An inspired outdoor hideaway- French Country Cottage She Shed

When I was a little girl, my dad built me a play house 

at the back of our property.

One with a peaked ceiling, windows and pretty little curtains

and an invitation to dream.

And I played with dolls, made supper for my imaginary family
and loved sneaking away to sit inside that quiet little spot that was just like a little hideaway
at home.
And sometimes I wonder if that play house inspired a bit of my obsession
with all things pretty at home.


And this little spot in our yard brings back so many childhood memories
of that amazing little play house and the hours spent there.
So this is kind of like my play house...

with a dash of cottage charm and romance 

and a bit of whimsy.

When I started designing this 'She Shed' 

I thought of what I loved.

European charm. Romance. Lots of windows and open ceilings

and a pretty little spot filled with abundance of flowers.

And it inspired a bit of a dream spot.

One with a small cottage garden filled with favorites like lavender, boxwood, foxgloves

lambs ear and white roses- and a scattering of wildflowers mixed in.

And one that had a pea gravel path that danced through the flowers beds

and led to something enchanted.

I thought about creating a spot to relax with a good book

with pretty little French furniture

like that French daybed I shared recently.

And I also wanted a spot to play with flowers of course. 

You know... in case I ever decided that arranging flowers was my thing.

;)

I wanted lots of ambiance and simple charm - and simple styling.

And so... putting this and that and everything else together in one.. 

and 

the French Country Cottage She Shed happened.

It has a pea gravel floor for a rustic simple european feeling,

a dutch door for letting in the breeze

and an admittedly over the top chandelier

 because... why not?

A row of vintage books sitting on the exposed framing

and even pretty little breezy curtains to add a bit of romance.

There are shelves for buckets of peonies, roses or fresh clipped seasonal flowers

and a whole lot of French cottage charm.

And of course... twinkle lights.

Because it just wouldn't feel the same without them.

And we went with a 'margaritaville' look by stringing them above the simple dining spot
as well as the perennial garden.

I am pretty much obsessed with how this came out.

All those windows allow a ton of fresh air and breezes to come in- 

which makes it a perfect spot to sleep if it is super hot.

There is much more to share about this new little spot outdoors to share- but for now

 you can see the how-to about this project over at Angie's List- 

and I will be share details and sources here in the next week or so as well.

disclosure:
I partnered with Angie's List to create an inspired dream filled She Shed-
 but all opinions and designs are my own.