Thursday 12 February 2015

Shed Decor

When I swapped allotment sites at the back end of 2013, I was given a choice of plots. One of the things which attracted me to the one I took was the fact that it had a shed on it. There wasn't one on the last plot I had and I knew how handy it would be to have one. I was right, it's been used plenty to shelter from rain and it's good to be able to leave things at the site rather than bringing everything home with me after each visit.

I was recently asked if I'd like to review a new book which is due to be released on the 19th of February and published by Jacqui Small, Shed Decor by Sally Coulthard. It comes with the subtitle How To Decorate & Furnish Your Favourite Garden Room. Whilst my shed on the plot is purely functional, I've enjoyed dreaming about having somewhere in the garden to spend time and relax whilst reading through this beautiful book.


Outdoor rooms have become very popular in recent years, somewhere to use as a studio, a craft room, an office or just to relax in. Shed Decor gives some great ideas on how your shed or outdoor room can be decorated.

The first part of the book is split in to Shed Decor Styles:- The Rustic Shed, The Vintage Shed, The Plain & Simple Shed, The Recycled Shed, The Retro Shed and The Country Shed.

The crochet granny stripe blanket attracts me to this vintage style.


There's a case study on each style which demonstrates how to get the look you're after.


I love the bold colour used for the Retro Shed.


Each decor style comes with a list of essentials, the little extras which will fit in with your chosen theme.


Gardener's Delight. This is the one which will fit right in on the allotment site.


The second part of the book covers Shed Decor Basics:- Approaches to Shed Space, Walls, Flooring, Heat & Power, Fabric, Furniture and Storage.

There's lots of practical advice here, what will work and what won't. Again, full of ideas.


As you can see, the book is beautifully illustrated too.


This book has certainly given me food for thought. We don't have a garage so the shed we have in our garden is used for storage but an outdoor room would be wonderful.

If you like the look of this book and would like a copy yourself, the publishers have the following offer:-

To order Shed Decor at the discounted price of £20 including p&p* (RRP: £25), telephone 01903 828503 or email mailorders@lbsltd.co.uk and quote the offer code APG285. 

*UK ONLY - Please add £2.50 if ordering from overseas. 
 

32 comments:

  1. My shed is tiny and full with all my gardening stuff, in the summer it's not so bad. I would love space to make a retreat. All I have is my ironwork table and chairs outside the shed. Oh well we can dream.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. A little summerhouse would be lovely, somewhere to escape to from the house. We've still got the playhouse in our garden from when the kids were young, I must do something about that this year and get rid of it, it would free up a lot of space.

      Delete
  2. What a fab book! I love the "Shed of the Year" contest, and dream of the day when I might have a shed worthy of an entry.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's a lovely book, very inspiring. There's some wonderful things you can do with a shed, the Shed of the Year competition demonstrates this, as does this book.

      Delete
  3. We are in the planning stages of building a very small summer house by the garden. Whether it's a decorated shed or small summer house...how great to be close to a beautiful garden spot, to relax and observe nature!!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. How exciting. I think a summerhouse, shed, studio, whatever in the garden brings you a step closer to the outdoors. Enjoy the planning, it will be a wonderful addition to your garden.

      Delete
  4. I must have this book, Jo, as garden sheds are a big interest of mine. I found the book on Amazon with a USA release in March. I preordered it. Thanks so much for the excellent review! P. x

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm pleased you've managed to find it over there. It's a beautiful book and contains so much information and many ideas. I hope you enjoy it.

      Delete
  5. If we did ll this on our site someone would break in and claim squatters rights.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I dare say the same thing would happen on our site. It's got some wonderful ideas in it for garden sheds though.

      Delete
  6. I don't think many of those "Garden Rooms" would survive very long on an allotment plot! Wouldn't it be nice to have one at the end of your 2-acre garden behind your Stately Home though?? :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I don't think they would either, though there's a great mix of sheds on some sites. It would be wonderful to have one in the grounds of my Stately Home, we can but dream.

      Delete
  7. What a gorgeous book, oh how I'd love a wonderful shed. My very small allotment shed is stuffed full of allotment stuff, and the allotment shed rat has eaten through a bag of wormery food and spread it all over the place. Sigh. I fear my shed would not look at home in your book. CJ xx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's a beautiful book, so many wonderful ideas and fabulous photos. My shed would be in the same book as yours. I do love the ramshackle sheds on allotment sites too though, the ones which have been cobbled together from all manner of materials.

      Delete
  8. That looks like a lovely book. My allotment she'd is so crammed full of stuff, not sure I could even get a fold up chair in there xx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's a wonderful book, I've enjoyed reading through it. Both my allotment shed and garden shed are stuffed full, though there are some plastic chairs in the one at the allotment, left by the previous tenants.

      Delete
  9. It looks to be a lovely book, the sheds are so nice aren't they. Sadly there is no chance of our shed ever looking like one of these, far too much stuff and junk in there!! I hope that you enjoy the shed on your plot this year! xx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. There's some wonderful ideas in the book and it looks so simple to put them in to practice. My own shed won't look like any of these either for the same reason.

      Delete
  10. A book of dreams for most gardeners, which is no bad thing. I agree with Mark's comment. Plot sheds are definitely more 'down to earth' and usually pretty basic.
    If I had a garden then I'm sure my shed would be much more up-market.
    Thanks for a good review about an interesting book. Flighty xx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think gardeners can appreciate a good shed. I have a garden but the shed is still pretty basic as it's used for storage as we don't have a garage. It would be nice to have a second shed to use as an outdoor room or a summerhouse.

      Delete
  11. It looks lovely but sadly we have no room for a shed in our garden. All the gardening stuff is stored in the garage!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I wish we had a garage so that it would free up the shed for other things. If only we had a little more space.

      Delete
  12. Oh to have a shed like any of those in the pictures - but then I'd still need another shed to keep all of the garden stuff in, along with the multiplying flowerpots!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Exactly. I know that if I had a shed like one in the photos, it would end up being used for storage, there's just never enough space to store everything.

      Delete
  13. Gosh....we can but dream eh? What marvelous ideas for sheds, I have two, one is full of pots and the other is basically Curly cats....I loved the vintage one too.xxx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Those sheds are definitely the things of dreams. You may inherit Curly cat's shed back now that he's living in the house.

      Delete
  14. Looks a very inspirational book, outside spaces like that are wonderful places to relax, enjoy the surroundings and shelter from the wind etc. Also lovely as a time out space, be fun to see if you use any of the ideas for your allotment shed xcx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think my allotment shed is way past prettifying but I wouldn't mind something like a summerhouse in my garden. As you say, outside spaces are a wonderful place to relax.

      Delete
  15. How lovely to review a new book. It should be pretty good as I have her book called "Shed Chic" and "Gardenalia" and both are great. In fact the latter is sitting right on top of my coffee table lot. I must look out for that one now. Sorry to hear about Monty. Take care.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's a beautiful book, full of ideas, I just wish I had the space for an outdoor room. Thank you. We've been very sad since Monty passed away but we know he had a good life with us.

      Delete
  16. Nice to review a book and aren't sheds great. These days you can do so much more with them than just store tools.

    Beach Huts and Sheds - everyone seems to like them.

    All the best Jan

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think it's the design and decor which attracts people, as well as the idea of their own little haven. I'd love one of my own.

      Delete

 
!-- Start of StatCounter Code for Blogger / Blogspot -->