Choosing a shed (US) - McKie Roth Design

McKie Roth Design provides building plans for early New England style homes built during the 18th and early 19th centuries with practical floor plans and contemporary building methods. As owner McKie Wing Roth, Jr says: "I strive for lasting appeal through order, pleasing proportions, the use of natural materials, and the avoidance of excess and opulence." Pictured is their garden office model Barbara's Garden Studio with clapboard siding, a cedar shingle roof, and small-paned windows. The garden office has space for tools, storage and general shedworking or as the company delicately says, "enough room for afternoon tea with a guest". The building measures 6'-8" by 12' and is built with a plywood floor over joists anchored to 6 x 6 skids hidden by flat granite stones, laid up to simulate a foundation after the building is positioned and leveled.

Choosing a shed (US) - Pacific Domes

Pacific Domes have a wide range of domeshaped shedworking structures. Although some are large enough to qualify for Tiny House Tuesday, of most interest to shedworkers will be the 16ft model which comes with galvanized steel tube frame with hardware, canvas cover with bay window and removable roof. Add-on options include Thermoshield insulative paint, solar fan, composting toilet, air chair and, my favourite, a floating bed. The site has an excellent gallery of models and full details of the spec plus some additional blogs including one devoted to shelter models. As they point out on the site too, since the domes are portable, easy and quick to put up, and can withstand hurricane force winds, they are ideal for relief work in disaster-hit areas.Suggested by Bill Kratz.

Tiny House Tuesday/Choosing a shed (US) - Smallworks

Smallworks is a design/build company specialising in lovely tiny houses and garden offices/backyard studios. As they say:

"Smallworks takes the typical garage footprint and builds tailored to our customer's needs. Smallworks is committed to green building practices and reducing urban sprawl. Our homes are partially prefabricated in our Southlands shop to provide cost efficient manufacturing and expedient installation."

Above are the matching his and hers Skooker Studios with koa ponds and glass vestibule. Below is the Durbach Studio, an outdoor living space in a Japanese garden with open shoji screen and used as an outdoor kitchen in the summer.Here's the Bakan Studio, a 200 square foot open plan garden office with a loft, Arts and Crafts style, reclaimed pine floor and antique stained glass window.And finally the DV Studio with wind felled cedar siding and an opening wall of Douglas fir doors.Via materialicious and Cabin Fever

Choosing a shed (US) - GoYurt Shelters

Howie from GoYurt Shelters has been in touch to spread the word about his rather attractive shedworking atmospheres. "We make truly portable yurts designed to be lightweight and easy to set up," he says. "We are the first and only yurt builder to be FSC certified, we are 100% PVC-free, and we only use natural finishes." They currently offer a 13 foot diameter yurt with 11 foot and 16 foot versions in development. They also have some nice accessories including a portable wood stove. The site is a pleasure to look at and well worth a browse.

Choosing a shed (US) - Four Season Spaces

Minnesota-based Four Season Spaces is one of the new breed of garden office manufacturers building with structural insulated panels (SIPs). Above is their garden office model with cement board siding, art profile metal roofing, rolled cork walls and fused bamboo flooring. I rather like their home cinema idea too, pictured below.

Choosing a shed (US) - Beech-Built

Beech-Built (motto: 'they're so nice you just might want to move in') was founded by former race car driver Donnie Beechler because, he says he wanted "to make a real, measurable difference by reclaiming landfill bound mobile homes and turning them into something useful for everyone" i.e. nice bespoke sheds and garden offices. They certainly look intriguing and come with all the must-haves (insulation, full electrics, portability) as well as using up to 90% recycled material. The model above includes wood laminate flooring and is on a reinforced steel base foundation for strength and stability. There's a nice piece about Beechler and the company in the Springfield Journal Register by Amanda Reavy which details the eco-friendly elements of the company. Here's a taster:

“This (was) the kitchen of a mobile home,” Beechler said as he showed off a shed at the show Saturday afternoon at the Prairie Capital Convention Center. “This paneling is the original paneling that was in the trailer. I turned (the paneling) around, I patched the holes and then we painted it. We reused all the paneling, the ceiling, the insulation, the (light) switches, even the outlets...It’s cheaper than building your own shed from scratch and it’s helping the environment."

Apparently it costs $1,000 to get rid of a mobile home and Beechler claims more than 200,000 go to landfill every year with almost no recycling of them.

Magic Box

Not all prefab garden offices are made of wood of course, but very few allow such a public viewing of your shedworking atmosphere as the Magic Box. Here's what the Magic Box folk say about it:

"The Magic Box also creates innovative life styles and business environment; You are free to drive your imagination into transforming this box into your own working space or space for your hobbies. Magic Box's basic form is a cube structure which can be used in various ways, such as detached living quarters, cottages, stores, offices, cafes, etc. Magic Box provides very modern, cute, and charming space."

