Three garden storage solutions for your home this Autumn

Ad. With Autumn approaching you may be starting to think about your garden storage?

As you know it’s been a long and hot summer (which I’ve loved) and you be wondering where you’re going to store everything you’ve kept outside during these summer months. I am, and I’m trying to work out where on earth I’m going to store our 11 garden sofa cushions that isn’t in the kitchen.

To help you I’m sharing three storage ideas that you could add to your garden this Autumn and Winter. We have a small-ish city garden and here I’m considering a range of options to help you make the most of your space – whether that’s large or small. I’ll start with the most obvious; a shed!

Sheds

A shed is a great option if you have garden equipment to store, this could be a lawn mower, gardening tools, paint cans and some of the children’s outdoor play equipment. But did you know that a shed no longer needs to be a boring browned stained structure that sits at the bottom of your garden? Instead it can be painted in a fun colour to compliment your outdoor area whilst still offering all the practicalities of being a shed.

You may also be wondering how much does it cost to build a shed, the answer is it can vary depending on a number of factors. These factors include its size, how you build it and the materials used, if there are any labour costs involved, whether you are adding electric and lighting points to it, and if you need planning permission for it. You can see that the cost of adding a shed really does vary and can quickly add up, which is something you’ll need to take into account during the planning process.

Costs to consider

Start with the materials you wish to build your shed with and how you want it to look. Will it be a wooden structure or have metal cladding to make it more of a design feature in your garden. Then depending on the size of the shed will it require any internal wall structures to go in place? This will vary by how you wish to use the shed and the available land you have for it. You may wish to use part of it for storing gardening equipment and another part of it as an indoor/outdoor play area for children.

These are all important factors to consider which lead onto whether you’re building it yourself or getting a builder to build it for you. There will be costs for materials and ultimately your time if you’re building it yourself. If you’re instructing a builder to build it there will be associated labour costs too.

Another alternative is to buy a ready made shed from a DIY or online retailer that you can put together yourself. This will give you the freedom to paint the outside as you wish and add in any electrical points as required. Just bear in mind you will need a qualified electrician to do this for you.

Bespoke garden storage

Another solution for garden storage are bespoke storage solutions. Building something completely bespoke means that it will fit entirely with the look that you are trying to achieve and give you the room to exactly fit your items.

Outdoor kitchens are a feature that I love seeing at the moment, and just because we’re nearing Autumn doesn’t mean you can’t plan one. In fact it’s a good time to enjoy the darker nights in your garden with festoon lighting and outdoor heaters with friends on a Friday night.

If you’re in the process of building an outdoor kitchen make sure that storage is also considered too. Can you add in an additional cupboard for gardening equipment to go? It could be made using decking boards and painted in a colour of your choice. Or it could be rendered blockwork painted white with wooden doors or open shelves to match the rest of your outdoor kitchen.

But it doesn’t have to be all about building an outdoor kitchen, you could build your own garden cupboards that sit alongside a fence or wall, or even help to zone the garden in to different areas. In addition to this you could take advantage of getting garden furniture that has built in storage underneath.

Small portable storage boxes

Last of all a convenient option is to purchase a small portable plastic storage box that could sit on your decking or patio just outside your kitchen door. We have one and it is perfect for smaller or city gardens to save on space, whilst providing plenty of room for smaller gardening equipment such as compost and trowels. Plus it’s a great place to store the paddling pool (if you have one).

The other benefit of these storage boxes is that they can easily be transported to another property and easily accessible for children to find what they’re looking for.

So those are three ways that you can add storage to your garden ready for Autumn. Now I just need to find somewhere to put those 11 garden sofa cushions once the weather starts to turn.