Many of us who are adults now have some memory of an old rusting, dented metal storage shed from our childhoods. Maybe we have bad memories about the shed... it burnt our hands when we touched it, or a bent piece of metal cut us, or it just plain looked ugly.

But those days are far behind us, and you might be quite surprised at what's available these days in storage sheds. There are actually some new storage shed designs that might look nicer than your house does!

Many new styles of outdoor storage sheds are actually designed to look like small cottage guest houses or bungalows. These come with windows, planter boxes, beautiful doors, windows with shutters, and even a steeple or cupola for the top too.

Some of these new designer storage sheds are such a fantastic addition to a home that many people are even putting electricity in them, and using them for home offices, exercise rooms, serenity rooms for getting away from the family and activity of the main house, garden workshops, hobby and craft workshops, and much more.

With the new styles and designs in outdoor storage sheds comes many other options too. Metal sheds can still be purchased for instance, but they're much better made these days and much easier to maintain too. Metal sheds often feature double walls for better insulation, and special coatings which make them less susceptible to rust or fading from the sun so you don't have to repaint them as often to keep them looking nice.

Some metal shed designs come with a vinyl exterior, which reduces the chances of color fading from the sun even further, and almost eliminates the chances of the shed rusting from the weather.

There are many new outdoor storage shed designs made from vinyl alone too. These also tend to have insulated walls, and are excellent choices for almost any type of climate. The don't leak rain, they tend to handle snow built up well, and they don't fade or rust from sun and other inclement weather either.

Some of the prettiest, most decorative shed designs are made of wood. These are quite popular because they end up being a garden decoration as well as a useful storage facility. Many of the wooden shed designs are meant to look like small cottages, cabins or bungalows too, so this can add to the overall value of your property.

Wooden shed designs can be painted to match the colors and design of your house as well, which ends up making the shed look more like a guest house or add on to your home. These wooden designs can often be bought in a kit form with pre-treated wood, so they're long lasting with minimal amounts of care and maintenance too. If you don't relish the idea of repainting every ten years or so, you can even choose to put siding on your wooden shed to reduce the maintenance needs even further.