Tuesday, September 29, 2015

The Huts – Eastbourne


The Huts – Eastbourne is a competition run by Eastbourne Borough Council who are inviting people to submit designs (from both architects and non-architects) for  beach huts to be sited along the front to the east of the pier and as part of the bicycle route of the Coastal Culture Trail which links the Towner Art Gallery in Eastbourne, the De La Warr Pavilion in Bexhill and the Jerwood Gallery in Hastings. According to the organisers, "The beach huts will be key landmarks along the seafront, harnessing the resurgence of interest in coastal communities, providing an innovative visitor offer and becoming symbols of Eastbourne; matching high quality design, visual flair and function."

More details of how to enter here but closing date to register an interest is October 9. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tuesday posts are sponsored by Garden Spaces, suppliers of contemporary garden buildings, offices, gyms and studios, many of which do not require planning

Monday, September 28, 2015

Powder Mountain architectural design competition



Shedworkers with an architectural interest will be interested in the Summit Powder Mountain Design Competition, linked to the innovative community in Utah centred on entrepreneurship, creative achievement, and global change. Entrants must design a cabin prototype (see above for a recent submission) to "push forward the conversation around what it means to build responsibly at 8,400 feet in the Wasatch Range". Here's some details:
Summit is inviting architects, students, engineers, and builders to develop designs of residences on a mountain that embodies the ideals of Summit’s growing community – sustainability, the use of natural materials, and humble expression. The winning design will guide the direction of Powder Mountain’s architecture and influence the development of 500+ single family homes. The winner will also be invited to attend Summit at Sea, the next big Summit gathering on a voyage to the Caribbean, to present his/her design and vision.
The registration deadline is October 9 and the last day to submit a design is October 16. The jury panel is led by the award winning Todd Saunders ofSaunders Architecture whose designs we have featured several times on Shedworking. Click here  for additional rules and info on submitting a design. The winner is announced October 20. --------------------------------------------------------------------
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Monday posts are sponsored by garden2office, the Swedish garden office specialists. Click here for more details.

Wednesday, September 23, 2015

Garden office security


Shedworkers will be interested to hear about the new Panasonic Smart Home system which is a convenient way to keep an eye on your shed office and all the equipment in it at the tap of an app. Features include:

* An outdoor camera (with built-in night-vision) which can be synched to a door sensor to automatically capture footage of anyone attempting to enter your garden office
 
* Smart plugs to allow you to turn lights and equipment on and off remotely, and even based on motion and sound triggers to deter thieves

* The outdoor camera can be placed on your front door to allow you to ‘answer’ it even when you are in your garden office - it allows for two-way communication so you can instruct delivery people to leave packages, or wait for you to reach the front door

The system runs over DECT ULE technology (not wifi) and claims to work with distances of up to 300m so is ideal for shedworkers.   ----------------------------------------------------
Wednesday posts are sponsored by The Stable Company®, the UK's premier supplier of garden offices and garden rooms. Click here

Tuesday, September 22, 2015

Cabin Porn - the book


Many readers will be familiar with the Cabin Porn site and now there is a book inspired by it called 'Cabin Porn: Inspiration for your quiet place somewhere' which is published by Particular Books next week.  The original site was the brainchild of Zack Klein, technology entrepreneur and co-founder of Vimeo, and friends who built a cabin in the woods and then invited other people to contribute their own shedlike structures to the site (the most visitors come from the UK). The book is extremely well illustrated with examples of rural microarchitecture from all over the world, focusing on 10 cabins in detail with photographs by Noah Kalina and words by Steven Leckart. Well worth a browse.



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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

Monday, September 21, 2015

Home insurance for shedworkers


A new survey by Gocompare.com Home Insurance shows that shedworkers and other people working from home are often failing to take into account the impact their work may have on their lease, mortgage agreement or home insurance.

The survey of 1,800 UK adults reveals that a third of people in Britain have tried to make money from their home including opening their home to pet boarding, renting a room to a short-term guest through sites such as Airbnb, and running a beauticians business.

The survey also found that:

* 26% have not considered that their activities might invalidate their home insurance

* 18% had not informed their home insurer about their venture

* 13% had not investigated whether they would need to be licenced to run their home business (e.g. health and safety, food hygiene)

* 11% have not received permission from their mortgage lender, landlord or housing association

Around 6% said they had made an insurance claim as a result of their home business activities and half that figure admitted that their home-based work had got them into trouble with their mortgage lender or landlord/housing association. Another 2% said that their insurer refused to cover them for the activity they wanted to pursue.

Gocompare.com has produced an interactive guide on how to 'earn from your home'  --------------------------------------------------------------------
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Monday posts are sponsored by garden2office, the Swedish garden office specialists. Click here for more details.

