Outbuildings
A Storybook Potting Shed Rises From a Dirt Lot
Breathtaking views and specialty materials create a memorable structure on a working avocado farm
In the foothills of Santa Barbara, California, a gravel road winds through a thick grove of avocado trees. A clearing appears at the end of the road, and the trees frame a small rustic shed and chicken coop. From the shed, sweeping views of a barn, agricultural parcels and the Santa Ynez Mountains surround the plot.
This new potting shed is part of a property overhaul designer Jeff Doubet envisioned for a Los Angeles-based entrepreneur and painting contractor who wanted to try out avocado ranching. “He saw great potential in the neglected ranch land,” Doubet says. In addition to designing this new shed, Doubet also collaborated on the main house renovation, which sits away from the shed, and helped design a guesthouse, new barn and chicken coop.
This new potting shed is part of a property overhaul designer Jeff Doubet envisioned for a Los Angeles-based entrepreneur and painting contractor who wanted to try out avocado ranching. “He saw great potential in the neglected ranch land,” Doubet says. In addition to designing this new shed, Doubet also collaborated on the main house renovation, which sits away from the shed, and helped design a guesthouse, new barn and chicken coop.
Reclaimed barn wood siding gives the shed a feeling of permanence and contributes to the desired rustic effect. The owner bought the lumber from a company that was going out of business, so the price was comparable to new lumber. The general contractor built the shed’s frame using typical framing techniques. “The basic structure is built of standard building materials readily available at typical big-box retail,” he says.
Doubet’s early design concept for the shed included a Dutch door, wood cupola, copper finial and awning-style windows to enhance the feeling of old-world charm and create extra interest. “The eclectic composition of the fanciful, more formal wood cupola and the oversized finial is a calculated move to be ‘slightly off,’” Doubet says. “I think that makes it more interesting and quirky.” The homeowner’s painting team faux-painted these elements to match the reclaimed wood’s worn character. Wood shake roofing and copper flashing round out the structure’s exterior.
Doubet’s early design concept for the shed included a Dutch door, wood cupola, copper finial and awning-style windows to enhance the feeling of old-world charm and create extra interest. “The eclectic composition of the fanciful, more formal wood cupola and the oversized finial is a calculated move to be ‘slightly off,’” Doubet says. “I think that makes it more interesting and quirky.” The homeowner’s painting team faux-painted these elements to match the reclaimed wood’s worn character. Wood shake roofing and copper flashing round out the structure’s exterior.
The homeowner scoured the Pasadena Rose Bowl Flea Market for accessories, such as the antique farm plows and wagon wheels surrounding the shed, to complement the structure and Doubet’s vision. “It was remarkable the antiques he was able to find,” Doubet says.
A hand-hewn stone step, split-rail fences and Santa Barbara sandstone rubble walls and cobble walkways lead into the shed. Grapevines frame the rustic entry.
Inside, the shed has a work bench for potting plants and shelves and cabinets for storing veggie seeds and garden tools. As it’s located near the chicken coop, it also stores supplies for the chickens. Here, the homeowner’s daughter and her friend organize seeds and fresh eggs.
The interior balances the exterior’s more expensive details and materials with lower-priced items. The homeowner purchased redwood tongue-and-groove boards at auction to cover the shed’s interior walls and ceiling. “We also recycled some next-to-free quality cabinets from a Montecito teardown,” Doubet says. These cabinets form the interior workspace, with reclaimed barn planks used for the counter and wall shelving.
More
How to Add a Backyard Shed for Storage or Living
Bring Reclaimed Wood to the Landscape
See more inspiring outbuildings
The interior balances the exterior’s more expensive details and materials with lower-priced items. The homeowner purchased redwood tongue-and-groove boards at auction to cover the shed’s interior walls and ceiling. “We also recycled some next-to-free quality cabinets from a Montecito teardown,” Doubet says. These cabinets form the interior workspace, with reclaimed barn planks used for the counter and wall shelving.
More
How to Add a Backyard Shed for Storage or Living
Bring Reclaimed Wood to the Landscape
See more inspiring outbuildings
Location: Foothills of Santa Barbara, California
Size: 96 square feet (8.9 square meters); 8 by 12 feet (2.4 by 3.7 meters) by 9½ feet (2.9 meters) tall
Designer: Jeff Doubet of Santa Barbara Home Design
In his early drawings, Doubet envisioned a rustic yet dreamy shed. “Those sketches included suggestions such as split cedar rail fencing with flame grape vines, the area for a large organic veggie garden, rubble stone walls [and] gravel pathways,” he says. The design emphasized the feeling of an old, rural farm with more ornamental details. “The main house and guesthouse are designed in a modern ranch vernacular, and [with] this part of the project, the owner and I wanted to create a juxtaposition,” he says.
Doubet chose the shed’s location by sitting in and experiencing various locations around the site. “I studied the blank canvas and asked myself, ‘How would this shed be most enjoyed, and from as many vantage points as possible?’” he says. He imagined the shed’s massing and the surrounding trees and views. After first drawing the shed, he and the property owner then staked it out with rebar and plastic PVC sprinkler pipe to make sure the view of it and views from it fit within the overall feeling of the site. “We wanted to confirm the locations and make sure the buildings would have a rhythm and flow as they are first experienced by visitors,” Doubet says.