We were approached by someone in the historic Duckpond neighborhood in Gainesville looking to add an accessory cottage in her back yard. After some design iterations, we ended up building a 16'x20' version of our Starlet cottage with elements that complemented her historic home. The design was approved by the Gainesville Preservation Board.

What do you do with a recessed planter at your house? Aside from growing some measly flowers, you might consider scrapping the planter and add some attractive storage.

The owners' response after the shed was complete: "It looks fantastic...it's looks like it was part of the original house ... Love it!... "

Historic Shed recently completed this new heavy timber pool pavilion with exposed rafters set on a concrete pad, with a 5-V Crimp metal roof. Set in a new neighborhood in Florida, the shelter will provide much-needed shaded seating near the pool. The owner is having the area professionally landscaped and we hope to show off finished photos of the yard when it is complete.

 

A few months ago, we were contacted by an artist who has a 1950s Mid Century Modern style home in Tampa who wanted a studio that would complement her home. The Historic Shed™ MiMo shed was adapted to meet her needs and to match elements from her home.

 

Historic Shed was contacted by a couple who live in the Hyde Park historic district in Tampa to design a garage and guest room for a very unusual lot. Triangular in shape, their small lot was just over 4,500 sf and contained a lovely one-story Craftsman bungalow with less than 1,000 sf. The atypical lot was further constrained by a large protected oak tree on the site, and one on a neighbor's lot, just over the property line. With Tampa's strong tree protection ordinances, this left little space to build. Building up was the only real option to maximize the remaining lot space.

After tweaking the design to fit the lot and meeting with Tampa's Historic Preservation Office and Forestry Department, the resulting project created a 12'x20' one-car garage with apartment above. A 6'x8' one-story shed allowed additional storage while accommodating the lot's shape and giving a visual step down from the two-story volume to the street. The stairs were placed at the rear of the building for privacy with an exterior design that allowed them to encroach within the required oak tree setback.

The garage design itself took its cues from the main house which had a low-sloped front-gable roof and very wide eaves. Walls were clad in lap siding and an existing skirt board was inspiration for a belt course on the new building. The new outbuilding was kept simpler in architectural detail, but clearly complementing the main residence.

See more about the Two-story Garage-apartment options. A two-car version is in the works as well.

We have found that Florida artists love our Historic Shed outbuildings for studios. Inspired by the Sunny Artist Studio Shed, an artist in Sarasota contacted us to build a similarly styled shed for their back yard painting studio.

Double French doors at the end of the new path make for an inviting studio full of light and fresh air. (Photo courtesy of the owner)

Last year we were delighted to be contacted by a couple with this email note:

My husband & and I have been stalking your site for a year, waiting until our yard was ready to get a shed. I think we're close! We are in downtown Orlando, have a 1911 colonial revival/farmhouse.

We knew we'd like them instantly.

They live in the lovely Lake Eola Heights Historic District in Orlando, located within walking distance to downtown Orlando. The houses were built primarily between 1890 and 1925 and have an amazing array of styles and detail. Theirs was full of texture and character.

They didn't need an overlarge shed, but it needed character and lots of windows. And to be a test case for the colors they planned to paint their house. Because the property is located within a designated historic district, the shed design was reviewed by the local historic preservation office. 

A couple of months after we were done, we received this lovely email note with the photo below:

Just wanted to let you know how happy we are!! We don't have much in the ground yet- but the veggies are happy- waiting on electric & water to go in, then the brick paths- then garden beds will be better defined. We have spent more time in the back yard in the past few months than we have in 3 years!

This lovely 10'x10' shed was delivered to Fruitland Park, Florida, a beautiful area with many lakes. The owner had a newer stucco over block home, but wanted a shed with a little traditional Craftsman flair for the yard.

The shed is set on a wood deck, strapped down into concrete, cypress siding, and a 5-V crimp metal galvanized roof. The shed has Craftsman style eave brackets, a 3/1 double hung window, and Craftsman styling on the 4' wide beadboard shed door. It is accented nicely by the owner's classic color choices. After it was installed, we received this lovely email from the owner:

"Glenn and I couldn't be more pleased with our new garden shed.  Craig spent a lot of time 'tweaking' and the pride he takes in his product is now obvious.  Again, we are very pleased and have started to 'move in' today.  Thank you for being so attentive to the finishing.  Will send pictures when we're done installing walkway, plants, etc.  Your sheds need to be featured in home and garden magazines....they are unique!"

