The Potting Shed: If You Want Help Balancing a High-Functioning Garden Space With Nostalgic Charm, This Tennessee Greenhouse Ticks Every Box

For Bailey van Tassel, a kitchen garden designer and author of Kitchen Garden Living, the greenhouse wasn't supposed to become the heart of family life. But somewhere between the seed starting and soil mixing, winter picnics and home-schooling, it evolved into something far more precious than a simple growing space.

'The moment I step into the greenhouse, it's like a big sigh,' says Bailey. 'It's like a huge exhale, and time slows down. I can just get lost in the present moment, which is one of my favorite feelings.'

What started as a practical necessity for her Tennessee garden (in zone 7b) has become a multifunctional sanctuary where seedlings germinate, food gets dehydrated, vegetables cure, and her three young children discover the rhythms of growing. And unlike the typical utilitarian greenhouse idea, Bailey's space is unapologetically cosy; it even has café curtains hiding the chaos.

A workhorse with style

Seven to nine months of the year, the greenhouse is in constant production mode. 'It's part potting shed where I start all my seeds,' Bailey explains. 'I'm constantly cycling through – something is always growing in the greenhouse.'

But it's more than just a propagation station. Bailey also uses the space to store and preserve food, running a dehydrator for sun-dried tomatoes, onion powder, and chive salt. 'I harvest all the onions, bring them into the greenhouse, and cure them in there in early spring when it's not too humid,' she says.

She also mixes all her own soil in the greenhouse, has dedicated stations for different tasks, and maintains modular trellises that she's constantly rebuilding with twine. 'I can get into a flow state out there,' Bailey says. 'Time just slips away, and I love that so much.'

The greenhouse also serves as her insurance policy. 'I can start anything in here as long as the timing is right, and I can protect it as a young seedling and manage that early part of its life cycle really easily,' she explains. Even during Tennessee's brutal summer heat, seeds continue germinating within the protection of the greenhouse.

What truly sets Bailey's greenhouse apart is how it functions as a family space. During winter months, when the garden sleeps, the greenhouse becomes a destination for her children.

'I take a cup of coffee out there and set the kids up with a little activity, and sometimes we'd do a little winter solstice celebration. I love to take a picnic out there because it's a nice change of scenery. You can hear the rain falling on the tin roof, and we'd light candles and talk about the winter equinox.'

The greenhouse provides those increasingly rare moments of present-moment awareness. 'I like to work on instinct a lot – gardening kind of brought me back to that,' Bailey reflects. 'That greenhouse is a place where I can say to myself, "Today is artichoke day. I can feel it."'

The harvest basket obsession

If there's one element that defines Bailey's greenhouse aesthetic, it's the collection of vintage harvest baskets cascading from the ceiling and walls.

'I'm truly like the basket lady,' she admits with a laugh. Every single basket comes from estate sales or church sales – all purchased second-hand with their own histories intact.

But these aren't just decorative pieces. The baskets are constantly rotating through active duty. Bailey uses them for her own harvests, but they've also become her signature welcome gift.

'Every time I start a new design client or even go to a consult, I will harvest something from my garden and bundle it up in a beautiful basket and gift it to the client,' she explains. 'You end up being a part of someone's family when you're working on their property.'

She also assembles a weekly harvest basket for her parents, who help with childcare. 'The harvest basket, to me, has just become this symbol of shared abundance,' Bailey says. 'Giving someone veggies I grew with my own hands and thinking about them – it's just such a nostalgic symbol.'

The inspiration traces back to her childhood love of Martha Stewart. 'I was born in 1987, so I'm a diehard Martha Stewart lover. She had this basket house on her property, and it just stuck in my brain,' Bailey recalls. 'As I started accumulating these baskets and decided to hang these up throughout the greenhouse and have my own little basket house moment.'

Cosy by design

Bailey wanted the greenhouse to be kitted out so that it was inviting enough that her husband and children would want to spend time there. So she made some decidedly un-greenhouse-like design choices.

First came the café curtains on mounted curtain rods, hiding the undersides of potting tables. 'I am not the most organized. I love a closet that I can just shove things into,' she confesses. 'I knew I'd have to cover the table sides so I could hide the clutter.'

The seating was equally intentional. Bailey spent considerable time hunting for the perfect chairs – cream-colored, with wood detailing. 'I spent an absurd amount of time looking for chairs that made sense in the greenhouse,' she says. 'I'm sure I'll switch them in and out, depending on kind of my mood.'

There's also a chalkboard for notes on what's being seeded and started, and Bailey's latest acquisition: a 100-year-old terracotta bunny pot. 'His whole body is open for me to plant something in, but I'm using it for storage,' she explains. Inside lives her collection of burlap wraps, which she uses to cover carrot seeds for germination. 'They really like darkness and dampness. So I keep them in my little burlap bunny.'

Smart storage solutions

Beyond the bunny, Bailey's most useful storage pieces are large aluminum trash cans on casters – one for sheep's wool, one for compost – plus a big zinc aluminum bathtub for seed starting soil.

'I really don't like plastic. My storage needs to be glass or zinc, aluminum or copper. I'm really particular about that.' The wheeled cans are a particularly genius idea, allowing her to move them around easily and set up different stations.

Bailey has also placed small, wall-mounted metal baskets, such as these from Amazon, holding plant markers and pens, ensuring everything has its place while maintaining the ability to work intuitively.

Shop this space

Bailey's greenhouse proves that a hardworking growing space can be unapologetically cosy and personal.

Here are some curated pieces that capture her nostalgic charm meets high-functioning garden workspace aesthetic.

Bailey van Tassel's greenhouse proves the most functional spaces can also be the personal and unique. By bringing in unexpected elements – expensive rugs, vintage baskets, terracotta bunnies – she's created a sanctuary that works as hard as she does. It's a masterclass in following your instincts and making space for both productivity and joy. The beauty is in the curation, not the perfection.

The Potting Shed is a new series that steps inside the sheds and greenhouses of designers and gardeners to uncover the practical tools and stylish essentials they use every day. We reveal how these spaces are organized, what products they rely on, and how small details – from favorite pots and vintage finds to seasonal gear – help shape their gardening routines.