Offices in California and Tokyo.
Via MoCo Loco

Choosing a shed - Domespace

Domespace produce spruce, pine and oak wooden domes for living and shedworking (above is their Transit 4,35 model) with the added bonus that it is largely hurricane resistant. According to the brochure, the whole thing is rotatable (using a remote control from inside, the movement is not noticeable), light, warm, has good humidity, and is spacious with cork insulation. Options include solar panels. If your French is a bit rusty try the Solaleya site, the US distributor but the best photos are at the French site.

Choosing a shed (US) - Mini JoT

The Mini JoT is the smallest shedworking atmosphere of a series of smallish modular buildings by California-based Yeh Gerrard. There are lots of green elements to the build including solar panels, with no-maintenance exterior cladding, natural interior finishes, and high performance insulation. The designers also suggest that the Mini JoT can also be converted into a trailer by adding axles. Lots of nice photos on the site.

Choosing a shed (US) - Rogue Custom (updated)

UPDATE: I had some misgivings when I made the original post on this firm since some of the images on their site seemed rather 'familiar' from models in the UK. I've since talked to several manufacturers and it would seem like Rogue Custom have some explaining to do. Nick Hopewell-Smith from Henley told me he had never heard of the company and that as well as using images of their Orwell models they were also using testimonials and reviews from Henley customers (without even changing the names). Until I hear back from Rogue Custom, I'd give them a wide berth.

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Oregon-based Rogue Custom have a wide range of models (pictured above is The Garden Hide-a-way, 12' x 16'). Architect-designed, they tick all the must-have boxes (insulation, sustainable timber from Oregon and Washington State) plus extras such as soundproofing, roof lights or even shower rooms. It's not the prettiest web site in the world, but there are lots of examples of their work (below is the Coastal Retreat) and testimonials.

The Nomad Yurt

A yurt is a great shedworking space as we've said before here and the Nomad Yurt from Ecoshack is particularly suitable for smaller back garden spaces.It comes with a modular base which makes it easier to move than traditional yurts and has a base diameter of 12', a bamboo frame diameter of 14', and a height of over 7' 6". There's a central opening for sunlight and gentle breezes. Ecoshack, who are very keen on identifying the yurt's green credentials, say you can put it up in an hour... I particularly like their sales pitch: "Circular living = good living. Yurt lifestyle is ... Comfortable. Groovy. Bohemian. And free to roam."

There's an interesting piece on yurts in the Daily Telegraph here and a discussion about the price of it at Treehugger.

Free Spirit Spheres - shedworking in the trees

Treehouseworking is, as we've often said here, one of the nicest ways of shedworking. Here's a marvellous design from the Canadian Free Spirit Spheres. The marvellous laminated wood spheres are hung from trees (or other solid objects like buildings or rock faces) with a rope web acting as a kind of foundation - they're waterproof, insulated (with fibreglass) and robust. Here's what they say about the design:

"The concept borrows heavily from sailboat construction and rigging practice. It’s a marriage of tree house and sailboat technology. Wooden spheres are built much like a cedar strip canoe or kayak. Suspension points are similar to the chain plate attachments on a sailboat. Stairways hang from a tree much like a sailboats shrouds hang from the mast."

It's a wonderful site to browse around with plenty of photos (including some sphereworking as pictured below) and lots of details about the whys and wherefores including a great FAQ section which has this advice:

"Does it sway much?
The spheres sway gently in the breeze but move much more abruptly when someone inside changes position. Since the tethers are almost vertical, and a sphere is tied to 3 separate trees, the movement of the sphere in the wind is a muted average of the motion of the treetops. However, since the spheres are light (500 kg) when somebody inside moves it jiggles the whole sphere."

Chic sheds in the USA

An interesting piece by Jane Hulse in the Los Angeles Times suggests that shedworking is becoming increasingly popular in the US. Here's what she says:

"Once shabby, now showy, the shed has become a haven for the home office, art studio, sewing niche or guy getaway. It's cheaper than adding on, goes up faster and looks nothing like a place to stash the lawn mower. The sheds come in a variety of styles -- rustic, urban modern, dollhouse -- and some owners add comfy features such as air conditioning, sky lights, custom windows and doors, everything but plumbing."

However, Hulse wisely points out the need for making sure all the building permits and applications are done properly to avoid problems. She also quotes New Jersey-based shed champion Dan Gray from www.geekbooks.com:"It's folks running out of space," he said. "They need a place to work that's quiet, away from the house."

