Adorable Arts and Crafts Shed for Kids

This young family uses a simple storage shed as a place where kids can let loose, make an artistic mess, and not worry about any cleanup stress.

June 29, 2021

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Photo By: Flynnside Out

Arts and Crafts Shed

Sisters Grace and River get ready for a creative day of painting in this punchy green storage shed set up in their own backyard. Situated about 2,000 feet from the main house, making a mess in here is not only care-free, it's encouraged.

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Down to the Studs

This ready-made shed comes with a framed and studded utility-grade interior. Since the main function is to give the girls a place to paint, draw and craft, parents Robert and Tiffany Peterson simply sprayed the interior white to make it bright, happy, industrial and care-free. The center of the shed is kept open so the Petersons can also use it to house yard maintenance tools.

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Collapsible Easel

While little sister River is more into crayons and markers, big sister Grace has an interest in painting; her go-to subject is one of her two favorite stuffed animals, Spot. To give her a space to paint without taking up too much valuable square footage, a clear Lucite easel is set up in the corner, then collapsed and stored when the space is not in use.

Hinged Wall

The shed sits along the very back of the Petersons' property. Since the arts and crafts shed also houses the family's yard tools, the entire back wall is hinged like a barn door, and there's an angled ramp to make rolling things in and out easier. This hinged door also allows the parents to keep an eye on the girls while working in the yard.

Gallery Wall

In order for the girls to be able to hang their creations up once finished, one of the walls is free of windows, allowing for floor-to-ceiling hanging space.

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Plenty of Windows

To keep the interior cool, open and airy, the Petersons added windows along the front of the shed and one of its side walls. This is also hugely helpful for an art space in which natural light helps paint colors read true to their values.

Punchy Palette

The exterior of the shed was painted a cheerful shade of grey-green which coordinates perfectly with the lush, mature greenery surrounding it.

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Light and Breezy

Since the arts and crafts shed isn't used on a daily basis, there was no need to invest in air conditioning. Instead, a simple white ceiling fan was added to create a breeze while blending into the ceiling. With the windows also open, the interior stays nice and cool so the girls can get creative comfortably.

Shade Tree

When deciding exactly where to set up and construct their storage shed, Robert and Tiffany settled on an area in the yard shaded by a mature oak tree. In the afternoon until sunset, the shed stays shaded and cool.

All Available Space

Every square inch is put to good use for arts and crafts. The walls are meant for temporarily hanging paintings so they can dry; a colorful piñata is suspended from the ceiling for a touch of fun; and a potting bench previously used for flower pots and soil is used for corralling art essentials.

Kids and Grownups

To add elements of life to the exterior, Robert and Tiffany placed a planter box below one of the windows. While Grace and River work on arts and crafts, mom Tiffany tends to the plants and soil.

Colorful Smocks

Grace and River love being crafty as much as they love pretending to be grownups. To keep their everyday clothes free of paint and markers, they dress up in mom-and-dad size smocks which keep them covered.

Arts and Crafts Bench

The pine potting bench comes in extra handy for use as an art station. The top has a hinged leaf that extends out another eight inches to allow for a stool. Open shelving below is ideal for paint buckets and cleaning supplies. The horizontal slats on back are ideal for hanging up small paintings to dry.

Booster Stool

Hands down, the one item that gets the most use is Grace and River's booster stool. Whether it's an extra place to sit, a table surface for lunch, or used as a booster for River to hang artwork along the potting bench, this multi-purpose piece comes in extra handy.

Splattered Carpet Tiles

The chipboard floors were too coarse and rough for Grace and River to sit on and create. Robert and Tiffany bought inexpensive carpet tiles in pure white and let their girls splatter all different shades of paint on them to add personality. This softens the entire interior flooring surface and helps brighten up the interior.

Spread Out on the Floor

With worry-free carpet tiles to perch on, both sisters also set up shop on the floor to create banners and posters with rolls of white paper and markers.

Stocked Supplies

Just above the art supplies organized on the potting bench, Grace and River's favorite artwork is on display. Both extremely active like their parents, Grace's number one creation is a painting of herself and dad rock climbing at an indoor family activity park.

Playtime

As the days wind down and arts and crafts time is over, Robert and Tiffany can load the yard supplies back into the shed while Grace and River can play on and around the attached front deck.