EYE ON DESIGN
By Patricia Dane Rogers
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, June 22, 2000; Page H05
"The only thing worse than not having an outdoor storage shed for stowing stuff like bikes, rakes or giant garbage cans is having one that's an eyesore," says Anthony Wilder of Anthony Wilder Design/Build in Bethesda. "I don't know many people who want to sit in their nice home and look out at one of those prefab aluminum mini-barns."
Wilder suggests disguising a less-than-lovely backyard storage or potting shed within materials particularly suited to a garden setting: "Dress them up in latticework."
To gussy up a prefab walk-in storage shed behind a Bethesda colonial, Wilder built a decorative cover using synthetic lattice, fiberglass columns and decorative redwood rooftop trellises. The structure could be made entirely of wood, he says, but synthetic materials will stand up to the elements without needing to be repainted.
The idea, says Wilder, "was to make it look less like a barn and more like a pergola."
Wilder purchased the materials from Thomas W. Perry, a hardware store and lumber yard with branches in Chevy Chase and Gaithersburg. Perry sells the white latticework, made by Brite Millwork, in 4-by-8-foot panels for $23 apiece. Connectors and trimwork for joining panels and providing a finished look are also available.
"What's nice," says Wilder, "is that there are no nails that will rust and no painting is necessary."
The columns, which need to be custom-ordered, are available in a variety of sizes and styles, from rounded and simple to square and fluted. Prices start at about $200 each. They will require concrete footings for a secure installation.
Depending on material, trelliswork rafters, which are fashioned at the construction site, run $8 to $20 each. Wilder uses two-by-eights of redwood, cedar or pressure-treated pine, stained white.
The cost was about $1,000 for materials, exclusive of the original 8-by-10-by-5-foot shed.
You can landscape around the structure, hang flowerpots from the trellis and even crown the shed with a cupola, says Wilder. "Everybody needs more storage room but instead of an eyesore, you end up with a pretty little house."
Have a decorating or design problem or solution? Share it with us. Write to Eye on Design, Home Section, The Washington Post, 1150 15th St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20071; or e-mail Patricia Dane Rogers at rogersp@washpost.com. We regret that we cannot answer each message because of the volume of responses.
© 2000 The Washington Post Company
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