[blank]The good thing about buying old French country homes, is that they generally come with a boat load of outbuildings …. former stables; pig sties, green houses and even bake houses. All redundant in today’s changing lifestyles, but used instead for other purposes.
These pictures are taken in the garden of a friend of mine, in the melting snow, but you can get the idea. A little building, dating back to 1860; an old stable perhaps, or not … whatever.[blank]
My friend hasn’t decided how to use it, so it stands empty. Well positioned against a south facing wall, looking out across the width of the garden. At about 8′ by 12′ it is too small to be a guest room, not enough window light for a green house, but there must be other uses …
[blank]Of course he could rip off the door and make everything smart and presentable, but I’d favour finding a use that would allow him to keep the old dutch door. I like the window shape too, with its low sill and original frame.
So tell me, what would you do to this little space to doll it up, and how would you use it if it were in your back yard?
The best ideas will be conveyed to my friend, I promise! [blank]
56 comments
Dear Sharon,
Love your post today about the garden shed! I would use it as just that, in fact I am working on one now at our old farmhouse. We had an outbuilding called the pump house that houses the well pump. We built a beautiful carriage house to adjoin it and now my son has built beautiful cabinetry and bookcases in the pump house. I am painting them now in anticipation of displaying all my gardening wares and seed materials. We have designed it with a Country French look. It is large enough though that I am also going to use it to paint and re-purpose furniture. I am so looking forward to this new little workspace! The garden shed you have pictured is so charming with the stone, wonderful windows and vintage door…what a joy it would be to garden with this building the focal point. Thank you for sharing!
Looks lovely as it is,keep the faded paintwork on the door, then maybe plant a pink flowering climber & some rose tremiere /hollyhocks to give it a lovely country look.
Oh Sharon I don't even have to think – an artist's studio!
What fabulous bones this petite garden shed comes with!!! We just about finished converting a small building on our property into a writing studio for moi. This garden shed would me such a wonderful place to convert into a relaxation room … a daybed, shabby chic chairs or petite sofa – a small armoire to store some essentials for afternoon tea and books… fabulous for sharing tea with friends or alone reading a favourite book. I hope you will share what your friend decides to use the space as …and some photos too!!!
Sharon,
Gardening Shed
Bunk House for Kids
Writer's Studio (closest to my heart)
I was also thinking, an outdoor "pantry" of sorts….
It seems your friends spend time outside (lovely wrought iron pieces)….if they entertain outside, they could transform this precious outbuilding into a room they could have open when friends are visiting…a wet bar, a wine fridge, an area to lay out snacks…..
…or perhaps, a personal art gallery…posting artwork from the entire family.
I am officially craving an outbuilding (or 2)
I agree – a petite house decorated with vintage items that invite you to a private space in the summer and peek out during the winter. An iron daybed with shabby fabrics offers the perfect spot to snuggle down with a book during the summer, add a little chair and wood chipped table and suddenly there is a spot to invite a close friend in for girl chat and wine.
In the winter bring things closer to the window – a wreath inside the window peeking out, cedar garland around the doorway, branches of twigs and berries tucked into baskets hanging below the window ledge. It would make me want to wander through the snow to look inside and dream of the summer days to come.
A garden shed AND an area to enjoy summer in!
Hi Sharon, I was just mulling over the out-buildings here the other day. An old barn (1700s), chicken coop, potting/tool shed, storage shed, and a cute cottage. Some of the buildings were relocated to this site sometime in the 1900's, yet they fit in with the farmhouse really well. I used the cottage for work (telecommute) yet it is not-insulated and poorly sealed, so in the summer it is hot and full of wasps and in the winter it is freezing. It would be perfect as a guest bedroom in all respects but those .. it would take a lot of renovation to be comfortable. For a while I had thoughts of a yoga studio, but I am quite tall and the ceilings are low, so simple poses would not work. An artist type studio was another option, yet I have not pursued art. 🙂 So for now, it is fully stored with unused furniture. C'est la vie!
Ahh…the choice is endless! Really depends what your friend's needs or interests are? I love the suggestion above, to use it as an outside entertaining area with a wine fridge etc. or to just use it as a very beautiful shed, keeping the outside as it is, and filling it with lovely vintage tools. I personally would convert it in to a beautiful little design studio/office. Working from home, I like the idea that I could separate work from home. I would probably spend too much time gazing out in to the garden though….!
My first thought is an entertainment cottage. Store and display antique or new serving pieces. Install a min-fridge and wine fridge if there is electricity. Build a small area to serve/prepare drinks and snacks. Even a barbeque outside! They already have the table and chairs. (Can you tell I am not an artist or writer?)
Nina
Lovely ideas here. I'd use it as a small sewing studio. Decorated simply with furnishings that highlight the rustic nature of the buildings, and lots of storage in which to keep sewing supplies. A cozy chair for handstitching, and another for a visitor to keep company with.
