Do you want to match a shed to your existing structures? Are you after a totally different look? Do you plan to make over an existing shed? You can create almost any look to meet any of these objectives by selecting the right materials, fixtures, and trim for the exterior.

To illustrate this, we've made over the same gable shed in four distinctly different styles: Arts and Crafts, Victorian, Colonial Revival, and Tudor. Virtually any other style can be mimicked by identifying the architectural features that the style is famous for, and applying them to your structure.

Arts and Crafts
The Arts and Crafts--or Mission--style, is based on a movement popularized by Gustav Stickley in the United States that began in the 1890s and lasted for around 20 years.

The style embraces simplicity and honesty in construction. Bungalow homes in this style are characterized by large overhangs, lower-pitched roofs, exposed eaves, roof brackets, and multiple siding materials. Copper light fixtures often adorn the exterior, typically with mica or stained glass to diffuse the light.

Victorian
Known for its ornamentation and complexity, the Victorian style (often called Queen Anne) was developed in Great Britain and became an instant success in America. Irregularly shaped windows, stained glass, complex roofs, and filigree create an interesting exterior.

Fanciful scrollwork, delicate spindles, and turned columns, along with varying siding materials, offer plenty of opportunity to spice up the exterior with contrasting colors that make the details "pop."

Colonial Revival
The Colonial Revival style became popular in the late 19th century, drawing its inspiration from Georgian Colonial architecture.This style can be identified by its symmetrical facades, where windows are arranged flanking a central doorway. Half columns typically surround the door as well, and most entryway doors are topped with a fanlight, like the one shown here. Sidelights for the entryway door are also common. Windows are typically a combination of six, eight, nine, or 12 panes of glass in each sash.

Tudor
The Tudor style has its roots in 16th-century England, some buildings even mimicking medieval cottages, complete with thatched roofs.

A Tudor building features lavish use of stone, heavy chimneys, and decorative half-timbering. Tudor structures typically feature steeply pitched roofs with prominent cross gables. The faux half-timbering used these days is strictly decorative, and merely suggests the underlying structural framework. In many cases, the exterior between the half-timbering and cross gables is covered with stucco, patterned brick, or stone veneer.