An Oregon Artist’s Cottage Shed

Deep Porch Adds Space to the Shed

Meet our calendar girl! Linda Carvalho and her husband created this handsome lavender shed in 2015 and it was featured in the book She Sheds Style. It is also in the 2021 She Shed Living calendar for January. Here you will find out a little bit more about the making of this special place.

When they moved into their house in Newberg, Oregon back in 2015, Linda Carvalho and her husband stared at at the backyard: an empty fenced-in lot that was nothing but grass. “It needed a lot of work,” she recalls.

Linda soon had a cottage garden design ready; she quickly made up her mind to find some space in the garden for herself. Thinking practically, Carvalho knew she needed a no-fuss, lots o’ muss place where she could hang flowers to dry for her wreathmaking and to also practice her skills as a painter.

The basic shed was built not far from the side of the house, serendipitously obscuring its rather blank wall. They found a local handyman who agreed to build the basic shed, while they focused on finding just the right windows and doors.

Transition between shed and yard is very important. A good transition, whether it’s stepping stones or a deck, conveys permanence to the shed so that it doesn’t appear like it’s a temporary catchall for tools and such. The Carvalhos had enough room to design a very large front deck, which steps down to a graveled path. Adding support posts and a fully extended eave covering created a full sense of a front porch.

Practical and Perfect on the Inside

Many she sheds look pretty on the outside while maintaining a no-frills approach on the inside. For Carvalho, it was an unapologetic move. As a working gardener, artist and wreathmaker, she didn’t want to worry about getting things messy. “The interior is a working shed,” Carvalho says. “The walls are unpainted and the floor is cement.”

What she does have for decoration is art … in abundance. Pretty prints and canvas originals are propped about the space, subjects and colors that inspire Carvalho. Also in abundance: family mementos and objets d’art. “It is rich in history and full of love,” she says.

Each month, you’ll find inspiring sheds like this one in the calendar and we will continue our “calendar shed” coverage on the blog as well. Do you have a shed that is calendar worthy? Please let us know and feel free to comment below.