Friday Finery: The Philosophy of Sheds (video)

A special treat for you all for this week's Finery, an excerpt from my A Drink with the Idler talk last week with the magazine's editor Tom Hodgkinson. 

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

Blue Forest's luxury treehouses coming to St Martin-in-the-Fields this summer

 

Treehouse specialists Blue Forest will transform the grounds of St Martin-in-the-Fields, overlooking Trafalgar Square, into 'Lost Oasis' an immersive urban garden of timber, greenery, food, drink, sport and live entertainment.

Designed and built by Blue Forest in partnership with Cornwall’s Lost Gardens of Heligan, Lost Oasis (artist's render pictured above) will features a series of carefully crafted timber structures and treehouses alongside equally appealing planting. It will offer rotating chef residencies from the likes of Nathan Outlaw, major sporting screenings including the football World Cup, Wimbledon and the Formula 1 British Grand Prix, as well as live music and comedy festival.

“The timber structures will feel as though they have grown out of the landscape, wrapped in living planting and built to tread lightly on their surroundings, bringing a true sense of the wild into the heart of London," said Andy Payne, Blue Forest founder.

It will run June 10 to August 30 and Shedworking is planning to report back from its press opening evening next Tuesday.

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Thursday posts are sponsored by Cabin Master, bespoke garden rooms and offices designed, manufactured and installed throughout the UK 

 

BBQube

Arctic Cabins, known for their non-square hexagonal huts, have brought out a square hut model called The BBQube. Here's what they say about it:

Perfect for compact garden spaces, the BBQube has straight-walls, and rather than the usual hexagonal shape, they are cube-shaped to minimise the cabin’s footprint and fit neatly into the corner of your garden. Step inside and you’ll immediately notice how the clever layout maximises space. The BBQube offers generous seating and easy movement, creating a sociable environment without overwhelming your garden.

Features include a high-quality central BBQ grill with adjustable hood, three large reindeer skins, and Composite pegged base system. 

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Wednesday posts are sponsored by Booths Garden Studios, the UK's No.1 supplier of zero maintenance and portable garden studios

 

Family garden office (video)

 

The new garden office HQ of the family-run Aqua Sol Ingredients from Bakers Garden Buildings represents an important move from using bedrooms and dining rooms to a fully bespoke garden office. It has a steel and timber frame and features climate control temperature equipment inside.  Enjoy the short video of it below.
 

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Monday's posts are sponsored by Smart Modular Buildings, the UK's best garden room company

Friday Finery: Old Rectory treehouse

This week's Finery is actually for sale. It's the treehouse in the grounds of the Old Rectory in Kilvington near Nottingham. On the market with Strutt & Parker for £1.6m which also gets you 6 acres of land, a five-bedroom home, and other utbuildings include a garden room with kitchen, garaging and a tool shed, plus a 3 acre paddock with stabling.

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

 

The Potting Shed

A splendid build by By Boon in South Oxfordshire near a natural swimming lake. Features include a tin roof, decking along the length of the cabin, and old Crittell windows sourced from a 1950s East London factory. Interestingly, the whole thing was built on a cassise and wheels so it can be fairly easily moved if/when necessary. 

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Thursday posts are sponsored by Cabin Master, bespoke garden rooms and offices designed, manufactured and installed throughout the UK 

 

Are garden offices yield drivers?

"For most of the past decade, garden rooms sat in the homeowner trend column, first as a lifestyle upgrade and then as a lockdown solution that quietly outlived the pandemic. In 2026, they have become something more interesting for property investors: a low-friction asset-improvement tool with potential impact on rental yield, tenant retention and exit value. Add permitted development rules, limited EPC disruption and no separate council tax treatment where the room remains ancillary, and the back garden starts to look less like unused space and more like a portfolio lever."

For more on this, see the story on Property Investor Today.

Images courtesy Smart Modular Buildings 

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Wednesday posts are sponsored by Booths Garden Studios, the UK's No.1 supplier of zero maintenance and portable garden studios