Decorating a shed ... (not quite INTERIOR decorating but still decorating!) (fireplace, painting)
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Hi, all! I finally got the pellet shed I've been wanting to buy since I got a pellet stove (actually a fireplace insert) 8-9 years ago. It's 20 feet wide by 10 feet deep and is JUST off my driveway, which, when I have a very small concrete ramp built next spring (from the shed doors onto the driveway -- couldn't do it sooner), will make it very convenient for me to bring bags of pellets into the house (AND I'll be able to use a pallet jack inside the shed!). Anyway, this is the shed ...
It already has 7 tons of pellets inside and I will likely get 3 more tons in there in the next week or two. There's a bit of room for other stuff too (e.g. lightweight stuff I won't need for awhile and can just pile on top of the pallets of pellets), but I bought it mostly to get pellets (normally my main source of heat) out of the garage. (Ten tons is about 2 years' worth for me.)
For decorating, I am adding 2 window boxes to the front (well, the only) windows -- I am going to try to get those on in the next week or two as I really want to get some (fake) greenery in them for the holidays. But I have basically two "blank slates": the side walls, which are about 10' wide by 8' high (plus the gables) each. The right-side side wall in the photo faces the street -- that's about 33' away (my driveway is about 60' long). I will be adding a half-moon of hardscaping on either side of the shed (probably using small stones or gravel with potted plants), so that will be very nice come spring, but what else could I do with those side walls?
For the left-side one -- which faces the back of my property -- I found an old wood ladder that I will hang up, add hooks to, and add some gardening "stuff" to. For the right-side one, since it faces the street I want it to be nice looking. A couple of years ago I bought this windmill:
It's 22" in diameter, which sounded big to me at the time but on a 10' x 8' wall, it doesn't look so big! So what else could I put on that wall?
Oh, my house is your basic Colonial, although I will be adding a front porch to it so it will look more like a farmhouse (which I love). There's a 3-car garage on the right side and the shed is in the right side yard just off the garage.
If that thing is built with T1-11 plywood I wouldn’t “hang” a damn thing on it! Window boxes, decor, etc. Anything that can catch and hold debris will also hold moisture- which will lead to delamination AND rot.
It could certainly use some landscaping! I think you parked it too close to the drive- I would have left 4’ between the shed and drive for shrubs. Just something simple like boxwoods- or whatever hedge material is native to NH. Wrap it around the corners- or use a taller shrub for corner plantings. Anything to soften the hard angular look of “a shed”.
If that thing is built with T1-11 plywood I wouldn’t “hang” a damn thing on it! Window boxes, decor, etc. Anything that can catch and hold debris will also hold moisture- which will lead to delamination AND rot.
OK, then. I see you are being your usual helpful self. Not.
Quote:
Originally Posted by K'ledgeBldr
It could certainly use some landscaping! I think you parked it too close to the drive- I would have left 4’ between the shed and drive for shrubs.
I COULDN'T leave 4' between the shed and the driveway unless I wanted the shed to be only 6' deep, which would kind of defeat the purpose of it being a WOOD PELLET SHED. I made the shed as deep as I could -- which was 10' deep -- while still meeting setback requirements so I didn't have to get a variance. (I probably COULD have gotten one since my neighbor's house on that side is probably 500' away [their property line is only about 6' away but there are woods between my side yard and their house], but it would have been a pain in the butt.)
And I WANTED the shed that close to the driveway so I could use a wheelbarrow or cart to bring in several bags of pellets at a time in the winter. That was the POINT of putting it there!
And finally, please give me a break about the lack of landscaping! The shed was just installed Thanksgiving week, and I literally JUST finished an insanely busy semester YESTERDAY when I turned in grades. But in any case, it's not exactly the right weather in New Hamspshire in December to do LANDSCAPING! As I wrote, I will be doing that in the spring. To quote myself:
Quote:
Originally Posted by karen_in_nh_2012
... I will be adding a half-moon of hardscaping on either side of the shed (probably using small stones or gravel with potted plants) ...
Quote:
Originally Posted by K'ledgeBldr
Just something simple like boxwoods- or whatever hedge material is native to NH. Wrap it around the corners- or use a taller shrub for corner plantings. Anything to soften the hard angular look of “a shed”.
I definitely would NOT want shrubs in front of it -- I had those in front of my HOUSE and yanked them all out for the to-be-built porch.
Not sure why you bothered to post since all you did was berate me ... I hope some others chime in as I would love some decorating ideas!
Sheds should get more decorating attention than they do! I like your idea of using the windmill or other metal art you can find. We have bought several pieces of metal art in the past couple years that we found at yard sales or offer up kinds of situation on Facebook. :-)
I was surprised we didn’t have any good pictures of our shed in the summer when the flowers are blooming but here’s one from this morning… this is our garbage shed, but I think it looks pretty cute. :-)
Flower pots in front of each window or flanking the door on yours might be just as cute as trying to find or make window boxes.
Not a shed- but my wife's garden room. I put down crusher run gravel around the perimeter, and my wife wanted some raised beds for herbs and flowers. We bought some sheep tanks and my son and I built some frames with sawmill lumber to hold them.
She picked up some wrought iron looking extended hanging plant holders and I have installed them here and there. (Tip- if you're going to hang heavy items on the outside- get stainless steel screws, a small tube of squeeze caulk (exterior rated) and install into the studs of the shed. I drill a pilot hole, then I coat the screw with some caulk, install the 'whatever' but not all the way tight. Before you screw it home add some caulk and then run it home. The stainless steel won't bleed rust stains on the exterior and the caulk will help prevent moisture issues.)
