Shed chic

     As may have become clear from my last shed post, I don't want a shed that's purely functional - it's got to be picturesque, not least because although in a corner it's not exactly tucked away in my garden, but also because I am planning to spend as much time as possible in and around it.

Given that I can't do anything much about the colour of the exterior right now, I am thinking about how to make the interior work from a practical point of view, in terms of storage and easy access to tools etc, but also capture that "shed chic" vibe that Deb of the blog Carrots and Kids detected in the greenhouses on display at Chelsea. So far there's not much to show for my efforts: a couple of jumbo gravel trays from Garland filled with, er, gravel are keeping water off the wooden floor, and an old Ikea Billy bookcase exiled from the office to store pots and the like. An old galvanised watering can I have got around to de-gunking is going to store bamboo canes and brooms in the corner, and I may even get around to painting the interior a soothing shade at some point too.

But in the current hot weather there are more pressing issues. Given the shed is south-facing and meant for duel use as a greenhouse/shed, I really need to think about shading. My sister suggested net curtains, possibly ironically, in the comments on my last post, but maybe this isn't such a bad idea - they offer a bit of shade and are easy to pull into position when they're needed. But I am such a greenhouse newbie I have no idea if that'll work. A quick scan through this thread on the Grow Your Own mag forum suggests that it doesn't matter much what you use, provided you use it. Time to get down the junk shop and see if they have any old nets I can buy. 

Comments

[Ben]

That's a cracking shed. About 15 times the size of mine, mire is more like a portaloo.

[Lia Leendertz]

What I never understand is why nobody uses bubblewrap as shading. I am doing it this year (ie I have just left it in place after winter) with the thought that this way I wont have to go through the whole autumn rigmarole of cleaning off the shading paint and insulating the thing (which took an entire THREE WEEKS last year), and likewise avoid all the palaver next spring etc...
Very smart shed, by the way. Hope you're feeling well, dear.

[moonbells]

Love it. I did much the same thing - got a potting shed when I was 7mths pregnant. It's currently stuffed with seedlings (I never put anything out until after 7th June - hee, today! - which is my last recorded frost date over 12 years.
Hope you have fun, and best wishes for everything else... look forward to hearing about your new sprout!

[moonbells]

Love it. I did much the same thing - got a potting shed when I was 7mths pregnant. It's currently stuffed with seedlings (I never put anything out until after 7th June - hee, today! - which is my last recorded frost date over 12 years.
Hope you have fun, and best wishes for everything else... look forward to hearing about your new sprout!

[Nick]

Blimey, how many pairs of secateurs can a girl need?

[PlantAdvice]

That is a remarkably neat shed! Is that sort of horticultural neatness healthy? :-)

[Jane Perrone]

It's not that tidy now - currently filled with everything that was in the old garage while our building work takes place! Once the store room in the new building is ready it'll be a lot emptier and tidier again. I hate not being able to find stuff, so I've tried to maximise storage space.