Summary: In this modern shed design podcast, Joe DeMarco of Perry Brothers Construction helps listeners understand the importance of integrating your modern shed with your backyard’s landscape. Check out these 5 easy shed landscaping ideas you can try in your own backyard.
Joe DeMarco: Hi, Joe DeMarco, general manager of Perry Brothers Construction, a home remodeling company based out of Newbury, Massachusetts, who specializes in renovation and remodeling and modern shed construction and design.
On today’s Modern Shed podcast, I’m going to be talking to you about my 5 favorite landscaping ideas for your modern shed.
Put Garden Beds Around Your Shed
The first thing I’d like to talk about would be to build a garden around the exterior perimeter of your modern shed. Think about it. You could have little beds set up right along your modern shed that are going to have all the best nutrients and compost, and they’re going to be ready and optimized to grow the best tomatoes in the neighborhood.
You’re going to have big, bright red tomatoes. And you’re going to be cooking sauce and doing everything yourself from scratch, all right? It’s going to come from the heart and the soil and the earth and your bones.
It’s going to be beautiful. You could have a trellis right on the side of your modern shed, and you could have squash and beans, their vines weaving and going up the trellis and growing and giving you fresh produce every day.
If your modern shed is a home office, you just walk right outside, snap a bean off the vine, crunch and chew, think, enjoy, and really just dive into how great your life is inside your modern shed. You could have flower beds growing in the garden alongside your modern shed.
You could have different things, like Jasmines, Sun-eyed Susans, whatever, Lilies, Daisies. You could have roses going up the wall of your modern shed. It doesn’t matter. It’s all beautiful.
You could also think of maybe having herbs in your modern shed garden. Sometimes, maybe if you’re not always getting direct sunlight throughout the day, it’s a little bit harder to grow things, like tomatoes. So, you might want to consider going with thyme and parsley and sage and different herbs like that that don’t really require as much consistent sunlight.
Plant Trees For Privacy
The next landscaping idea from Modern Sheds I’d like to talk about would be planting trees around your modern shed for privacy. Now, these trees, they don’t have to be right up against your modern shed. You don’t want to scratch or damage the exterior siding or the windows, that’s for sure. But keep some trees spaced around because you don’t want your neighbors to be looking into your yoga shed and seeing you get freaky all the time. You want to have a little bit of privacy between the two of you.
So, the best thing for that is definitely to plant a few trees. Plant a few trees, climb on up. Maybe you could plant an apple tree or something, a pear tree, get some fruit trees, add to your garden around your modern shed.
Really, when you’re building a modern shed, you’re thinking about not only the structure, but you’re thinking about how can I take this structure and make it part of my personal environment? How can I enhance the look of my property? How can I build a better backyard? That’s what the modern shed’s all about.
Surround Your Modern Shed With Outdoor Lighting
The next type of landscaping idea for modern sheds I’d like to talk about would be to have plenty of outdoor lighting. Whether you have a wraparound porch, or maybe you have a little fire pit; maybe you just sit out there in the lawn chairs by your modern shed.
Whether you have a porch or not on it, you want to have effective outdoor lighting, not just string lights up at the top and not just those tiki torches that keep the mosquitoes away. Y
you want to have maybe some floodlights, you want to have different shading and dimness options, that way you can really choose the vibe you’re going for, whether you’re having a campfire with your family, or whether you’re having a campfire with a special someone.
I don’t know. You’ve just got to think, what can I do to really enhance the mood? And outdoor lighting can really give you that, especially if you go for smart options, you can get a lot of different themes and emotions going.
Build A Path Leading To Your Modern Shed
The next type of landscaping idea for modern sheds I’d like to talk about would be to build a path from your back door to your modern shed. This path could be made of stones, bricks, dirt, gravel. It could be looking like lily pads if you really wanted that. It could be all vegetation is what I mean. It could just be an imprint on the lawn or just a dirt path for all you want.
And this path would go, maybe, directly from a glass sliding door leading from the basement or just the back door from the kitchen.
And the path leads directly to the front door/steps of your modern shed. If you have steps in your modern shed, it’s probably because you decided to install a wraparound porch for your modern shed.
Maybe you’ve got a little grill up there, you’ve got a few hamburgers, a couple of beers, I guess. I don’t know. I don’t know what people do. But hey, it’s the 4th of July. You do you. Well, it’s not the 4th of July anymore, but it’s the 4th of July every single day and night when you’re inside a modern shed.
But this pathway, you could have torches lining it as if you were a guy running up the path to be eliminated off the island in Survivor. You’ve got all those crazy torches behind you. I mean, really your path, it can be intimidating or it can be like a fairytale, like Prague or something like that.
Bolivia, I think is what I was looking for. It can be something just mesmerizing for you to enjoy on your daily basis. Yeah, seriously build a path.
Modern Sheds Need A Porch
The next landscaping idea for your modern shed that I would think would be really cool, and we talked about it a little, would just be building a porch or, in general, an outdoor hangout space around, or next to, or on your modern shed.
Now, modern sheds are easy to expand upon. You can build additions on your modern sheds as long as you can make it through the permitting and inspection process, and comply with your local building departments in Massachusetts and New Hampshire.
So, you want to think about, “Okay, maybe I want a little screened in room in my modern shed, a place where I could hang the hammock out and listen to the Peepers on a nice, warm, muddy Ipswich night, but protect me from the Greenheads, because God knows I need it.”
And these types of outdoor living spaces are really great. I mean, again, you could have a big grill, have the gang over, watch the football game inside your man cave, and then go out onto your modern shed porch and just party and chill lax.
Maybe you’re a musician, you want to write some songs out on the porch, pull up a chair, get your acoustic guitar, and sing your little heart out. Enjoy yourself.
Let Perry Brothers Construction Design Your Backyard Oasis
So, anyways, I hope everyone got some great landscaping ideas for their modern shed. I know I did. And we have, at Perry Brothers Construction, plenty of landscapers who can design the perfect environment for you to integrate your modern shed into.
Because, as you know, your modern shed is supposed to be an extension of your home, which is an extension of you, and you want everything to reflect your unique personality and personal preferences.
Anyways, if you’d like to speak with a modern shed design specialist, please feel free to call our office at (781) 233-7511. And Bill Perry, the Master Modern Shed Designer, will speak to you directly and he can give you ideas, he can explain to you the process of building a modern shed.
If you have ideas you want to come to us with and see if they’re possible, please do. Anyways, it was great talking to you guys and gals. Have a great day.
