Charming country garden shed decorating ideas that are simple in design with a decorated front porch. Known by various names, rustic she sheds and potting sheds, this space is used for outdoor tool storage and potting up cottage garden plants in a quaint place.
Backyard Shed Ideas
I have desired to have a small, simplistic country garden shed with a porch in the garden for a long time. Being outside, listening to the birds, hearing the buzzing of the bees, and sensing the breeze stir in the trees are just a few things that I love.
I am known to begin watering the gardens first in the mornings and then spending the entire day outdoors, removing weeds or planting more flowers. After a long day, I often retreat to my little wooden shed to enjoy a few moments in my own space.
This past Spring, this secluded spot in our backyard was a blank slate when the small backyard garden shed was delivered. Under some large trees tucked into the yard corner, the garden shed faces the raised bed vegetable garden.
The country-style garden shed has become a focal point in the backyard, used to store garden tools, plant supplies, beekeeping tools, or offer a quiet place for taking a break on hot summer days.
Garden Shed Decorating Ideas Video
How to Make a Shed Look Nice
Since I have been sharing a few photos of my rustic garden shed on Instagram, I thought I’d share some photos on the blog and show some garden shed decorating ideas on how to make a shed look nice.
This is my small peaceful work space in the backyard, where I enjoy the fresh air and gather a little creativity for the next project on my to-do list.
I designed the exterior of my backyard garden shed with plenty of windows and a small front porch. The shed was custom-designed, with dimensions of 8 x 12, with eight feet high walls. While small in terms of square feet, it has a unique style that I love.
I chose a calming color paint scheme for the shed and the metal roof. Here are some simple ideas on how to make a shed look nice on the exterior.
Garden Shed with Windows
The original design for the garden shed included just three windows. However, with plans to use this as a potting shed and start plants from seed, the builders added extra windows at my request.
Instead of the three windows that the shed was originally designed with, there are seven.
I can open the potting shed windows during the hot summer months to allow the breeze to pass through and provide fresh air. With the added windows, there is plenty of natural light for plants to thrive inside the garden shed or for starting seeds to plant in my cut flower garden.
Garden Shed with Porch
A small front porch was a beautiful part of the design plan. The backyard garden shed porch provides an aesthetic appeal to give an extra touch of beauty and charm.
At 4 feet deep, the usefulness of the shed porch is wide enough for a rocking chair, a few decorations, and potted plants and provides a platform for entering through the front door.
Once the garden shed was delivered, one of the first changes I made was to remove a portion of the closed porch. Having that small space feel closed did not provide the place I hoped to have a comfortable seating area.
The porch was also not painted. So, I felt it was a good idea to paint it a beautiful creamy white to stand out against dark colors.
Paint Colors for Shed
Peppercorn
When choosing the paint color for the garden shed, I wanted the shed to have the same color scheme as our home, providing a unified look. The outdoor garden shed is painted Peppercorn (7674) from Sherwin Williams.
Pure White
The shed has a black metal roof, a black front door, and a white porch. The porch paint color is called Pure White (HGSW4006) which I found at Lowes.
Garden Shed Ideas
This country cottage garden shed tucked amongst the trees provides a backdrop for all of my white shade-loving plants. It also creates a pretty personal space to work and offers the chance to relax after time spent in the vegetable or flower gardens.
In the future, I hope to create a stone pathway that meanders from the shed and throughout the garden rows. Adding a water feature nearby for the birds and enjoying the sound of running water is also on the list.
How to Make a Shed Look Nice
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You can find my favorite kitchen essentials can be located in myAmazon storefront. While I often try to link to the exact products you see in my photos and videos, my pieces often are vintage and often thrifted from flea markets or antique shops. However, I try to find and link replicas as much as possible, made in the USA or by other small shops, as I believe in supporting hardworking American families.
A few exterior garden shed decorating ideas might include: (click bold letters to see linked products)
- Bird Houses: Attract birds to your garden shed area by providing them with a suitable home. Not only are the birds enjoyable to listen to, but birdhouses add beauty to the garden shed. Providing a nesting area for birds is a great way to attract them to your yard.