Perhaps a small little antique shop selling textiles, small paper designs, and creamy white stoneware. Planting some flowers around the outside of the building and using the table and chairs for customers to sit at. Serving coffee and perhaps something sweet to eat. 🙂
It is was me that was lucky enough to have this in my garden I would make it into my potting shed/entertainment hub – both already suggested. It would be the place for blankets, cushions, all the stuff needed for impromptu guests/picnics on the grass/bbqs, maybe an old wireless radio for beautiful classic music or other music whatever the taste of course! I'd make it into the little chateau heaven that I crave – a mini castle just for me – my seed packets, my little tools for gardening… If I worked from home full time, it would make a good thinking space, a place to escape the everyday to just a) think things through and b) dream! I'm really into upholstering right now so it would also make a great workshop for that.
It's so lovely with all the snow! I'd definetly do a potting shed and I'd create a nice and confortable place to store all the gardening things (tools, seeds etc)…We are planning on doing this ourselves in our backyard.
I would use it as a garden/potting shed. I would perhaps move that hydrangea you can see in front as that will hide the window during growing season and put in a small garden bed under the window to highlight it and of course some kind of climbing/rambling rose mixed with clematis or perhaps what we call Boston ivy to grow up and over the shed. I would place the climber between the window and the door to add some height. Maybe use some old cobbles to create a patio area for the table and chairs and landing in front of the door to make it feel like it is all connected. I am with you that he shouldn't "smarten" up the door. I think it looks fabulous as is. Lucky him! Love to see what he ends up doing.
Rose
I agree with you, perhaps a writing room. A beautiful space to work and look across his beautiful garden.
Have a great week, Elizabeth
Such a sweet little shed and I love patina of it – the doors, the stones. My husband's family has a little shed in their garden in the Paris suburbs and it was his "club house" growing up. I always wanted a little house to play house in and this shed would be perfect! Hoping your week is off to a great start, Cynthia
What a darling charming potting shed~ A small studio?
What a spot for a luncheon and using the building for it?
Definitely a place to escape to and indulge in one's hobbies – for me a writing room and for my husband, a workshop!
Oh, what fun it would be to have extra structures with so much character. With that Dutch door and window, I'd turn this into a little summer house for tea and relaxing with a good book or perhaps a potting shed fashioned after Mary's at Home Is Where The Boat Is. She could add sky lights in the roof for added light. This would be a great little space to escape to .
I would convert it to either a home office or artists studio or for you being the master of beautiful flowers…any chance you could turn it into an office/greenhouse? What a charming place that would be..I love small cozy spots that are just for you!
I would surely turn it into my sewing room or lounge where a friend can come see me while I do my work and sip over a nice cup of coffee!!
How wonderful to have such a lovely old stone building to use as you wish!
It would most certainly be my writing/getaway room! Lovely!
Un endroit magnifique, moi j'en ferais ma cuisine d'été, avec une belle terrasse devant idéale pour recevoir les amis à la belle saison
Nell
A summer gathering room. My aunt in North Carolina used her double garage for a summer outdoor room as it was so much cooler than in the house.
A great 'tearoom' for friends to come and 'sit a spell'.
A potting/craft/sitting room with a small kitchen area.
Love the shed as it but spruce it up with wedgewood blue door and shutters and climbing roses and a lovely flowerbed surrounding it. An table outside with an umbrella to while away a warm summer day reading and enjoying the view.
Endless possibilities, n'est-ce pas?
With fortitude,
Sylvia Faye
I have been examinating out some of your pics and i can state pretty nice stuff and sweet little shed.
Linda casa, eu amo essas casa francesas. Queria uma casa assim, antiga cheia de história e vida.
Sigo sempre teu blog e criei um pra mim por sua causa. Relato todas as mudanças feita em nossa casa. Obrigada por compartilhar.
Tenha uma ótima semana.
Anajá
I have been photographing shabby shacks here in Italy for my blog, so this is fun. I would turn it into a studio or love nest. Don't kill me but I would paint it with that sand tempura that we have over here it lets the stone come through – pink or grey blue for the more subtle look, flowers climbing all over it. Gorgeous!
How charming! If this were my property, I know what we would do with the building: create a playhouse for our children. The Dutch door makes it perfect for them. I can see them opening the top and pretending to sell ice cream through their newfound shop window.
Oh, I know exactly what I would do with it… I'd turn it into a craft haven for myself with my sewing machine, knitting needles, crochet hooks, embroidery supplies, yarn and fabric filling beautiful old armoires. I'd have a vintage radio, a sweet little sofa, a warm wood stove, a kettle on top, and tea selections. Oh, it would be perfect and lovely and my family would never see me again…
Thanks for the little holiday in my mind! Tell your friend he's a very lucky person to own such a dream shed. 🙂
Shani
Lovely with flowers and perhaps just some varnish to preserve the door and window.Stone walkway to make it cohesive. Then I would set about making it a wonderful and attractive licensed and approved kitchen/tea room to make my organic,low-fat,sage sausages, with a wonderful convection oven to bake bread.
