Looking to Improve Your Garden Shed? A Guide on How to Prepare and Where to Start

Although beneficial, sheds can all too quickly turn into an overrun eyesore in a forgotten corner of your garden. Even so, with a little bit of planning and effort on your part, sheds can often prove their worth by being both practical and attractive. A shed may provide an entirely new environment for living, playing, and even growing with some thought and ingenuity on your part. So, before letting your shed rot and ruin the aesthetic of your yard, check out these simple suggestions for improving your old shed.

Carefully Consider the Best Spot for Your Shed

Choosing the ideal location to move or rebuild your shed is essential for getting the most out of its design. If a shed is properly positioned around your garden, it has a chance of reaching its full output in terms of utility, comfort, or aesthetics. Find a location in the garden where there are no obstacles and plenty of room for the shed and whatever else you intend to do around the area. You also need to take into account what you’ll be using the shed for. Consider the light from the sun if you intend to use it for growing seedlings and veggies. But if you plan to make use of your shed as an office or workspace, then you’ll want to put it under a shady spot or maybe think about moving it closer to your patio or house for convenience.

Improve Your Shed’s Structural Integrity

Most people assume that after a shed is built, it will stay that way for decades, but the building can deteriorate with time, especially if it is a wooden structure. You need to consider strengthening the structure of your shed if you hope to prevent any unpleasant mishaps. If the roof is sagging or infested with ants or termites, then opting to replace the old roof with corrugated roofing sheets is an excellent and easy option. If you’re overwhelmed by your roofing choices, then Clear Amber is a great place to begin your search. They offer a range of roofing choices and expert advice on their full range of corrugated roofing in stock, including Corrapol-BT which is an ideal waterproof solution.

Minimise Clutter

Often, sheds change from being a spot where you keep outdoor equipment and tools into a storage area for household items that you don’t want or need anymore. That’s why it’s essential to remove everything from your shed and create a complete inventory of all the items you’ve got there. This should help you choose what items to hold onto and what to

discard while you organise the space. Sort everything you pull out of the shed into three groups: what you want to save, what must be thrown out due to damage, neglect, or disuse, and lastly, into what you will be able to donate. This is the most straightforward method to reorganise your shed and everything in it. Save any and all of your working tools and equipment, as well as anything that you think you will use every year, including gardening tools or lawnmowers.

Add a New Coat of Paint

Thinking of painting your shed? It’s a quick makeover that completely transforms your outside space and just needs a few hours of your time. The weather needs to be your first consideration when planning to paint a structure outdoors, so select a nice, dry, and somewhat warm day. Be careful to sand down any wooden outside surfaces before you start painting, and look for any holes in the wood from nails or screws that you may need to seal.

If you come across holes or splits in the wood, fill them up before letting the area dry for at least 24 hours before you plan on painting. You need to paint around windows and borders initially, then paint all the upright poles and frames. The exterior of the shed can then be painted in segments from the top to the bottom while keeping your brush strokes in line with the wood’s grain. Care needs to be given to sealing any exposed wood because these are the spots where rot is most prone to develop.

Attract Wildlife to Your Shed

If you want to see some animals around your garden, you should first develop a comfortable environment for multiple species of wildlife. To do this, cover some land with flowering plants and make connecting paths through your garden. This method will help promote activity from insects and amphibians. Cultivating a variety of plants around your backyard area can also help draw in more wildlife. To provide cover for you to observe the wildlife without disturbing anything, you could also think about establishing flowerbeds, glades, and wetland spaces around the shed. Then pack these spaces with an abundance of wildflowers to attract as many creatures and critters as you can.

Use Your Shed to Support & Grow Plants

If you don’t have any room for planting on the ground, consider the sidewalls of the shed as a potential new spot to grow on. One of the most ideal locations to start a green wall is along a shed. Containers or planting bags could easily be hung overhead, with guttering and pot-filled shelves that could be added to fill in any spaces. These could be filled with annual flowers, rapid-growing vegetables, or more durable perennials. It’s not necessary to ring

your shed with tons of pots of brightly coloured containers if you’d prefer a more natural aesthetic. You could also think about planting a few climbing bushes along the shed’s outside panels; this trick will help soften the building’s hard edges and provide a more natural look.

Storage Options Will Make a Big Difference

Sheds are common places for junk to accumulate, but you could easily tidy up the space with a little bit of flair and creativity. Leverage the vertical space that the ceiling and walls can provide by nailing pegs to hang equipment from and save space on the ground. Add shelving to store fertiliser and garden accessories and use hampers or boxes to store bulky items like shade cloth. Look for antique bookcases and old cabinets to help keep all your different items organised in style.

Add Seating

Furniture around your shed is a good option no matter what the shed is used for. You’ll need a comfy seat if you’re sitting near your shed carrying out any garden work. Nevertheless, it doesn’t matter whether it’s only used for storage or to help you with your garden chores; a bench nearby is a great idea, especially when you have to carry out any work like repairing gardening tools. A few gardeners might also find it highly appealing to turn a rarely used shed into an area to hang out with friends and family in an outdoor setting. You could even build a bar and some wall benches for more entertainment space. Even better, you might also want to insulate the structure so that you can spend time there when it’s chilly or rainy outside.

If designed with attention and affection, a garden shed is a classic and practical feature that can add character and functionality to every home. There are several ways for you to maximise how you use your shed, no matter what size your current shed is. Knowing how you will be using the shed, placing it in the optimal location, and maintaining organisation are the keys to a fantastic set-up.