Backyard Garden Cottages and Sheds


Back in 2008 I posted about this quaint little greenhouse (love shack as I dubbed it); little did I know at the time I would visit it or know the person who owned it and the photographer who photographed it. It's funny how life goes. This adorable and might I say well-styled building is owned by our contributer Heather Cameron on her blueberry farm, Missing Goat and is the inspiration today for my post on backyard sheds. (The above photo was photographed by our other contributer, the talented, Janis Nicolay). I keep dreaming of a backyard getaway (as many of you know), and I found a bit of a goldmine over at Sunset that will hopefully inspire.


Backyard office of Martha Mendoza (a tiny home office, housed in a converted potting shed) in Santa Cruz, California. Read more here.


Dave and Terry Maczuga of Bellingham, Washington (not too far away from here) devised a trail system through their landscape that leads to their airy glass-and-wood shelter tucked among conifers. (Photo by William P. Wright).


A cedar garden shed in Seattle, Washington, used for an actual shed that keeps tools and garden machinery safe, dry, and out of the garage and basement. (Photo by Norm Plate).


Desperate for a bathtub, homeowner Kathryn Allen converted a backyard shed into a bath house. Take a look inside. (Photo by Lisa Romerein).


This cozy looking fairytale cabin is actually a eco-friendly garden shed on Decatur Island in Washington’s San Juans. Gail and Mark Dupar start seedlings, arrange flowers, raise tomatoes, store tools, and dry freshly harvested shallots on the warm brick floor. Click here to see the interior.


And lastly, Sunset's prefab they partnered with San Francisco-based prefab firm Modern Cabana to create a guest suite and home office that functions seperately from the home. Click here to tour the project and here for more great backyard shed ideas. (Photo by Thomas J. Story)

Jan Halvarson

14 comments:

greenbeenfood said...

so fabulous! love it.

Kickcan & Conkers said...

I really like the bottom, modern-looking one, for a change.
You should have a look at this shed makeover - the best I've ever seen. She's in the running for the shed of the year in the UK too.
http://kickcanandconkers.blogspot.com/2010/04/small-is-beautiful.html

Kickcan & Conkers said...

more pics of artemis's shed here:

http://simetra-junkaholic.blogspot.com/2010/04/weaving-sewing-shed-photos.html

Unknown said...

Great pics, the first (greenhouse-shed) is my favourite. Thank you for the inspiration.

Anonymous said...

I love that table cloth in pic #4.

bron @ baby space said...

Ooh! Love them. Tasty little garden hideaways...like cubby houses for grownups :)

Anonymous said...

Take a look at this one! Not mine. A friend's on flickr:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/12786998@N00/4006178240/

Amazing, no? I totally want one when I grow up!

Jess said...

yes! definitely something to look forward to when we grow up! :)

shellie said...

i love heather's little shack...it was one of my favorite stories from victoria magazine.

Jen said...

They're all wonderful! The bath house one especially looks so romantic. I wish our backyard were big enough for one of these...But we'll keep the ancient oak tree instead, I guess.

Faith Towers said...

Love the bath house! Very luxurious. I did a post on this same topic last week: http://designfixation.blogspot.com/2010/07/inside-out-office.html

Maggie said...

I have kept this post open all day long so I can keep looking at this gorgeous inspiration! I've loved backyard sheds and cottages since I was a kid and my grandparents had TWO in their backyard, one with a sign that said "Maggie's Shed" and one that said "Clyde's Shop." One was for canning, one was for woodworking. Tough to beat that level of adorable. Neither, of course, looked as lovely as these. But really... I'm not sure I've ever seen any this amazing in real life.

Kickcan & Conkers said...

I've been following people's comments too maggie, for pretty much the same reason. I love little "houses". We've been looking into a "mini-house" from this Swedish company (whose houses I love, now available in France. Very modern and minimalist, which I like as well

http://www.nexthouse.se/en/house/xxs

Kristin H said...

The last one is my favorite, just what we wish can be our next project:)