How to improve the Wi-Fi signal in your garden office

Another look at one of the most-asked questions by new shedworkers, this time answered by the fine folk at IT Box computer service specialists. In essence they say:

"The most reliable and stable solution would be to run the Ethernet Cat5 or Cat6 external cable hidden under ground. This operation is simple and for this purpose you need just a few things: 100 yards or longer external Ethernet cable, plastic tides to attach a cable to the fence and maybe a drilling machine to make a few holes in the fence and a wall."

Worth a quick look. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Thursday posts are sponsored by Cabin Master: garden offices and studios to fit any size garden. Top quality contemporary or traditional buildings.

Blue Forest: Treehouse at Chelsea Flower Show

Continuing our look at some of our favourite shedlike builds at Chelsea Flower Show this year, here is Blue Forest's luxury treehouse on Main Avenue. It's clad in cedar with a copper turret/finials, a glass floor, and a natural woodland planting scheme by Architectural Plants, but it's made from Kebony timber which, it says here, "is a revolutionary technology, an environmentally friendly process which modifies sustainably sourced softwoods by heating the wood with furfuryl alcohol - an agricultural by-product".

It's been much admired by the great and the good at the show including Hugh Bonneville, Dame Judi Dench and Prince Philip who joked that he hoped he didn't fall through the glass floor. It's on sale for £80,000.

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Wednesday posts are sponsored by The Stable Company®, the UK's premier supplier of garden offices and garden rooms. Click here

Plankbridge: Shepherd's hut at Chelsea Flower Show

Shepherds' huts specialist Plankbridge are at Chelsea Flower Show again this year with another lovely example of their work. Among the various celebrities who enjoyed a tour of the hut was Joanne Lumley (pictured above). Pictured below is one of the bug hotels on its plot at Stand AR586 put together by a Forest School run by Dorest Wildlife Trust, a shot of the hut in all its glory, Richard and Jane from Plankbridge, and the interior.

I'm making a rabbit hole, using #Dorset chalk, in the middle of London #RHSChelsea. Doesn't happen every day.. pic.twitter.com/MSaXnukgYF

— Plankbridge (@Plankbridge) May 21, 2017

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Tuesday posts are sponsored by Garden Spaces, suppliers of contemporary garden buildings, offices, gyms and studios, many of which do not require planning

Tom Raffield 's steam-bent garden office at Chelsea Flower Show

Followers of Grand Designs may remember furniture and lighting designer Tom Raffield's splendid house in Cornwall being featured at the end of last year. He is also exhibiting his work this week at the Chelsea Flower Show as well as his marvllous Gwenver Garden Room which shows off all his skills in the art of steam bending.

It's made out of steam bent oak and white-washed ash cladding on the interior and exterior - naturally, one of the selling points is the lovely curvey feel. The Gwenver is 6m x 4m x 2.5m and comes in a range of bespoke sizes and specs (so you can choose which way the curve faces) including  bi-fold double glazed aluminium dark grey doors, ammonite grey corrugated metal wall to the back, and a white-washed exposed wooden ceiling.

You can find them at 539 and also look out for their marvelous hanging seats, armchairs and mirrors.
 

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Monday posts are sponsored by garden2office, the Swedish garden office specialists. Click here for more details.

Pubworking: Shedworking on the move

Readers with long memories will know that back in 2010 I started banging on about 'pubworking', the idea of encouraging homeworkers to relocate to pubs during underused daylight hours to work in pleasant surroundings (I even started a website to that end, which is now defunct, and started spreading the word, for example on Work Snug and among beer writers).

So the Shedworking staff were intrigued to read on Treehugger that 'Startups are now turning upscale restaurants & bars into coworking spaces during the day'. Here's a snippet by its writer Kimberley Mok:

"Remote professionals in a growing number of cities can now choose another kind of membership, one that allows them to work out of a bar or restaurant during those slower business hours during the day, before they revert back to serving diners and bar patrons during the evening...It's an interesting idea that brings extra income to owners of these establishments, and provides a cheaper option to coworkers... in popular coworking cities like New York City, there are over 2,000 empty restaurants during the day. Local startups like Spacious are tapping into these under-utilized spaces, which might be a boon to remote workers who might not reliably find a spot to work in a popular café."

Well worth a read. --------------------------------------------------------

Friday posts are sponsored by Warwick Buildings, manufacturers of outstanding quality timber buildings. Click here for more information.

Shed of the Year 2017 finalists announced

The first stage of this year's Shed of the Year competition, sponsored by Cuprinol, is now complete with the announcement of the category finalists, including a Tardis, a fire station, and a musueum of knots and sailors' ropework. There is also for the first time a #NotAShed category which as organiser Uncle Wilco explains: "Follows requests from shed fans across the nation to celebrate those extraordinary creations that go beyond the traditional definition of a ‘shed’." You can get full details of each finalist at Shed Blog and vote at readersheds.co.uk - closing date for votes is June 2.

Particular shedworkingesque favourites include magician Oliver Tabor's 'Magic Studio' (pictured above), a converted farm outhouse which is now Oliver's creative space/workshop/rehearsal studio/meeting place and performance venue. And also writer Philip Pullman's former writing hut in the workshop/studio category (below).

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Thursday posts are sponsored by Cabin Master: garden offices and studios to fit any size garden. Top quality contemporary or traditional buildings.

Cover: Garden offices in the USA

While the tiny house movement is big in the USA, so is shedworing. Cover is one of the newer entrants to the garden office market ("currently delivering in Los Angeles City
and taking reservations worldwide" according to their website).

They are a one-stop shop bespoke provider, offering design, permit, manufacture and installation services for each backyard studio which is an insulated steel structure. According to co-founder Alexis Rivas: "We leverage sun path and geospatial data to computationally optimize wall and window placements for superior interior light conditions and optimal energy performance."

Cover also has a nice feature on their site which works out how quickly the build pays for itself (hint: it's quite fast).

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Wednesday posts are sponsored by The Stable Company®, the UK's premier supplier of garden offices and garden rooms. Click here

How to decorate your garden office

First artwork is up in my garden office and the only other person who has this is some bloke by the name of Jeff Tracy #thunderbirdsarego pic.twitter.com/F7jeRNZhbu

— Stephen Jones (@YesStephenJones) May 15, 2017

Other superhero types are available. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tuesday posts are sponsored by Garden Spaces, suppliers of contemporary garden buildings, offices, gyms and studios, many of which do not require planning

Blue Forest treehouse at Chelsea Flower Show 2017

The tree house is really beginning to take shape. Big thanks to the @halcyonplay crew! pic.twitter.com/R7bHl4VJLH

— Blue Forest (@BlueForest_) May 13, 2017

Blue Forest will be exhibiting one of their fantastic treehouses at the RHS Chelsea Flower 2017 (May 22-27) on Main Avenue, Stand MA329. This year’s treehouse will be the largest Blue Forest have ever exhibited at the Chelsea Flower Show. --------------------------------------------------------------------
Monday posts are sponsored by garden2office, the Swedish garden office specialists. Click here for more details.