2020-03-01_Do_It_Yourself

BHG.COM/DIYMA G A Z I N E DO IT YOURSELF Summer 2020 97

“I GUESS I WAS BORED AND

NEEDED A PROJECT,” KAREN

ZIMMERMAN, A SELF-DIAGNOSED

“TINY HOUSE FREAK,” SAYS OF

HER BACKYARD SHED. “I love decorating

and many of the projects in my fi xer-upper bungalow were

done.” The Altoona, Iowa, resident’s stay-busy attitude

landed an 8×14-foo t shed in her backyard.

Karen personalized a stock building plan and hired

a builder. “I wanted the roof to be more pitched and I

wanted an overhang over the front door, like a house,”

she says. “I drew up what I wanted and he built it, and

we took it from there.”

Once the structure was built, Karen and her husband,

Doug, wired the building for electricity and added

insulation, then covered the interior with 4×8-foot wood

panels that have the look of horizontal shiplap. “I’m fairly

impatient to get things done,” Karen says. “I had the back

half of the shed painted and pictures hung before my

husband fi nished the walls at the front!”

On the exterior, Karen created a front porch by building

a ground-level deck the width of the shed. Inspired by

Pinterest, she decided her new shed was already in need of

a makeover. “When it was fi rst built it had regular siding

on it. I loved the look of shake shingles and knew it needed

to be changed.” The couple used real cedar shake, stapling

each one in place. “I was told it wouldn’t take long, but let’s

just say I was misinformed,” Karen says with a laugh. “I’d

say it took about a week, and then I had to paint a sealer on

top. That may not seem long, but to me it was an eternity!”

A half-light door painted teal blue is the fi nishing touch

to Karen’s vision. “Adding the walkway and the deck makes

it look like a cottage,” she say. “And the view of it from our

main house is great. I appreciate my shed as much for the

yard art it provides as the interior itself.”

TINY HOUSE LOVE Karen and Doug Zimmerman

(above left) built a shed in their Iowa backyard.

Karen—inspired by Pinterest and her love of projects—

dressed the shed with classic cottage details, including

real cedar shakes, a teal front door, window boxes, a

mailbox, and a front porch with seating and plants.

KAREN BOUGHT

OLD CORRUGATED

TIN ON FACEBOOK

MARKETPLACE. SHE

USED IT ON THE

UNDERSIDE OF

THE PORTICO AND

IN THE GARDEN

CLOSET AT THE

REAR OF THE SHED.

96-100_Zimmerman_Shed.indd 97 FINAL 2/24/20 12:03 PM