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Garden shed becomes a backyard retreat
By Debra Lee Baldwin of Sunset
Backyard bliss
A party is under way at garden designer Rebecca Sweet's house in Los Altos, Calif. But while the guys hover around a buffet table near the kitchen, most of the women have followed Sweet across the back garden to the woodsy cottage she jokingly calls her "chick shack."
Inside, the sunny, inviting spot bears little resemblance to the run-down toolshed it was when Sweet and her husband, Tom Urban, bought the property from her parents in 2000. "It was nearly a man cave," Sweet says. "I decided to take a stand against all that nonsense — ha!" Besides, she adds, she needed an office for her landscape-design business, Harmony in the Garden.
Happily, Urban agreed, and together the couple converted the structure into the backyard retreat it is now. They pushed up the ceiling to create a peaked roof; installed skylights and recycled windows; hung window boxes on outside walls with planting beds beneath; and created an outdoor potting table and tool storage area behind the shed near the back fence.
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Garden shed becomes a backyard retreat
Before: In need of love
The flat roof needed fixing, but the 12-by-18-foot shed was structurally sound. (That's Sweet as a child, sitting on the steps with her mom.)
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Garden shed becomes a backyard retreat
After: A space for fun
Sweet and her daughter, Emily, 17, frequently hang out in the space together, and Emily has hosted sleepovers here for friends. Click ahead to see how Sweet made the space the inviting backyard getaway it is now — both indoors and out.
Garden shed becomes a backyard retreat
Interior design
Sweet painted the shack's walls a soft lemon yellow and filled the space with family treasures, favorite photos and natural objects. "In order to feel relaxed and inspired, I need an environment that soothes all my senses," she explains. "Here I'm surrounded with things that bring me joy."
White ceiling and trim, along with floorboards painted pale green, help brighten the interior. Sweet uses a plastic laminate countertop for reviewing plans (homedepot.com).
As the sounds of birds chirping and a fountain burbling come in from outside, more party guests wander into her little oasis and plop down on the big sea-grass sofa. This shack, it appears, truly has become a chick magnet. "When my girlfriends come over," Sweet says, "we invariably end up here with a glass of wine."
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Garden shed becomes a backyard retreat
Lush plantings
A path winds around the back of the shed to a work space and potting table. Camellias, hydrangeas and grasses flank the path.
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Garden shed becomes a backyard retreat
Green walls
Filled with spidery and trailing succulents, a wall-mounted pot raises the greenery to eye level and helps soften the exterior.
Garden shed becomes a backyard retreat
Vintage finds
An old mantel that was found in an alley is secured against the back fence, where it displays container plants. Sweet dressed it with shells.
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Garden shed becomes a backyard retreat
Garden view
Sweet fitted the formerly windowless space with windows from flea markets and salvage stores so she could look out onto her yard.
Garden shed becomes a backyard retreat
Eye candy
A fuchsia outside the window above the desk attracts hummingbirds. "I love watching them sip nectar a few inches away," Sweet says.
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Garden shed becomes a backyard retreat
Garden art
A wooden trellis from an antiques shop creates the quilt-patterned graphic above the sea-grass sofa.
Garden shed becomes a backyard retreat
Storage as décor
A tall barrel beside the desk is perfect for holding rolled landscape plans and fits with the room's aesthetic.
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Garden shed becomes a backyard retreat
Windowsill garden
A collection of tiny tillandsias (air plants) nestles in glass bowls filled with multicolored pebbles and sea glass.
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Garden shed becomes a backyard retreat
Outdoor gallery
Antique tools, a birdhouse, a hive and other favorite finds hang on an exterior wall near the work area.
Garden shed becomes a backyard retreat
Perfect theme
The words etched into the front window indicate not only Sweet's business name but also her idea of happiness.
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