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backyard shed makeover

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Hello! I’m Melodye from ShabbyGlam.

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I am in the process of creating my dream backyard. Phase one is now complete: The backyard Shed Makeover! I’m excited to share with you the steps I took to take a hideous old white aluminum shed and turn it into a charming focal point of my salvage-chic backyard.

 

 

 

 

Here’s the pitiful “before” picture…but I saw potential!

old shedShed before paint – So UGLY!

 Step 1:  Paint!
a) CLEAN: My energizer bunny daughter (age 13) and I scrubbed down the shed with DAP T.S.P Substitute heavy-duty cleaner and a roofing brush. This stripped the loose chalky old paint off the shed to prepare for primer.
b) PRIME: We primed the entire shed and roof with Zinsser primer.

c) PAINT: Then we put two coats of paint on the shed, including the roof. We used a flat paint for the green walls and a satin finish paint for the red door. I painted the edge of the roof brown, but hated it and changed that color to periwinkle blue.

tsp

Cleaned the shed of loos paint with T.S.P.

primerPrimed the shed with Zinsser

green shed

Step 2: Add Roof Trim & Frame the Door.  The brown aluminum roof fascia looked insubstantial and boring so my husband offered to add wooden trim! I painted furring strips ($1.15 per 10 food board…such a bargain!) in a fabulous periwinkle blue, and we (he) mounted them to the aluminum fascia.

firring stripsPainted the firring strips to use as trim for the new shed.
shed door
Added wood trim for roof fascia & door trim.
 Step 3:  Door Wreath.  I added this Floral Wreath Swag to the door.
shed shelf
Step 4: Shelf.  Next, we added a shelf to the side wall. We made this using two simple L-brackets that I had left over from another project.
shed ledgeWe mounted the L-brackets behind the board to hide them.

Step 4: Vintage Window Painted:  I found these fabulous vintage windows on Craig’s list for $5 each! (I know all you repurposers out there are totally jealous!). I took one of the windows and cleaned it with DAP’s T.S.P. Substitute mentioned above, sanded it, then painted it blue to match the shed trim.

vintage windows

Vintage windows from Craig’s list for $5 each!
 clean windowScrubbed clean with TSP Substitute, then sanded them down to prep for paint.

 

paint window periwinkle bluePainted the window Periwinkle Blue

Step 5: Vintage Window turned into a Mirror!  My son had a great idea! He suggested that the window would look better as a mirror. Roeshel at The DIY Club did a similar vintage window turned mirror project using Krylon Looking Glass Mirror-Like Paint. I followed her lead, and it worked like a charm! I masked and taped off areas not to be painted.

Next, I sprayed about 5 light coats of Looking Glass, allowing it to dry 1 minute between coats (as recommended on the can). Because my new mirror was going outside, I sprayed an Rustoleum Outdoor Metalic Finish over the Looking Glass paint to seal it. Next, I mounted it on the shed.

krylon looking glass spray paintKrylon Looking Glass Spray Paint  – creates a reflective surface that looks like a vintage mirror!

 

rustoleumSprayed Rust-oleum Outdoor Metallic Finish over the Looking Glass Paint to seal it for Outdoor use.

mask window

Masked and taped areas not to be spray painted.

 

Step 6:  Added outdoor faucet handles:  Don’t these make great hooks for my garden tools?

she shed

Vintage Window is now this fabulous mirror, complete with fabulous faucet handle hooks!
Give me your feedback: As you can see in one of the pictures above, I lucked out and found someone getting rid of an entire house full of vintage windows! If you have ideas on what to make from them, leave a comment on this post! I definitely want to make a Window Cabinet, like the one Gail did! Love it!

Step 7:  Mount trellis & landscape: We took a fan trellis and cut it in half to mount on either side of the window. We planted jasmine vines and flowers, and voila!

Shed finishedFinished Shed Makeover!
Next phase in the Dream Backyard makeover…build a Fire Pit in front of the shed! Come visit me at ShabbyGlam!
Projects you may enjoy:
she shed
Another great shed makeover.
green bamboo chairs
painted birdhouse
birdcage planter
Thank you Melodye for sharing your shed makeover with us today! I love how it turned out. My shed could definitely use a makeover….hmmm
gail

23 Comments

  1. Melodye, what a great transformation! I would change the color of the door, though. Something punchier, like the base and trim colors.

  2. Melodye, what a transformation! I know that was fun, seeing it change so much. You all did a great job! Ann

  3. Looks freat! Wish I could pin this. If there’s some way to do it, would you please email me? Thanks.
    Cashel19162yahoo.com

  4. Hi Melodye,

    beautifully done! You don’t really need much to transform something into a real gem. All you need is paint, some ideas and dedication ♡
    Also, congrats on your new path to becoming an awesome blogger which you actually already are 🙂

    Hope to see more from you,
    Franziska
    @FlavorDesigns.com
    Renewable Lifestyle

  5. Thank you all for the wonderful comments about my Shed Makeover. I’m a new blogger and this is my first-ever guest post anywhere. I really appreciate the encouragement! Thanks to Gail for allowing me this priviledge!

  6. WOW…love the makeover…looks inviting enough to set up housekeeping in. Fantastic job!

  7. Wow! She did such a great job of making a utilitarian shed into something so cute! I really like the faucet handle hooks!

  8. Beautiful!
    What a great idea to make the window into a mirror!
    I left a comment for Melodye from ShabbyGlam at her site as well.

  9. It looks so cute! And thanks for the tip about the mirror spray paint! I’ve seen it at the store but wasn’t sure how well it worked. Now I need to try it.

  10. Wow, what an amazing transformation! Great job of taking an eyesore and making it a focal point for your yard! Cute, cute, cute!!

  11. What a great idea! It’s amazing the difference that some paint, small touches, and lots of care can make. 🙂

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