Historic Shed is an offshoot of Preservation Resource, Inc., a historic preservation consulting company. Under the PRI umbrella, we have worked on a variety of historic building projects, including the Tampa Interstate Study project in Ybor City. More recently, we began a project near our Historic Shed shop in Brooksville at the Chinsegut Hill Manor House.

Settled in the 1840s, the Chinsegut Hill Manor House property has links to many important eras in history including: the initial development of Florida during the pioneer years; the development of a Florida slave plantation and its transformation after the Civil War; the US labor movement including women’s and children’s labor regulations; women’s suffrage; early 1900 literature; the Russian Revolution; the Great Depression and the Civilian Conservation Corp; and the early years of University of South Florida development. Details on its development and history can be found at the Friends of Chinsegut Hill website.

We began our involvement in the Manor House renovation when a locally formed non-profit, Friends of Chinsegut Hill, managed to convince the Hernando County Board of County Commissioners that the building could and should be saved for public use, and secured grants through the Florida Division of Historical Resources for the planning and stabilization of the building. Through the first grant, PRI was hired to prepare a Historic Structures Report, documenting the building's past development, current condition, and planning for its future.

Investigations of the house revealed some serious foundation issues. PRI, along with a local house moving company, Atlas, LLC, made the necessary foundation repairs. Then the Florida legislature secured $1.5 million in funding for the full rehabilitation of the house. PRI was brought on board as the building contractor.

To kick off the project, we constructed a small shed to hold the project permits and store small tools. The 3'x3' shed was placed near a family cemetery on the property and has architectural elements that complement the main house.

The renovation work at the house will take many months. Current work is focusing on the building exterior, repairing siding and windows, replacing columns and rebuilding the two story porch where needed. Interior repairs will include lots of plaster work and bringing the existing interior trim back to life.

Two small historic cabins are located near the manor house. Both date from the 1930s when a CCC camp was established on the extensive property. The cabins will hopefully be brought back to life once the main house renovation is complete.

I've been quite remiss about posting updates on Historic Shed projects of late, but will try to make up for it over the next couple of weeks. Last week we completed this pleasing hipped roof shed in St. Petersburg and I just love how it sits in the garden, replacing the corner of the stockade fence. The shed takes some elements from the main house such as the low-sloped hipped roof and metal roof, as well as the pleasing butter-cream yellow paint. The 10'x14' shed is our standard hipped roof shed with beadboard and batten doors modified with two added windows, skylights, and a solar exhaust fan.

When a local artist called Historic Shed for her new art studio, she knew exactly what she wanted. She'd been saving our ad from a magazine for several years and had sketched up all her ideas in her notebook. We built her a 12' x 12'  shed with paired French doors on three sides. A 4' roof extension on the front is supported by large brackets, providing shelter for her doors and a seating area. The shed has a metal roof and cypress siding.

A flash back to construction below: the exterior shell took 3 days to put up. After the electrical and AC unit was installed, Historic Shed finished out the shed interior with drywall and cypress trim. The roof framing and sheathing was left exposed for and open look.

The shed exterior nearing completion

The City of Ormond Beach, Florida proudly titles itself the "Birthplace of Speed" with a long history of auto racing that started in 1902 on the hard packed beach sand when automobiles were new and existing roads were poor.

After the Winton Bullet won a Challenge Cup against the Olds Pirate by a breathtaking two-tenths of a second in 1903, Ormond Beach established itself as the ideal proving ground for automobile designers and racing aficionados from around the world. Motorcycle and automobile owners and drivers brought vehicles powered by gasoline, steam and electric engines, sometimes cruising at over 100 miles per hour along the ocean side. You can see actual race footage on the beach from 1905 on YouTube at Ormond Beach Florida Auto Races.

While autos may still drive along the beach, beach racing is now only commemorated at Birthplace of Speed Park, located on A1A at the intersection of SR40. The park has a series of markers telling the story of racing and provide wonderful views of the ocean.

