Showy sheds: These garden hideaways are packed with creativity
by Lori Mendoza, special to The Oregonian Wednesday June 18, 2008, 2:12 PM
Garden sheds used to be dank, dusty outbuildings designed solely to store lawn mowers, hoses, tools and pots. No longer. Today's garden shed is still big on storage, but it also has lots of style.
We've seen many great sheds as we've toured area gardens -- and we've shown many of them on the pages of HGNW. In fact, there were so many, we decided that creating unique sheds had become something of a Northwest pastime.
Clearly it was time to do some serious reporting and find out what other gems were out there. Turns out that wasn't necessary; with a small notice in a single HGNW issue -- headlined, "Show us your sheds" -- we got more material than we could use.
With 87 examples to choose from, we had a hard time culling our selections to the 10 that represented the various styles. In fact, we couldn't, so we decided to feature 12.
But at the end of the story, keep on scrolling and you'll find photos of more sheds we love.
All-weather delight
Pat Eckerdt, Salem
This cobblestone and cedar-shake shed, built by Dene Byers, then a 75-year-old retired mason, is the work center for Eckerdt's two-acre garden. But it's the interior touches -- pots transformed into light fixtures and a mosaic design on the floor -- that make it stand out.
With heat from a wood stove and daylight from six skylights, Eckerdt can make the most of cool and warm days. Door handles made from a garden fork and a cement trowel keep the focus where Eckerdt wants it: on the garden.
Simple but elegant
Bob and Peggy Hanson,
Dundee
The Hansons started with a simple plan: a place to store tools and pot some plants. Then a stained-glass window picked up at a garage sale years earlier caused the plan to take an elegant turn.
Bob drew inspiration from the classic state-park structures and started with a stone-covered foundation. The 'Cecile Brunner' climbing rose reminds Peggy of her grandmother's rose garden.
"It is a wonderful place to have an early-morning cup of coffee or to putter on a rainy day," Peggy says. Oh, and it does store tools.
Portable, too
Barry and Joni Steel,
Manzanita
The Steels learned a lesson when they sold their Portland home and the buyers insisted on keeping the greenhouse. This time, Barry built the shed/greenhouse in 4-foot modules so that it can be dismantled and moved.
Joni's cactus collection "thrives in its new home -- in our very non-desertlike climate," says Barry. He used windows they already had, glass panels from a local recycling center, and a discarded Dutch door and oak arched windows from friends.
It's not a yurt; it's not a spa
Patricia Kilgore,
Hillsboro
Beams salvaged from a burned-out factory became the bones of this octagonal garden shed that is often mistaken for a yurt or a spa enclosure.
Kilgore's son-in-law, Joe Hanks of Beaverton, helped design and build the structure, using the front door from her old farmhouse and constructing the porch rail from old fence posts and copper plumbing pipe. Copper gutters and a hog-wire trellis complete the design.
"It added structure, charm, function, and, most importantly, an expression for salvage and a playhouse for me," says Kilgore.
Form meets function
Suzanne Willette,
Portland
The garden shed, made from found architectural objects, mimics the architectural details of Willette's century-old home.
"I built it myself, using found architectural details that are whimsical yet functional," she says.
Behind mismatched doors, shelves are home to garden tools and provide shelter for a lawn mower and a power washer. On the other side of the shed, wood stored behind a vertical green shutter stays dry for the fireplace.
Already a winner
Becky and Glenn Hogg,
West Linn
After a tree fell on their garden shed last year, the Hoggs decided to use some old things to make a new greenhouse/shed. And even though it's not complete, it has already won a $500 prize from the editors of Better Homes and Gardens magazine.
The prizewinner is made from recycled materials, including 11 matching double-hung windows, three doors from friends and a concrete laundry tub for potting.
"We still have some work to complete, but it has served its purpose this past winter to keep numerous potted plants from freezing," says Glenn.
East meets West
Donna and John McCoy,
Beaverton
After adding a pond and waterfall to their backyard, the McCoys decided their metal garden shed just wouldn't do. "We love the ambience of Japanese gardens," says Donna, so they researched designs on the Internet.
