Before and After: Incredible Garden "Shed"

Last June, I posted images of the amazing back yard where my niece's college graduation party was held.  This past weekend, we were in this yard again for her wedding rehearsal dinner, and what a change!

This outdoor living space was crazy gorgeous to begin, with an amazing pool house...

A covered and an uncovered deck...

And a lovely pool...

But the garden shed-turned -New Orleans-inspired-music-venue was just incredible!  The back story to this, as I understood it, is that the homeowners and their kids are classically trained musicians.  By day, the husband is in construction, and the wife works at a local University.  But at home, they love to entertain, and music is often center stage.  So...why not add on an outdoor space, perfect for concerts and jam sessions?  Where to add on?  Doesn't everyone add a second story to their shed??


Before...

After...

Isn't that crazy gorgeous?  Look at that beautiful roof.  It matches the main house.

Where last year the left side of the "shed" had some lovely landscaping, 

this year, it's the cornerstone to the stairway that leads to the music room upstairs...

Here are some more angles...

From the balcony, you can look across to the main house.  The top deck is off the master bedroom, complete with hot tub.  Underneath is the covered deck off the family room.  If you turn and look the other way, you see the view as the second picture above.

The iron railing on the balcony, again inspired by New Orleans, is handmade by a local iron craftsman.  A close up shows a G Cleft  in the center of every section.  Amazing.

I would just die for a back yard oasis like this.  Would you?  And the kicker is, this is NOT an enormous, sprawling space.  It is just incredibly well planned and executed.  What you miss from these images, as the lighting was weird at 6 pm, is the lushness of it, and the color and texture that is spectacular in person.  A yard for a magazine, let me tell you.

I am so appreciative that the host and hostess let me share their home with you, and that these gracious folks opened their home, again, to my niece and our wedding-bound families.

Tell me, have so ever seen a great shed transformation?