Shed Painting Tips

How to paint your shed – preparation, picking the correct paint, which brush to use and color suggestions

I am transforming an old shed in my backyard to become a she shed aka a potting shed for our garden! The first step is painting the exterior! I thought I’d put up some tips for the right way to do it. It only takes a few hours, but prepping, picking the correct paint, and brush will make all the difference!

p.s. if you missed the post with pictures of the interior of the shed and my plans, click here.

supplies to paint your shed the right way-

before

The shed is old and has definitely seen better days! Years ago, the old owners used to have it painted pink, but it has since been repainted a dark beige color- definitely not my taste. The door was made of plywood and literally falling apart. Plus it had exposed screws on the back which made for a safety hazard.

For prep, I cleaned all of the walls with TSP and a rag. Anywhere there was peeling paint, I scraped that off. There were some leaves covering the bottom of the shed from last fall so I raked those up.

picking the correct paint

No matter what, you want to choose a good exterior paint when doing a shed. You’ll want something that is-

mildew resistant
fade resistant
durable
covers easily

Now, its time to select the color! You can never go wrong with painting your shed that is the same as your house (which is what we did). Or you could go another color that will compliment your home. White, ivory, navy, dark green, and grey are always good options. For a whole shed, I’d suggest going a more subtle color to keep it from being too much.

For the walls of the shed, we went with Ultra Pure White. The door color is the same as our front door- Beloved Pink.

painting time

If you’ve painted walls of your house, this is really similar! I used my roller first and gave the walls the first coat. Then I went in with my brush and did the gaps on the walls and cut in. The door next got painted- I used my brush for the whole door. Finally, I went in and gave everything a second coat of paint. After a few hours, I was done!

Tip- since you’ll be painting outside, make sure you’re doing it with the right temperature. Check your can and make sure you’re applying it when its warm enough, but not too hot. Pay attention to the forecast and choose a few hours when the weather is the best.

after

You probably saw a sneak peek of the outside of the shed when I shared this DIY boho hammock. I was so happy with how much of a difference the paint made to the shed after a few hours!

The door was replaced with an antique one that I found at Habitat for Humanity for $35. My husband cut it down with a table saw to get it to fix the narrow opening. We used this mortise lock set to fit the existing holes in the door. It’s not technically for outdoor use, but its so charming and comes with a sweet skeleton key. My fingers are crossed that it’ll hold up outside!

The shed originally had the sweetest horse bell. After painting, we cleaned it up (there was old paint on it) and put it where it belonged. I love adding back original charm wherever possible!

she shed accessories

Now that the outside is cleaned up, its time to start thinking about the inside! I’m hoping to begin work on the interior next week. In the meantime, I’ve been dreaming of cute accessories to add on the shelves of the potting shed!

1 garden tool set / 2 gold watering can / 3 plant markers / 4 rainbow pots / 5 love grows here art / 6 marble bunny on wood base / 7 gardening gloves / 8 plant mister / 9 cement tulip pot

While I was vintage shopping a few weeks ago, there were a few super cute vintage Hungarian bathtubs on stands that would be perfect as planters. The best price was $200, but that was still too expensive for me. Williams Sonoma sells a cute one-

vintage bathtub with stand

It’s $275 though- not better but at least available to anyone. I also like vintage wash basins, but those are still expensive. And then today, I just found a really affordable one at Tractor Supply though (its only $60)!

I just love the idea of having a planter full of flowers in something that looks original to the house! Or having one full of potting soil already to go would be fun too!

Interior work starts next week on the shed! I can’t wait to transform the inside and take you along for the ride- stay tuned!

Thank you to The Company Store for sponsoring this post! Click here to read my full disclosure policy.