$100 Room Challenge | Week 4: Shed Exterior Reveal

Sometimes it's hard to look at a space and see the potential. When I started envisioning what this shed would look like 4 weeks ago, I knew it was possible, but sometimes it's hard to grasp the end goal until you actually see it in front of your eyes. As I was taking the final photos for this $100 Room Challenge reveal I felt a sense of relief that one day we could have a backyard we actually wanted to be in — and this was the first step.

In case you missed all the previous shed posts, you can catch up with just a few clicks.

Week 1: The Shed Befores
Week 2: Exterior Paint Mockup
Week 3: Painted Shed Exterior

On Saturday I made the hard decision that this reveal was only going to include the exterior. I had too much left to do and there was no way I could finish the inside by Sunday afternoon. I could have ditched the rest of the exterior and focused on the interior, but decided the exterior was a higher priority because we look at it 24/7, whereas the inside functions a the minimum we need it to so it could wait.

I mean look at this. No one wants to look at this when you know it could be better.

For the main paint color I chose a nice medium, cool brown with gray undertones. It's earthy without looking dirty. I definitely recommend Behr Peppery as a beautiful exterior color. I some remnants of Behr Poetic Light from a previous project which I used to paint the "trim" and the door. Thankfully it paired nicely with Peppery since it is just a neutral, medium white.

For the ramp I used pressure treated 2"x8"s to create a flat and sturdy replacement ramp. They cut them straight out of a new bundle so they were still really wet. Once they have a chance to harden up in the sun, I'll give them a light sanding and put a coat of light, natural stain on. I did toy with making steps but decided a ramp was more practical since we keep the lawnmower, my table saw, and a few other wheeled things in this shed.

I was planning on just getting two small shrubs to go on either side of the ramp, but when I got to Home Depot they were having their end of the season sale! I got 4 Japanese Boxwoods to go on either side of the shed for only $2 a piece. They were only the small 2 gallon ones but in really good shape so I was willing to spend less to fit them into my budget. I also found these two larger Japanese Privets in a 3 gallon for $3 a piece and knew they would go great under the windows.

The stump left from our gigantic tree removal was right in the middle of my landscaping timber line. We're planning on renting a stump grinder soon and getting all 3 stumps out to make way for our future grass (fingers crossed).

I used my favorite (and cheap) cypress mulch from Home Depot. They're always in stock and have a great light neutral brown color. Some people like the uniformity of chips but I find the cypress shredded mulch to look a little more natural.

Normally I do projects solo, but I couldn't get through all the tough yard work without a ton of help from Auston. He really is the MVP of this entire project.

BUDGET USED
Behr Paint in "Peppery" ⁠— $41
(5) 2"x8"x8'  for ramp — $31
(5) Landscaping Timbers —  $10
(2) Shrubs — $6
(4) Boxwoods — $8
Mulch — $10

TOTAL — $ 106

Yes I was $6 over budget! But it was worth it to get those extra boxwoods I wasn't planning on while we were already digging holes and in the mood.

ALREADY HAD
Paintbrush
Handsaw (to cut the timbers)


It's easy for me to not be super excited about this reveal because I set out with higher hopes than was actually possible. I really even knew it would happen like this because I had a whole week out of town for work and something the other two weekend. But when I really step back and force myself to get out of my own head I am glad to have the exterior under our belt and am ready to tackle the interior. 

All of the behind the scenes are highlighted on my Instagram (@jonesvilleblog) where you can see all my crazy updates. Below are all the links to all the reveal posts so grab a cup of coffee (or tea) and get cozy, because they are good.

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter