 8′ x 12′ interior was large enough to house our garden tools and yard equipment. Which was a real plus, since it freed up room in the garage to park our two cars. The hot humid summers in coastal North Carolina are tough on vehicles.

I wanted the unattractive shed to blend into the backyard, but its lighter color made it stand out. A coat of neutral green paint was the solution. I used Edamame by Sherwin Williams. A couple years later we added purple Adirondack Chairs to our deck and I thought a pop of purple would look good on the shed and tie the deck and backyard together. I painted the small shutter-trim by the side window a matching grape color. I found a pair of wood trellises, painted them the same and installed them on each side of the front door.

A flagstone path leading to the door made for an inviting welcome. Low voltage landscape lighting gives the building a fairy tale feel at night. Shade loving plants and flowers completed the whimsical transformation. This hardworking garden shed helped corral our lawn tools for years. Unfortunately, it had been placed directly on the ground and moisture damage took its toll.

Last year we decided it was time to replace our sweet garden shed.

It will take a bit of time to give this new guy the same charm and character the old shed had! It is much better built though and should hold up well to the elements.