You can head over to Home Depot or Lowe's to look at them or look at the brochures. I can understand about wanting it to be pleasing to the eyes. I will eventually get one but the problem is that my lot is not flat so there's very limited spots for it and with 8 feet easement along back fence, it's pretty close to the house by the back patio so it has to be nice looking one....

HD has one that is nice, tall enough for comfort, small enough to fit in well, and decently constructed. (They construct on site.)

If you are pretty handy with tools, you can start from scratch, of course.

Just a thought for aesthetics:

Could you add a small covered porch on the side facing your kitchen for a couple of rockers or other seating with hanging baskets or planter boxes?

Otherwise, head over to the gallery and see some of the ways bossjim manages to cover any flat surface with beautiful blooming things!

Unfortunately, starting from scratch is not an option. I have a 3 yr old & 1.5 yr old that would make such a start-from-scratch project take a year to do instead of just a weekend like a prefab unit.

We just had a large flagstone patio installed, so don't really need a porch on the storage shed. I was thinking of putting a little window with a planter box on the side facing the house and putting some landscaping around it to help with the looks. Thanks for the suggestion though...if we didn't just have a patio installed, I would seriously think about the porch idea!

For cost comparison (with readymades and HD-type sheds) you might check your local paper for a reliable handyman (or word of mouth) and have him out to discuss a design/plan. I personally think that storage buildings look best if they
resemble the main house as though they were an addition, using the same style, colors and materials.
Will you have a slab poured for it, or are you looking for something with a somewhat raised wooden floor that would sit on blocks or something?

Another option, if you design it yourselves and have someone build it, is to include a small greenhouse attached to one side of it if you enjoy starting plants early from seed or need a place to store 'tropicals' in the winter, etc. And of course the roof can be a source for collecting rainwater and/or can be powered off a small independent solar panel rather than running an electric line from the house.
Also you might look online for a readymade shed that includes shipping costs if you want to go that route.

Meant to include this link in my post. You didn't mention what your budget is, but I think these prices are pretty typical for wooden sheds:

Here is a link that might be useful: Some Online Wooden Sheds

Hi,
What did you end up doing? Do you have any pictures? Cost? I also am in need of a shed for similar purposes.

I've had two sheds built (two different houses).In Austin there are several small companies who specialize in shed building. They have a crew come in and in less than a day, the whole thing is built on site and painted to match your house.

I have a Tough Shed. I think it's wonderful. It looks great and honestly is built as well as my house. It going to last a very long time.

I'm sure it cost more than other sheds. But it really seems worth it.

I just had a Tuff Shed built. It is wonderful.
Only problem is I thought the ground was level, because there had been an old metal shed there. However, it wasn't and now the front of my shed is elevated about 18 inches up off the ground in order to be level with the back. Any ideas how to dress up the front so it doesn't look like it is just sitting on cinder blocks?

My advice is to think about where it will be in the yard carefully. You have to think about the sunlight it will block out if you may want to plant near it in the future, and the view it will block. Ours is next to the house and it blocks half the yard from view. Wish I'd thought of that first! Our neighbor has one against our fence and it blocks all the much needed sun in the winter. I wish he'd asked me before he built his!

There are many wood shed kits available online for the do it yourself project. However, keep in mind that wood sheds require yearly maintenance and are susceptible to the elements and termites. They can become a costly structure.

Have you considered a metal or vinyl shed kit. These types of materials are much more affordable and do not require maintenance. Metal sheds by Arrow Sheds are available online and come in kit form. For vinyl sheds I would recommend a DuraMax vinyl shed.

Both metal and vinyl sheds come with a 12 or 15 year warranty and are available in kit form. They also come in many sizes and colors to match your home and backyard garden landscape.

Here is a link that might be useful: Shed Kits

We found a shed that was reasonably priced at Home Depot and had it built late this summer. We chose a style that would blend well with the property and our home (white brick with black shutters). Our property is on a slope so the crew leveled the shed by simply adding concrete blocks. We have not had a chance to landscape around it, but will do so this spring. This experience with Home Depot was very satisfactory for us.

Molly

Thats a nice looking shed Molly. If anyone wants to build their own shed, here are affordable gable and lean-to step-by-step shed plans.

If you are able to match siding/stucco/etc on your exsisting house, I thik they can look very nice- paint the same color, same roof pitch sometimes, etc.

I agree with Renee,wood all the way. Metal and vinyl are difficult if not impossible to paint and they begin fading on day one. If you change color or anything else on main house,it's easy to follow suit with wood shed,not so with metal or vinyl. I've seen back yard storage buildings built and/or decorated to resemble everything form old west saloons to fairyland doll houses that were actually additions to rather than distractions from backyard living.

We had this built by ULRICH from clebune. We love it. Was able to discontinue renting a storage shed and it holds everything we need, plus extra room, including g riding mower.

Also, it is 10'x12".

" it holds everything we need, plus extra room,"

And save's a trip to public storage facility when there's something you need.

Pretty shed!

Nice - the gambrel roof looks very practical for a walk-in shed. That Dutch colonial style always reminds me of a favorite childhood home back east. . . . and the Amityville horror house. ;-)

Hi Bostedo:. Thanks. For the compliment. We have above storage around the entire shed. And the company (ULRICH) guaranteed us that no rodent would ever chew its way in.... they used some type ofconcrete skirting around the bottom. Also, we have a 10 yr guarantee on the building....I always worry above doors and floors for some reason. If you call them ask for Bridgett and that you were referred by Mike and Margarett