She has a whiskey barrel planter near the man door and a funky 2 tub holding frame (with drains) for when we have guests over- fill with ice and load with drinks. There's also a Kokopelli (sp) and funky sun metal thingy that are currently hanging on the back wall of the house- opposite of the fire pit and bench. They are coming off and going on our garden room exterior walls this spring. The wind out here makes them clang against the house wall, and on the other side of that wall is the head to our bed. Annoying. No matter what I do, how hard I try to secure them- the wind still makes them rattle just enough to annoy me.
She's turned into a cozy little she-shed. Have fun with yours and get funky with it!
Sheds should get more decorating attention than they do! I like your idea of using the windmill or other metal art you can find. We have bought several pieces of metal art in the past couple years that we found at yard sales or offer up kinds of situation on Facebook. :-)
I was surprised we didn’t have any good pictures of our shed in the summer when the flowers are blooming but here’s one from this morning… this is our garbage shed, but I think it looks pretty cute. :-)
Flower pots in front of each window or flanking the door on yours might be just as cute as trying to find or make window boxes.
Diana, you are your usual very helpful self! I like your shed and especially that metal art -- very cool!
I actually already bought window boxes for the shed -- just haven't had time to install them yet since I literally finished my job for the semester yesterday. I was going to try to get them up today, but I decided to move pellets into the shed instead (ugh). Maybe tomorrow before the rains come!
Oh, and I couldn't fit potted plants in front of the windows because they'd be on my driveway! There's only about 4" in between the front of the shed and my driveway. I will be putting some potted plants on each side, though -- that will be this spring.
I have a huge backyard and have another shed back there -- it's 8x16 and I couldn't use it for pellets as it is way too far away from the house. I haven't really decorated that one (except for painting it) because it's not publicly visible, but this new one IS since it's technically in my front-side yard. So I really do want it to look nice.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Threerun
Not a shed- but my wife's garden room. I put down crusher run gravel around the perimeter, and my wife wanted some raised beds for herbs and flowers. We bought some sheep tanks and my son and I built some frames with sawmill lumber to hold them.
She picked up some wrought iron looking extended hanging plant holders and I have installed them here and there. (Tip- if you're going to hang heavy items on the outside- get stainless steel screws, a small tube of squeeze caulk (exterior rated) and install into the studs of the shed. I drill a pilot hole, then I coat the screw with some caulk, install the 'whatever' but not all the way tight. Before you screw it home add some caulk and then run it home. The stainless steel won't bleed rust stains on the exterior and the caulk will help prevent moisture issues.)
She has a whiskey barrel planter near the man door and a funky 2 tub holding frame (with drains) for when we have guests over- fill with ice and load with drinks. There's also a Kokopelli (sp) and funky sun metal thingy that are currently hanging on the back wall of the house- opposite of the fire pit and bench. They are coming off and going on our garden room exterior walls this spring. The wind out here makes them clang against the house wall, and on the other side of that wall is the head to our bed. Annoying. No matter what I do, how hard I try to secure them- the wind still makes them rattle just enough to annoy me.
She's turned into a cozy little she-shed. Have fun with yours and get funky with it!
I remember when you were building your huge garage and were adding that garden room (potting shed, right?) at the same time. I was SOOOOOOOOO jealous as it looked wonderful! Looks like she has made the most of it. I love all the windows in front although for my shed that wasn't practical since it's going to be stuffed with wood pellets (I just moved another ton from my driveway INTO the shed, what fun! Oh well, I got my exercise in, LOL! ).
Quote:
Originally Posted by K'ledgeBldr
Let me remind you of something before going off the deep end with shouting and innuendos!
So there
K'ledgeBldr, I just never know what to make of you. I have rep'd you a million times (including once within the past 24 hours!) because you can be SO helpful and knowledgeable. But sometimes, well, you come off as not so nice OR helpful.
And I don't know if you realize that you worded your last post to indicate that you were going to say something before YOU went off the deep end! Because of course you would never say that *I* did! Ha!
OK, then. I see you are being your usual helpful self. Not.
...+I definitely would NOT want shrubs in front of it -- I had those in front of my HOUSE and yanked them all out for the to-be-built porch...
K'ledgeBldr , in reference to Ms. Karens' objection to the shrubs. Would they not also gather leaf and other debris, eventually causing delamination and rot? Unless this is is also an area that now has to be raked on a 6 to 8 week basis?
I remember when you were building your huge garage and were adding that garden room (potting shed, right?) at the same time. I was SOOOOOOOOO jealous as it looked wonderful! Looks like she has made the most of it. I love all the windows in front although for my shed that wasn't practical since it's going to be stuffed with wood pellets (I just moved another ton from my driveway INTO the shed, what fun! Oh well, I got my exercise in, LOL! ).
She has a little wooden bistro table in there, and when her friends come over those tubs get filled with wine and they sit around and get boozy and then add stuff to the she-shed, lol.
K'ledgeBldr , in reference to Ms. Karens' objection to the shrubs. Would they not also gather leaf and other debris, eventually causing delamination and rot? Unless this is is also an area that now has to be raked on a 6 to 8 week basis?
There will be no dissertation here-
I'll answer the question as short as possible: Leave the landscaping to the professionals...
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So what else could I put on that wall?