CHicken coop……….or gardening shed………I would put a bed in there for summer afternoon naps!IT is GORGEOUS!Be careful dont give the address I may move in!!!!!!!
Artist studio with out a doubt, lots of vintage white inside, and definately leave the outside alone, it has such character ! Beautiful as it but worth the effort to use it daily.!
Yes the outside has taken way to long to achieve this beauty, to be changed, just a little varnish on the wood.
That's an easy answer for me but it would of course depend upon your friends needs. An art studio definitely if it was me. I might separate it into two uses, one side for painting and the other for potting plants. The exterior is charming but I'd of course spruce it up with potted plants.
I grew up with separate little houses on our farm. We had a bake house and I wasn't aware the French had the same. Great post Sharon!
A contemplation and prayer room. Decorate it like a monestary does a monks room sparsely but beautifully. A little desk, a beautiful old wooden cross on the wall, and book shelves full of wonderful old books. A place to be alone and absorb the goodness of being alone.
That is an artist's studio! IF it is free, perhaps your friend can adopt me?
I would use it for a weaving studio; or, if it wasn't situated too far away from the main house (and indoor plumbing) a cozy guest bedroom.
I think a garden shed with shelves, a chair and of course all the things a gardener needs all artfully displayed. Perhaps another window could be put in?? it would be wonderful, I wish I had such an outbuilding!!
Nancy
https://wildoakdesigns.blogspot.com
If they don't already have a garden shed, then that would be perfect. For myself…I would turn it into a small and simple summer kitchen for entertaining friends that would be gathered at the lovely round table.
It sucks when this season comes. I barely get out of the house.
Grateful to you for more information. http://www.polikarbonmerkezi.net
polikarbon
polikarbon
polikarbon
polikarbon
polikarbon
polikarbon
polikarbon
polikarbon
polikarbon
polikarbon
polikarbon
polikarbon
polikarbon
polikarbon
polikarbon
polikarbon
polikarbon
polikarbon
polikarbon
polikarbon
polikarbon
polikarbon
Very nice home at the cold place and also dining table.
Use linseed oil on the door to keep the wood natural and beautiful. Definitely keep it though!!!
Love the rock too! This would be perfect for a garden shed!!
Seems like the biggest issue is the light. I would add high horizontal windows to the opposite side so as not to spoil the look in the picture. If that wouldn't work because of the stone you could do a skylight on the opposite side of the roof again not spoiling the look from the front..Then I would put a small window in the top part of the dutch door for a little more interest and to be able to see out in the winter and allow more light to come in.
A cheery little window box to add color with flowers and a small birdbath on the left side of the picture. On the inside I would put a repurposed washstand for a sink so that the room could be used to pot plants, or as an another guest room. There would be an armoire for storage and a daybed for naps. If the room is still too dark use light wood on the furniture and pale or white colors in the linens and soft goods.
Very nice post having good information aboutgarden sheds online
.
Are stone garden sheds popular in France? haven't seen a stone shed in US though.~ garden sheds
Sharon,
Gardening Shed
Bunk House for Kids
Writer's Studio (closest to my heart)
I was also thinking, an outdoor "pantry" of sorts….
It seems your friends spend time outside (lovely wrought iron pieces)….if they entertain outside, they could transform this precious outbuilding into a room they could have open when friends are visiting…a wet bar, a wine fridge, an area to lay out snacks…..
…or perhaps, a personal art gallery…posting artwork from the entire family.
I am officially craving an outbuilding (or 2)
GW2 Gold
buy cheap GW2 Gold
Hi Sharon! What about digging a swimming pool in front of it and make it a dressing cabin?
Hugs !
Monique
At first glance, the storage shed definitely looks big enough to be turned into a guestroom! However, as you mentioned due to its size, that cannot be achieved. I personally would turn it into a store room. Because as the days pass by, our things will definitely increase in amount. This is especially true for families with children. From their toys, to their school books, to their infinite number of clothings. Extra storage space is always good for day of the year.
This comment has been removed by the author.
Have a great week
Telefon Kılıfları
Well this garden shed can be used as a Relaxation room. Although it is in a really good condition, it still requires a little bit of maintenance. A Good garden or Storage Sheds
should have cheap windows, with a little charm. Also it is recommended that you don’t paint the wood. If you want your shed to have a rusty, natural look, then nothing can beat stained wood.
This shed immediately drew me to it! I would use it as a place to meditate or to read. It feels like a lovely calm spot.