Stylish Sheds & Better Homes

Today, while waiting to board my flight from Dallas to Burbank, I stopped by a newsstand and spied the May 2010 edition of Better Homes & Gardens.

I have been anticipating this issue because it features an article that I wrote about a very cool shed in Gig Harbor, Washington. The shed is owned by Cindy and Dave Storrar. They built their shed from plans they saw in the pages of BH&G, so they have traveled full circle from the inspiration to the reality – now reflected in their charming, 7-by-9 foot cedar-shingle garden hideaway.

How’s this for even more exciting news? My editor Eric Liskey make sure to include a sizable (half-page) sidebar featuring me as a “Shed Expert,” along with the cover of Stylish Sheds & Elegant Hideaways.

He also asked me to share tips on how to “design your dream shed.” These are excerpted from the book:

• MISSION: Identify the activities that draw you outdoors (art, music, poetry, growing plants, play, entertaining, or meditating). Most personal passions can find a home in a small garden shed.
• MUST-HAVES: List the design ingredients most important to you. Combine functional with frivolous. It’s OK to add a vintage cut-glass chandelier or a day bed. Make it your personal “nest.”
• INSPIRATION: Draw inspiration from that single idea you can’t stop imagining – a historic property, a specific color, a recent beach vacation.
• CREATIVE SOLUTIONS: Treat the exterior as a garden focal point and give it some of the visual upgrades you would give your own home. Decorate the interior with collections and cherished objects.

If this wasn’t awesome enough, I turned to the masthead and discovered that my new title as Contributing Garden Editor has landed me a place with all of BH&G’s editors and art directors. It feels good to be in such talented company.

It’s been a long day and already past midnight, but I had to post my news.

You see, I promised my new writer-friend Monica, my companion in Row 13 on that American Airlines flight from Dallas to Burbank, that I would make a big deal out of the magazine article.

Monica is the first person with whom I shared the magazine item, and she made me feel so pleased with the accomplishment.

We writers work so hard sometimes, often for less money than we deserve and little acknowledgement of our talent.

And it was nice to have an “atta-girl” from a fellow writer who was until today a complete stranger to me. Now, of course, we will probably become lifelong friends. And that makes today even more memorable.

 

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