- Bird Feeders: hang bird feeders on a tree branch, mount a window feeder, use a deck hanger or free-standing garden hook. Hanging bird feeders creates a wonderfully relaxing environment to watch the birds eat and hear them sing.
- Hanging Flower Baskets: If the garden shed has a front porch, the perfect place to add more flowers is by hanging beautiful flowering baskets.
- Farmhouse Porchlight: Adding electricity to the backyard shed is a plan, and once that is added, I will install a cute rustic farmhouse-style porch light. For now, I am using a farmhouse solar light to give the garden shed some added charm.
- Door Wreath or Basket: Add some charm by hanging a pretty wreath or small basket on the front door.
- Garden Signs: I love rustic garden signs, and they can be added to just about any place on a garden shed.
- Shutters: Adding shutters to the sides of the windows would add some instant garden shed charm and a cozy feel.
- Solar Pathway Lights: How beautiful would several hanging solar lantern lights with shepherd hooks be lining a pathway? The lights help create a cozy, welcoming ambiance at night.
Garden Shed Exterior Decor
A few simple garden shed exterior decor ideas that I have used to add a cozy cottage feel around or on the garden shed.
Hanging Lantern
While visiting local antique shops, I found a beautiful primitive-style hanging lantern. I loved the style and brought it home, unsure where I might use it.
It ended up in the garden on a shepherd hook and is the perfect size for holding a candle. While the candle is burning, it helps enjoy the late evenings on the porch watching the sunset.
Curtains in the Windows
Adding curtains to the windows creates a vintage cottage farmhouse feel from the outside looking in. Curtains give a pleasant and cozy feel to a garden shed.
Watching lace curtainswaving in the warmbreezeof an open window takes me back in time to treasured memories and reminds me of the simple days of my childhood.
Choose curtains that complement the color palette of the garden shed interior and exterior—choosing fabrics that are light in color and material is one of the best ways to create a light and airy feel.
Garden Shed Window Box
One of the most loved features of my garden shed was the beautiful double windows on the side and back.
I knew that I wanted to build window boxes and fill them full of my favorite shade annuals, Impatiens. Building a window box is a super quick and easy project that greatly impacts the look of the garden shed.
Country Rustic Garden Decor
Landscaping around a garden shed in a country rustic style with vintage garden pieces is one way to add a unique creative cottage charm feel. One of my passions is using old vintage pieces like washtubs for planting annuals or perennials.
Garden Shed With Porch
Garden shed farmhouse-style porches are for sitting, resting, and working. A cozy white rocking chair for resting from a long hard day to watch the sunset or to enjoy reading a good book.
It is a welcoming retreat from the hot summer sun to enjoy an ice-cold glass of sweet lemonade. Or a restful space to enjoy the mornings with a hot cup of coffee while listening to the birds’ songs.
A white rustic painted floor to sit and snap freshly plucked beans from the garden, shuck garden-grown corn, or solely relax and chat about the day at hand. Whatever the purpose, a homey front porch on a garden shed might include the following farmhouse-style characteristics.
- Rocking Chair: a chippy white rocking chair adds an old-fashioned farmhouse feel, and it provides a cozy, calm place to sit and unwind at the end of the day.
- Throw Pillow: Add a throw pillow to the rocking chair to create a warm, welcoming place to relax.
- Outdoor Rug: Place a rug at the front door to add warmth and a pop of color to the welcoming entrance.
- Flowers: a garden shed would not be complete without a rusty old bucket or two filled with pretty flowers.
- Farmhouse Porchlight: I am using a farmhouse solar light to give the garden shed some added charm and a little extra light at night.
Having a small garden shed has created a relaxing backyard escape. It also provides a place to store and organize my gardening tools and enhance our backyard landscape’s overall look.
I hope this inspires you to be creative in your own outdoor space to add beauty and a peaceful place to work and rest.
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