It was a bit of a challenge to find a waterproof material to use on the exterior walls that would have a rice-paper look. Eventually they found opaque fiberglass panels at a local store, and John made wood grids, painted them black and tacked them to the frames. The door is on a closet-door track attached to the top frame.
"It's almost a shame to store the lawn mower and potting soil in there," says Donna. "I'm always tempted to go out there in my kimono and serve tea sitting on the floor."
Up on the roof
Tina and Nathan Jeffers,
Portland
Tina wanted a garden shed to store her tools, provide shelter for her seedlings and look like an extension of her house. Nathan had little interest in any of it.
"But when I dragged him to the home and garden show last year, he was very struck by a green roof display," she says.
That got things going. After the shed was finished, Tina surprised Nathan with an ecoroof planted with succulents for his birthday. "I had to keep everything very hush-hush and spent a whole day on my hands and knees on top of the roof in order to finish it in time for his birthday," she says.
English countryside
Roger and JoAnn Rollins,
Lake Oswego
The Rollinses needed a place to store gardening tools and supplies -- and they needed a garage for a garden railroad that's under construction.
They started the project (there's no way we can call this a shed) four years ago. Finally, after Roger retired, he finished the miniature version of their English Country-style home.
Roger designed it all, from the basic dimensions to the leaded-glass windows, traditional-style hardware and staggered-shake roof that mimics the roof of their home. When the garden railroad is complete, it will exit the shed through a cat door.
Wild, wild shed
Tom and Judy Webb,
Tigard
Tom saw an opportunity in an old barn from Judy's family farm near Roy. It had been severely damaged by the 1962 Columbus Day storm and it was time to get rid of it.
He used the loft beams of old-growth fir as the base of the simple structure. The beautifully weathered 12-inch rough-cut loft planks from the old barn became the flooring and siding.
"It was great to bring a piece of history to our lower backyard," Tom says -- not to mention rekindling his wife's childhood memories of swinging from the rafters and falling into piles of loose hay.
Wine bar
Sue Carter,
Portland
Carter knew the Tudor-style home she bought eight years ago needed a unique garden shed that would do justice to its manicured English gardens.
"Then two years ago, when a friend and I were browsing shops in the Pearl, we walked into Cargo and saw some interesting old Indonesian panels used as a backdrop for their garden area."
She persuaded Cargo to sell the panels, and garden designer Dave Jensen, of Acorn Solutions, helped her come up with a design. With the help of family and friends, Carter built the shed in a weekend. In the summer, the shed -- with its stained-glass window and candle chandelier -- doubles as a wine bar for garden parties.
Mud pies and flowers
David and Linda Campbell,
Hood River
When Linda sets out to work in her garden shed, her many windows allow her to feel as if she's still outdoors but protected from Hood River winds. David built the shed from bits and pieces of scrap collected over the years, including seasoned wood from an old barn.
The shed also helps unleash the imagination of the couple's 6-year-old granddaughter, Madison. "It is so warm and peaceful, no wonder that our granddaughter thinks it was built just for her mud-pie-making restaurant," Linda says.
"Every little girl's dream? Mine, anyway."
MORE INSPIRATION
"Stylish Sheds and Elegant Hideaways: Big Ideas for Small Backyard Destinations," by Debra Prinzing (224 pages, Clarkson Potter)
-- Lori Mendoza; mendozalori@hotmail.com
MORE SHOWPLACE SHEDS
Karen Sigworth
Brad Meyer and Rachel Yarger / Portland
Louise and Tom Silverthorn / Colton
Ron and Diane Kleve
Jim Michaelson / Portland
Terry Pizzuto / Portland
Deb Stoner and Fred Soelzer / Oak Grove
Linda and Charles Pickett
Diana and George McQueen / Portland
Larry Scott
Terry Shaffer, Colton, and Barbara Byers, Oregon City
Scott and JoDee Zinck
Lori McDade
Arty Trost / Sandy
Suzanne Alexander / Oregon City
Jean Riley / Corvallis
Jim Bofman / Fossil
Mike and Margie Layman / Albany
