Strategies to Camouflage a Garden Shed - 5 Methods for Hiding Your Outdoor Storage so it Blends with Your Landscape
In London, Bikebox Works, a forward-thinking company, has taken the concept of hidden storage to a new level. Director Tracey Bendrien has a knack for finding space where no one believed there was any, and is particularly proud of projects that may look the simplest but were actually the most complex to resolve. One such project involved creating a small bike shed integrated into an oxidized steel wall in a modern front yard.
The shed, disguised by mirrored panels, blends seamlessly with its surroundings, softening the landscape and hiding in plain sight. The mirrored panels reflect both the garden and another installation, creating an illusion that the shed disappears into the landscape. This innovative method, used by Henrietta Norman, founder and creative director of Tulip Landscapes, can be seen in her creation of a bulb shed with a green roof.
Concealing a garden shed with climbing plants is another creative approach. Star Jasmine, with its low-maintenance and heavenly scent, is an ideal choice for this purpose. It allows the shed to blend in with the surrounding foliage, creating a harmonious blend of structure and nature. This method was employed by Prentis Hale, a principal at SHED Architecture and Design, in the garden of a Seattle home, where he integrated a garden/storage shed into the steel tube and Ipe fence.
A green roof on a shed can also soften the visual threshold between the shed and the neighboring hedgerow. Not only does it provide an additional source of nectar for insects and winter seeds for birds, but it can also add a touch of natural beauty to the overall landscape. The GardenersDream mix of five outdoor fern plants is a great choice for a green roof on a shed.
Scott, the founder and principal of Scott Lewis Landscape Architecture (SLLA), has also embraced the concept of disguising garden sheds. He designed an S-shaped blueprint for a shed that contains space for a bike and kayak storage area that faces the street, as well as a potting shed that faces the garden pool. The shed's green rooftop can be viewed from the upper-story windows, adding a touch of greenery to the urban landscape.
Creative ways to disguise and blend a garden shed with its surrounding landscape include using plants, fencing, and decorative elements to create natural or artistic screens that integrate the shed into the garden environment. By employing these strategies, garden sheds can be transformed from bland and unsightly structures into hidden gems that seamlessly blend with their surroundings.
Artistic screens, created using plants, fencing, and decorative elements, can turn a garden shed into an art piece that mirrors the color palette of the home-and-garden. For instance, the use of Star Jasmine, with its low-maintenance and fragrant flowers, or the GardenersDream mix of five outdoor fern plants, can soften the visual threshold between the shed and the greenery, making the shed feel like an organic extension of the home and garden lifestyle.
