Hobbit-like garden sheds can add wonder to your yard

Built by fairies, elves or gnomes?

My wife and I recently visited Whidbey Island on the southern end of the San Juan Islands north of Seattle. We stumbled across several whimsical out buildings that had a style so unique that they appeared to be crafted by fairies (definitely not by gnomes -- stuff designed by those white-bearded, red-capped fellas are less tasteful and too kitschy). With some quick research on my phone I found they were not built by mythical critters, but were all created by Bob Bowling Rustics.

Shed happens

Bob's motto is "shed happens." There's something magical about new things created from a collection of old materials, with each component having their own story. These are no ordinary sheds. They are fantastically creative greenhouses, backyard retreats (I want one), garden rooms, chicken coops and even outdoor showers. They are built using salvaged and recycled materials.

Each structure is uniquely imagined out of things like antique hardware, old tools, barn wood, and doors from historic homes. Rusted garden shovels become door handles. Discarded french doors become roof tops for one-of-a-kind greenhouses. And aged cupolas or rooster-topped weather vanes cap off many of Bob's signature structures.

Birdhouses to Hobbit-houses

In hindsight it's obvious that these Hobbit-like buildings evolved from Bob's popular rustic birdhouses. As the popularity of his creations grows, Bob finds it easier to source interesting and usable material. Dumps, thrifts stores, garage sales, and neighbors are all ripe for harvesting. Friendly island neighbors offer Bob quality salvaged items like fences and decks that would otherwise end up in a landfill.

Now if we can scale birdhouses to backyard huts, can we create entire homes from material like this? Why not? Near my Ann Arbor home. there's an entire city (Detroit) filled with 70,000 abandoned homes loaded with spectacular material. Imagine if we would stop building new stuff. Instead, we harvested old material from our falling buildings and created cozy, net zero energy, net zero water and net zero waste, homes in walkable neighborhoods.

View the online album to see dozens of photos of these wonderful reclaimed wood structures: https://picasaweb.google.com/114352573146651876546/BobBowlingRustics#

Photos courtesy Bob Bowling Rustics