The park used to showcase two replicas of the two history-changing racers, the Winton Bullet and the Olds Pirate, but the ocean climate made maintaining the cars difficult and they were removed for repairs. Members of the Motor Racing Heritage Association decided that it would be ideal to bring back another piece of Ormond Beach racing history and place it in the park to protect the replica cars.

The Ormond Garage was built in 1904 by Henry Flagler, railroad magnate and owner of the Ormond Hotel, to accommodate participating race cars during the beach races (and to keep them away from the front of his hotel). The large garage housed the drivers and mechanics during the speed time trials, while the owners and manufacturers stayed at the hotel.

While much larger than could be accommodated within the park, the old garage was to serve as design inspiration for a new structure to house and protect the replica race cars in Birthplace of Speed Park. The Motor Racing Heritage Association began fund raising in order to build the garage, and came to Historic Shed to discuss the project. After a few design iterations to make the project more affordable, and a couple of years of fund raising, the project was officially launched at the end of 2012. Last week, the interior was completed and the first of the replica cars will move in shortly.

 

 

This very fun project would not have been the same without Suzanne Heddy, Director of the Ormond Beach Historical Society and Motor Racing Heritage Association Treasurer; Ron Piasecki, President of the Motor Racing Heritage Association, Inc.; and Dan Smith, Hometown News writer and  Motor Racing Heritage Association's  "Go To Guy" and the numerous other racing history fans in the area. We offer so many thanks for their direction, entertainment and support!

Some more info on the garage project and racing history can be found at these links:

A tribute to the famous Ormond Garage 1904-1976
Ormond Garage replica going up in Speed Park
City’s heritage on display with new replica garage
Green shed marks auto racing's starting line

The History of Speed in Ormond Beach

Motor Racing Heritage Association

Ormond Beach Historical Society

Historic Shed's most recent project was constructed in Tampa's historic Seminole Heights neighborhood to complement an interesting, and virtually unchanged Craftsman bungalow. The owners needed to replace a metal shed that had reached a state of extreme disrepair and wanted the new building to reflect the design of their home.

Click the images below to see a slideshow of the entire shed construction process.

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Historic Shed recently completed this custom 8'x12' hipped roof wood garden shed for an avid gardener in the historic Kenwood neighborhood in St. Petersburg, Florida. Located on a heavily treed lot with a 1940s Ranch home, the shed nestles between two palm trees and features a salvaged wood window, 15 light French door, metal roof, and bead board soffits.

 

Historic Shed custom designed and built a new 20’x22’ two-car garage with a 6’x12’ shed workshop to complement a historic bungalow in the Old Northeast neighborhood in St. Petersburg, Florida recently. The garage design uses elements from the main residence such as the roof slope, gable end vent, roof brackets and window casings.

View of the new garage on the alley side

The new pre-fabricated garage is constructed of pressure treated and dense southern yellow pine framing, 1x6 cypress roof sheathing, cypress siding, a cypress beadboard human-scaled door, and incorporates salvaged wood windows with traditional surrounds. The interior is sheathed in ½” plywood for additional shear strength and the building meets or exceeds Florida Building Code wind load requirements. The only non-traditional item in the garage design is the use of modern overhead garage doors, overlaid to look like traditional carriage house doors.

The garage was completely assembled in the shop, then broken down into components for delivery

Reassembling the pre-painted shed at the customer's property

Tie-downs and straps for wind load resistance

The completed garage as seen from the house, ready for landscaping

The completed garage with workshop bump-out

Outbuildings are a significant portion of the historic fabric of the historic Old Northeast neighborhood, adding a tangible layer to the history of the neighborhood’s development. Garages located on historic alleys tell the rising story of the automobile; early cottages reflect the use of live-in help; and storage sheds were often built for home business uses. This garage replaced a historic garage that had fallen into extreme disrepair and was awkwardly placed on the lot. The owners are very pleased with the new garage and workshop, with plans to add AC and a utility sink to the workshop to fully realize its potential.

I want to tell you again how very pleased we are with everything and how well the whole process worked. You are both great to work with and I hope we were okay for you. The garage is beautiful and I even had a note on my door the other night from someone saying "I want to see your garage! Call me...her phone # and name." - customer email

Human sized door leading to the workshop

Salvaged wood casement windows with traditional surrounds

The roof is sheathed with 1x6 cypress

Overhead garage doors faced to look like carriage house doors