Wednesday, September 16, 2015

Beach Hut of the Year



Retired teacher Pam Norris has been awarded first prize in the national beach hut competition organised by insurance company Love Your Hut. She won £500 to spend at Cath Kidston, plus a bespoke winner's plaque. Pam's beach hut is named 'His Roses' in memory of her late husband Vic.

Mr Norris was the former head of drama at the West Hatch High School in Chigwell and a wellknown charity fundraiser. At their last family Christmas celebrations, he wrote a song for his three daughters - Vikki, Carli and Sophia - called 'Roses in my Garden'. It was this song that inspired the 'His Roses' name for their winning hut.

Mrs Norris from Colchester said: "I was just so thrilled. I never win anything. It was just lovely, and bittersweet really. We love that hut. It is such a peaceful, lovely place. To everyone else it’s just a hut but to us it’s a beautiful sanctuary. It exudes peace and warmth."

At the ceremony were daughters Vikki Myers and Sophia Norris (in pink dress) and Love Your Hut's Matthew Briggs who chaired the panel of judges (which included me).


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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

Monday, September 14, 2015

Fiona Bruce: Shedworker

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

Wednesday, September 09, 2015

Shedworkers save more than £1,000 a year on travel treats


New research from American Express reveals that the average commuter spends more than £1,000 a year on treats for their journey to and from work. Drinks are the most popular purchase with commuters spending £16.93  a month on tea, coffee, juice and energy drinks. Snacks such as crisps, chocolate and fruit, are the second favourite (£16.49), followed by breakfast on the way to work (£13.44). Spending on newspapers and magazines (£12.83), books and ebooks (£12), music (£11.83) and apps and games (£11.48) are also on the shopping list to help make the trip into work less appalling.

The main reasons given by the 3,000 adults polled in the survey for indulging in a daily treat are a ‘stressful day at the office’ (29%) and ‘ to cheer me up’ (22%).

The research also reveals that spending habits vary significantly, with Londoners spending more than £1,900 a year on treats, closely followed by those in Birmingham (£1,758). Brighton’s commuters are the least likely to part with their cash for treats, spending £600 a year.  ----------------------------------------------------
Wednesday posts are sponsored by The Stable Company®, the UK's premier supplier of garden offices and garden rooms. Click here

Tuesday, September 08, 2015

Tiny Office


Garden offices on wheels are always very popular and here's a lovely one from Danish designer Jonas Hallberg of Ikke en Pind which he calls, cleverly, Tiny Office (lots more photos at the link). As Jonas says: "Det førsteTiny office er udviklet til mine egne behov for at kunne komme tæt på kunderne under idé- og projektudvikling."


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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

Monday, September 07, 2015

Nicole Farhi and the importance of garden office planning permission


The perennial issue of planning permission has been highlighted in the media with reports that former fashion designer (now sculptor) Nicole Farhi is having a conversation with her local London council over the building of her garden office studio.

It appears that the replacement for the dilapidated orangery in her back garden may have been built slightly larger than was agreed (around 18 inches taller and around 3ft wider) - and what the papers like to call 'council chiefs' have said it needs to go following local residents' complaints that it is huge, ugly and overlooks their property. Ms Farhi is appealing the decision by Camden Council. As always, a good first stop for information on planning issues is the Planning Portal. --------------------------------------------------------------------
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Monday posts are sponsored by garden2office, the Swedish garden office specialists. Click here for more details.

Thursday, September 03, 2015

Hut on stilts


A marvellous garden office designed and built by Nozomi Nakabayashi in Dorset woodland for a writer as a relaxation and workspace, over two levels and measuring eight square metres. Cladding is our old friend Western Red Cedar, with the structure built from Douglas fir and insulated with cork. Reclaimed telegraph poles are also a feature. Inside, there's a birch plywood floor, lime rendered walls and a hessian ceiling, as well as a writing desk, bed and woodburning stove.
Photos by Henrietta Williams (at the link above) ----------------------------------------------------
Wednesday posts are sponsored by The Stable Company®, the UK's premier supplier of garden offices and garden rooms. Click here

Tuesday, September 01, 2015

Bert & May's Teeny Box


An interesting article in the Daily Telegraph looks at Bert & May's new range of prefab shedworkingesque homes and how they could help ease the UK home crisis. We were particularly taken by their Teeny Box model though, which they call "urban with an industrial edge" and comes with blackened timber, warehouse style windows and doors.  Features of the 3.4m cube include low energy lighting,  a green roof, and use of reclaimed materials. Biomass energy is among the optional extras. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tuesday posts are sponsored by Garden Spaces, suppliers of contemporary garden buildings, offices, gyms and studios, many of which do not require planning