Camouflaging a Garden Shed: Explore 5 Strategies to Hide Your Outdoor Storage without Overpowering Your Yard
In the quest for a well-maintained garden, disguising a garden shed can sometimes be a challenge. However, with a few clever ideas, you can seamlessly integrate your shed into your outdoor space with minimal ongoing work.
One approach is to use decorative screens or fencing such as wooden, bamboo, or lattice panels around the shed. These immediate obscurations not only hide the shed physically but also allow for adequate airflow, preventing moisture issues. Pairing these with fast-growing, low-maintenance climbing plants like clematis or evergreen ivy can further enhance concealment. These plants, once established, require little intervention, making them an ideal choice for those seeking a low-maintenance solution.
For an even more minimalist approach, applying mirrored panels can create instant visual blending without any plant care or structural upkeep. The design for this innovative technique comes from Sandra Duran Wilson, an abstract visual creator based in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The mirrored panels reflect the surrounding garden, blending the shed into its environment visually.
When incorporating plants, it's essential to maintain a safe distance from the shed walls to ensure proper airflow and minimise rot risk. Perennial climbers that don't need frequent pruning are ideal for the easiest care. Star Jasmine, with its low-maintenance and heavenly scent, is an excellent choice.
Another creative idea is to rewild a shed with climbing plants and flowers, creating a striking landscape that disguises it. Alternatively, you could create a living roof by adding a waterproof membrane, a growing medium, and chosen plants. This not only softens the visual threshold between the shed and the neighbouring hedgerow but also provides an additional source of nectar for insects and winter seeds for birds.
Integrating a garden shed into a wall can also be a discreet solution. This concept is beautifully demonstrated in a modern front yard where a small bike shed is integrated into an oxidized steel wall, a hidden storage idea brought to life by London-based company Bikebox Works.
In the garden of a Seattle home, the garden/storage shed was integrated into the perimeter fence, made of the same material, to create a visually streamlined space. A metal wall trellis can be used to support climbing plants, softening the landscape and hiding the shed in plain sight.
For those seeking a more modern look, mirrored panels or rows of panels can be used. The size of one of these mirrors can be as large as 60x40cm. Another design includes an arched metal mirror, waterproof and powder-coated, that reflects the beauty of a garden come rain or shine.
Scott, the founder and principal of Scott Lewis Landscape Architecture, a practice that appreciates each site's unique characteristics, emphasises the importance of these creative ideas in transforming garden sheds into harmonious additions to any garden.
In the realm of home-and-garden lifestyle, mirrored panels can subtly blend a garden shed into the outdoor space, reflecting the color and art of the surrounding environment. For a more organic solution, incorporating fast-growing climbers like clematis or evergreen ivy can camouflage the shed while requiring minimal maintenance.
