A Potting Shed Puts a New Spin on Old Treasures

When Valerie and Mark Kirves, owners of Iron Accents, decided to add a potting shed to their North Georgia shop’s garden space, they turned to the same kind of recycled elements and antiques they love to use to display merchandise. Valerie is an avid antiques collector who enjoys the thrill of a good treasure hunt, and Mark assisted carpenter Brian LeSage in creating the plans for the shed. When Valerie heard that a local general store built in the 1890s was slated for demolition, she arranged to have it dismantled so that she could give its parts new life. Here’s how the couple turned pieces from the general store, a chicken coop, historic houses and more into a charming backyard outbuilding.

This wooden arbor will soon have a recycled brick walkway beneath it, setting the tone for the potting shed. It’s designed to give customers ideas about how to set up their own sheds, playhouses and yards.

The space around and inside it is constantly transforming; there are garden items in summer and a haunted house in October, and the place becomes a tree lot wonderland during the winter holidays.


Starting with treated lumber as a base, LeSage added the reclaimed pieces to give the shed its patinated style. Reclaimed siding, floors, roofing material, windows, doors and antique furnishings give it the weathered look that complements the new items they sell.

The siding and floors came from the general store, and the roof came from an old chicken coop. For the doors and windows, Valerie already had an ample supply. “I’m always picking up reclaimed doors and windows for display items in our store,” she says. They were able to piece together the transoms, shutters, windows and doors from her collection.


Gable vents are a charming detail below the roofline.


The shed has a front porch with plenty of space for rocking and enjoying the views. It has the rustic look of a North Georgia mountain cabin (kind of like this one).


Valerie had scooped up the window box and shutters on one of her antiques-store jaunts. “We used to use old pieces simply to display all of the new items we sell in the store, but then customers kept asking to buy the old pieces, so now I get to do more antique shopping,” she says.

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“Outdoor storage buildings have evolved into a more charming extension of your home,” says designer Terri Winans, who set up the potting shed’s interior. “A shed can provide a charming workspace with easy cleanup for planting or home projects.”

She added antique items like the corner cabinet, worktables and accessories; the space is constantly in flux.

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