You’ve spent the last several weeks, through the spring and summer, working hard on the outside of your home. You’ve got your lawn looking great, you’ve power washed the house, your gardens are freshly weeded and your landscaping looks stellar. Maybe you’ve even done some tree trimming. You’re standing on your freshly painted deck gazing out at the glory that is your backyard only to see your musty, dusty, decrepit looking shed. Ugh.  Time to spruce up your shed!

But you’ve already done all that other work, right? You’re not in the market for replacing the thing. Let’s take a look at a few relatively inexpensive ways you can spruce up your shed without breaking the bank!

Hoses Are A Shed’s Best Friend

A little rinse off never hurt anything and a shed is no different. It may not look dirty, but your shed sits out in the weather through four seasons of sun, rain, wind, and dirt. Give it a nice shower every now and again!

Start off with the hose, as you may not need all the power that a power washer brings along with it. Make sure you start with the Roof or the top of the shed, as water will run down onto the walls as you go. For a little extra stain fighting power, consider a outdoor home cleaning concentrate. Many attach directly to your hose and are sprayed on, then rinsed off and make a world of difference.

If you need a little extra oomph, give the power washer a try, but ensure that you keep it on the wide spray setting – you don’t want to take the paint off!

Fresh Paint Makes a World of Difference

After a good rinse, the best thing you can do to really spruce up your shed is to give it a fresh coat of paint. A few things to consider when you’re painting an outdoor structure like a shed.

• After the shed is good and clean, consider an oil-based primer. It will seal up the shed nicely, keeping out water and the creepy-crawlies.
• Remember to get an outdoor paint! There are millions of color options, but you want to ensure that the paint is outdoor. Lighter colors keep things cooler, but dark colors tend to show less wear.
• You may want to consider renting a paint gun – it’s much easier than using a brush and it’ll allow you to apply paint evenly.
• Either way, it’s much better to apply several thin coats of paint rather than fewer thick ones. This allows for better drying and fewer drips and drops!

Ever Hang a Picture Without a Picture Frame?

Other than posters in your room as a kid, probably not. So don’t have your shed out there without a frame either! Trim can really make your shed look like a million bucks and the best part about it is it’s so inexpensive! When thinking about trim, you’ll want to measure the four outside corners of your shed and multiply by two. Then, purchase 1×3 boards to cover that space. You can paint them the same color as the shed or an accent color. You may also want to trim around the doorway or any windows.

Don’t Forget the Inside!

When you’re sprucing up your shed, don’t forget about the part you actually use – the inside! A good sweeping can go a long way. Also, consider putting in some easy shelves. All you need is some screws and 2x4s and a piece of plywood across them to get some items up off the floor. Additionally, hooks and straps purchasable from any big box hardware store can really make your space more functional. Keep a lot of bikes in your shed? Consider a shelf above them for helmets, locks and other bike-related things to keep them up and out of the way,

Roofs and Gutters

The roof of your shed is just as important as the roof of your house. After all, you’ve still got some pretty expensive things in there, particularly if you’re like the vast majority of shed owners who take care of your own landscaping. You certainly don’t want that roof to develop a leak or, worse still, fail entirely. When you’re power washing your shed, give your roof a good rinse as well. Make sure its free of any debris or plants and if you see any stains on the inside of the roof, you may need to replace some of the shingles. A bit of staining on the roof itself is normal, but if it really starts to look bad you can use some paint to cover up the shingles. Replacing them entirely is another way to make your shed look good as new!

Sprucing Up Your Shed Means Getting More Out of It!

Many people just think of their shed as an outdoor box that holds things. But what if sprucing up your shed really means changing it to get more out of it. Are you artistic? Change that blank shed wall into a beautiful mural. If your kids need a place to draw, cover the wall with ply and give them a surface. If they need a place to practice their pitch placement, cover it with rubber. Or maybe you’re a big gardener and are looking to live a more sustainable life. Adding a gutter system and rain barrel is very affordably and can provide you with free water! Your imagination is really the limit!

So the next time you gaze longingly out onto your landscape, we hope you look at your shed with some fondness!

This guest post was brought to you by Elevated Development Construction, offering high quality kitchen, bathroom, home, and commercial remodeling services in Tracy, California.