What do you do when your preteen daughter outgrows her childhood swing set? If you’re Angie Persson, the designer behind Swell Decor, you get to work—replacing that long-neglected swing set with a chic clubhouse instead. “I wanted something that could grow with her and also with me,” Persson says. “If I’m going to put this in my yard, I’m going to live with it for a long time.”
Persson outfitted the space, a semi-custom prefabricated building from Home Depot, with windows, French doors, and interior shelving. Elise, Persson’s eleven-year-old daughter, chose the color palette, and the pair spent three weeks painting it. “She takes a lot of pride in it,” Persson says. Inside, wood-and-pigskin chairs from Holistic Habitat at Cotswold Marketplace create a fun casual vibe, while a large dog painting by local artist 
Michelle Rivera hangs on the wall. Finally, the hardscapes and plants went in with the help of Mike Kennerly of The Essential Gardener. (Those stainless steel tubs are horse troughs!) As a birthday gift, Elise’s grandfather had electricity routed to the shed, making it even more useful for slumber parties, studying, or reading.
Persson and her daughter both love the way it turned out. “I think it makes my yard look bigger,” Persson says. And while the versatile, charming space is claimed, for now, Persson has lots of ideas for what she might do with it someday when it’s no longer a favorite hangout for Elise. “It could be a music room, art studio, home office…” No matter what she decides, she’ll definitely spend many evenings enjoying the cozy setting. “It is so magical at night,” she says. “Every night, the yard lights come on. It looks like it has been there forever.”