Work from home to beat oil crisis, says International Energy Agency

 

The International Energy Agency has released a new report 'Sheltering From Oil Shocks: Measures to reduce impacts on households and businesse' which "details 10 demand-side options open to households, businesses and governments to shelter themselves from today’s oil shock and relieve the strains on affordability".

The IEA admits that it's hard to generalise and that different countries have different energy needs but nevertheless number one on its list is 'Work from home where possible'. The report's authors point out that commuting accounts for between 5% and 30% of car activity across regions. Here are their thoughts:

As not all jobs are suitable for working from home, at the national level, three additional remote working days, for those whose jobs allow for it, could reduce oil consumption from cars by 2%-6%. If an average individual driver shifts from no teleworking to three remote days in a five-day workweek, their personal car oil consumption could be reduced by up to 20%.  

It also points out that Governments can encourage businesses to allow their employees to work from home, and can mandate public officials to work from home, where possible, and close public buildings on certain days. Their examples make interesting reading:

Policy examples: In response to the 2026 crisis in the Middle East, several countries have announced measures to encourage working from home. For example, the Philippines and Pakistan have mandated 4-day workweeks for government workers, while Sri Lanka has closed public offices on Wednesdays, and Lao PDR, Thailand and Viet Nam are all actively promoting remote work. Many European governments also encouraged working from home in response to the energy crisis in 2022-23, including through the joint IEA-EU Playing my Part Campaign. For example, France incentivised public officials working from home in 2022, and encouraged private companies to follow this example.

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Friday Finery: David Hockney's barn

This week's finery focuses on a detail from David Hockney's work 'Autour de la maison, été' (2019) which is coming up for auction at the end of this month at Christie's London. 

The full thing is a monumental 12m long printed on a single sheet of paper, and shows Hockney's home and garden in Normandy at the height of summer, but the key elements are obviously the shelike buildings. Hockney incorporates medieval barns and contemporary treehouse in a work, as Christie's puts it: "recalling the narrative structure of the historic Bayeux Tapestry".  

The estimate is £200,000-300,000 but it will probably go for more.

Pic credit: © David Hockney/Christie's 

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Garden office conference to focus on writing huts

Intriguing news that there is to be a conference later this year at the Justus Liebig University, Giessen, in Germany entitled 'Forest Cabins, Garden Sheds, and Other Niches: Spaces of Retreat and the Potentiality of Writing'.

In her call for papers Professor Kirsten von Hagen writes:

"Writing practices have long been associated with withdrawal and retreat, often into nature. From Henry David Thoreau’s cabin in the woods to Virginia Woolf’s garden shed in Sussex [pictured top in my recent book Rooms of Their Own and illustrated by James Oses], spaces of retreat appear central to creative practice. They promise time, focus, and a calmer environment removed from everyday distractions, raising the question of what constitutes an “ideal” space for writing and creative work.

"This conference seeks to examine secluded, marginal, and sometimes remote spaces of retreat more closely, with a particular focus on writing as practice. What forms of writing emerge in such settings? How are writers shaped by spaces of withdrawal? Which strategies accompany retreat-based writing practices, for example, walking and writing or a particular attunement to surroundings?"

It follows the 2025 conference 'The Cabin in the Woods and Other Utopian Confinements: Hopes and Horrors of Living in Small Houses in Remote Areas' and aims to place "creative practice and writing at the center of its exploration of spaces of retreat, including cabins, garden sheds, and other hut-like environments."

More details at the link above but a list of possible topics - deadline for submission is March 26 for the July conference - included in the call suggests:

• The potentiality of writing and creative practice
• Retreat as a space of withdrawal or resistance
• Ecocritical perspectives on writing retreats
• Ecofeminist and posthumanist approaches to retreat
• Entanglements with the more-than-human world in times of withdrawal
• Blurred boundaries between fiction and non-fiction in literary representations of retreats

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Cosy Garden Rooms scoops business award

Congratulations to Cosy Garden Rooms who have won the Micro Business of the Year prize at the East Midlands Chamber (Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire) Business Awards.

The award is contested by entrants with one to 10 employees. "We’re proud to be recognised among the region’s outstanding businesses," said a spokesperson. "Here’s to continuing to grow, innovate, and deliver exceptional garden rooms."

East Midlands Chamber Chief Executive Scott Knowles said: “Nottinghamshire is known the world over for its rich history of making, creating and is home to some of the country and the world’s best innovation. Whether skill in trading within the county or far and wide at international level, what I see continually across Nottinghamshire’s business community is a forward-thinking approach, focused on overcoming challenges, seizing opportunity and on growth." 

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New beach huts go on sale in Great Yarmouth

Newly built beach huts on the Esplanade have put on sale in Great Yarmouth, with £12,000 and £20,000 price tags attached to 10 and 25 year leases.

The 3m x 1.8m beach huts (pictured above) come in a range of colours, double doors, use of an exclusive amenity block nearby, a dedicated seating area at the front, and are all close to the Golden Mile set between the seafront and North Drive. There is also free annual parking (car park to the rear) with permit included.

The huts are being marketed by East Commercial Chartered Surveyors for Great Yarmouth Borough Council. Details on Rightmove.

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

 

Friday Finery: Concave Room

This week's Finery is a Concave model build from Modern Garden Rooms with rather pleasant nearby swimming pool as well as nice blue sky.

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

 

Garden room trends for 2026

An interesting post by Cabin Master looks at garden room trends for this year makes for intriguing reading. Their figures indicate:

* average sizes rising over the past year from 16.3m² to 17.5m² in floor space, with decking/verandas less common

* fully timber buildings falling in popularity from 7.7% of builds in 2023 to 3.1% in 2025 with hybrid finishes combining natural timber with composite Marley board cladding on the rise

* growing interest in home saunas and cabins 
 
* increasing statement glazing, installations of Cabin Master's largest size of doors growing 30% in 2025, and builds which used their largest window sizing rose 18% year on year - this marries with a drop in the average number of window units per build

* the rise in sliding doors, featuring in 58% of its garden room builds in 2023, increasing to 62% in 2024 and up to 64% in 2025 - at the same time there has been a slight decline in bifold doors

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