Namechecks for some familiar folk including:
* Summerwood Products
* European Log Cabins
* Modern Shed
* MetroShed
* Tuff Shed
* Tony Gwilliam's T House

Choosing a shed (US) - Kithaus

Kithaus has an interesting range of lightweight aluminium prefab modules using SIPS including one which is perfect for use as a garden office. The K3 is 9‘ x 13’ (although there are larger models, one including a loft, another with a flat roof) and needs no foundation and because it's aluminium doesn't need painting and won't rot. Like every selfrespecting garden office it has insulated windows and doors and full electrics. Outside it can be clad in either Zinculume (corrugated metal panels) or Ipe wood. There are lots of pictures on the site including how a Kithaus is erected step by step. Via MoCo Loco and Prefabcosm

Lighthouse sheds

If you're a frustrated lighthousekeeper, how about a lighthouse garden office? The Lewisberg-based Lighthouse Man site has a vast range of lighthouse-related items, including sheds (and playhouses) such as the 25' Lighthouse Tower in Cape Hatteras Stripe pictured left or the 18' Lighthouse Tower with playhouse and front porch pictured below. It comes in a wide variety of sizes and with various lighting options (you can have a conventional 60 watt bulb, a large revolving beacon or a 12V solar powered revolving beacon). The business has been up and running since 1997.

Here's what they look like inside.

Also take a look at Lighthouse Sheds. These have a domed roof with a copper finial cap, around 19ft high. The exterior is primarily curved but includes a few dodecagon elements as contrasting accents. There is a marvellous section on the site about how an early model withstood a tornado. Also take a look at this article at The Herald about a homebuilt lighthouse shed produced by David Addicott designed to withstand a hurricane and is powered by a 100-watt bulb that makes four revolutions a minute. It comes on at 7pm and lights the back yard until 1am each night.

Choosing a shed (US) - PowerHouse

Massachusetts-based Power House is one of the new breed of builders which combines modular and green goals. Although focused on the housing market, they also have a PowerPod model which arrives by lorry and is suitable as a home office. It is solar-equipped, sits on short legs and among possible add-ons are composting toilets.

Choosing a shed (US) - Garden Solutions

Woodinville-based Garden Solutions (who assemble their garden building on any site in western Washington State unless you want to order pre-fabricated kit)have been making garden structures for more than 20 years. They have several models with interesting optional features such as cupolas, sliding glass doors, Growshed windows and weathervanes. The Hip Roof is a particularly pleasing model but I also like the lean-to feel of the Forester. All models come with Stanley Lifespan hinges, Tyvex Vapor barrier guards against rust and mildew, 3/4" moisture-resistant plywood flooring, 5/8" siding to resist damage, 20-year composition roof or cedar shakes and rot-resistant pressurized floor skids. There is an excellent gallery of garden office pictures on the site.

Choosing a shed (US) - Cabana Village

Wilmington-based Cabana Village's sheds are made out of the always popular Western red cedar and shipped largely pre-fabricated for you to assemble. So what's included is basically the floor (all kits come with a plywood floor built on a 2x4 sub-structure and supported by 2x6 pressure treated runners), walls, windows, doors, cupolas, etc, plus assembly instructions - what's not includedis shingles, foundation and installation. There's an optional insulation package. There's also a great little 'drag and drop' design tool so that you can customise your shed design online - say, add a cupola or take away a flowerbox - and price it up as you go. You don't need to download anything.

Choosing a shed (US) - Bayhorse

Red Hook-based Bayhorse specialises in quality Amish built woodcraft, including garden office-type sheds and was set up by Jean and Charlie Hamilton in 1989. Pictured is the Quaker model with optional shutters and flower box, but there is a huge display at their 5 acre site of other models. All sheds are 16" on centre with 2x4 construction using 25 year old shingles and a 35 year pressure treated foundation. The links page is very Amish heavy but there is a nice picture gallery (just turn down the sound on your computer...).

Choosing a shed (US) - Michael Graves Pavilions UPDATED

(Sadly, Lindal are no longer making Michael Graves Pavilions - 12/10/07)

Seattle-based Lindal Cedar Homes claims to be the world's largest manufacturer of quality custom cedar homes (they even have their own magazine, Cedar Living) but also provide conservatories, sunrooms and a garden office product called Michael Graves Pavilions. The two best models for homeworking are the Heathcote (pictured) and the Brighton which has a glasswalled option. There's also an online design programme which you can use to customise your ideal home office. The site has plenty of other useful information about building materials and a FAQ section which also answers any questions you might have about having a hot tub. Their dealers in England are Harding Homes and in Scotland Alba Cedar Homes