Happy place

Finalist 4 – Colour Home Awards Competition

A shed on the garden’s edge became a healing renovation project.

‘Mrs O’Connor’s Shed’ has been sitting in the corner of Tui Sheridan’s property in Māngere Bridge, Auckland since 1956. It was a bit worse for wear, to say the least. “The window frames were in varying stages of decay, the wiring was questionable at best, and the leaking roof provided more of a draft than shelter,” she says.

Tui Sheridan and shed

A garden shed renovation

Needing an outlet after navigating a difficult separation, Tui saw the shed’s potential and began the process of transforming it. She took on most of the work herself but enlisted the help of a builder who “tackled every challenge with honesty and purpose”. Together, the shed began to turn into a functional sleepout.

When the time came to select paint colours, it was harder than Tui had first thought. She says, “I found myself torn between bold, modern choices and something more traditional.” She spent hours in the garden trying to decide what would suit the shed and its environment.

A warm and inviting garden sleepout

The former shed is now a happy retreat with its front door painted in warm and inviting Resene Ayers Rock.

Eventually, she chose Resene Lumbersider Low Sheen CoolColour in Resene Half Ironsand, which is described as a fire-warmed brown and grey. That went on the main exterior of the shed. Not only did it give the building a timeless quality, but Tui liked the way it contrasted against the red brick of the main bungalow. Then she selected Resene Lustacryl in Resene Alabaster, a near white with a light blackened edge, for the trim. For the front door, she went bold with Resene Lustacryl in Resene Ayers Rock, a shade embodying an Uluru desert sunset. The deck was finished in Resene Woodsman Warm Kwila, which provided “warmth and a natural connection to the garden”. Tui is proud of the work she’s accomplished. The shed, now sleepout, has become a part of her community. Her parents and friends have a cosy retreat when they come to stay, and it is the centrepiece to her garden.

“It’s now a cosy, inviting space with a story woven into its walls – a story of creativity, healing and transformation.”

Colours mentioned in this article...