There are many ways to enjoy a she shed and Paula Kidney illustrates two of them. During the hot summer months Paula’s shed becomes a pool house and is also her workshop for repainting old furniture.
(Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning we get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through our links, at no cost to you. Please read our disclosure page for more info.)
We often recommend having a very specific use in mind before building your she shed. But sometimes a new way to enjoy the backyard with a pretty structure comes along as the seasons pass.
With summer heat bearing down on Paula Kidney’s Michigan farm, she and her family look for ways to cool down that are fun and close by. The five-acre property happens to have a lovely pond, fresh and jumping with fish, that the family can actually take a dip in. The shed was handy as a pool house, supplied with towels, snacks and comfy lawn chairs around the perimeter.
“My shed is a nice relaxing place to look out over our five acres and to enjoy nature,” says Paula. “I can sit and gaze at our large pond with fountain and fish for hours.”
Paula Kidney fell in love with the Amish shed designs she came across on Pinterest and other social media sites. In 2018 she finally ordered one and waited for it to arrive from North Carolina. The shed was sturdy and high quality, with a deep upper loft above the front porch and a large back door, which is the entrance most frequently used when coming in from a pond dip.
Improvements Ahead
The interior of the shed is currently undergoing a remodel, so it’s down to the subfloor and studs right now. Paula wants to get her shed ready for furniture restoration and is putting in electrical and other improvements so she’ll be ready when the weather turns.
Paula has fallen in love with the colors and objects associated with Americana – faded reds, whites and blues, primitive furniture, antique advertising and gardening implements. “My search this year is old antique Americana decor,” she explains. She has also begun a new creative endeavor of repainting furniture. “I love to paint old furniture and transform them to like new and then add them to my shed,” she says.
Go Big … or Big Enough
Not everyone has five acres to play with but Paula advises would-be she shed owners to plan their space carefully. “Make sure your shed is the right size to do what you want to do,” she advises. A poolhouse for drying off and storing towels and such might need 80 square feet, while turning your shed into a painting studio would likely require more space than that. Luckily Paula had the space for a large shed and is now renovating it for her next act.
Leave a Reply