The Garden Blogger's Retreat

It is a real pleasure to have been included in this summers program at The Berkshire Botanical Garden in Stockbridge, MA. I was one of the five designers who reinvented a modest shed for: Living Stylishly in Nature: Re-Imagining the Humble Garden Shed. Each space is so different and brimming with ideas that it is a must see. Best part of all, if you love one, you can buy it and take it home! They are all on auction as a fund raiser for the garden. The exhibit of the sheds will be up until Labor Day 2010.

The inspiration shot that guided me through the design process. I loved the romance of the room with the fabric on the walls and the double mirrors, as well as the large windows. How to bring this into the 21 Century for a garden blogger????

I had exactly ten fun filled days on site to transform this humble building into something stylish.

This is what the interior looked like when I first arrived.

The same shed ten days later on opening day. This is where my chic imaginary garden blogger would sit while she is busy blogging. Thankfully computer batteries have improved, because the space is sans electricity. The dinky windows were changed out to a more suitable 3’ x 6’ windows which now floods the space with light. The walls are hung with my new print Chantal.

Thomas was amazing in his support and assistance through the entire project. He did the flowers. In this case that included a trip to the flower market in New York and bringing them up on the train.

I added two floor to ceiling mirrors to make the 10’0”X 10’0” space appear larger. The desk chair and small sofa are pieces from Hickory Chair which I had customized. The chair is in Ashley Plum and the small sofa is a stock heavily textured linen from Hickory Chair with pillows in my Window Box Lilac. The floor is painted from a design that was inspired by the timbering pattern of a 17th century house in Normandy. My good friend Dana Spot, who happens to be an outstanding decorative painter worked with me on the floor.

To jazz up the roof and hide the asphalt shingles, I called a local contractor Philip Bickerton. He upholstered the roof and installed the dogs. No easy feat given the dormer and the nature of heather fencing.