Shed’onomics: Shed of the Year report

Nice infographic thingy. See the full story in The Independent. Monday posts are sponsored by garden2office, the Swedish garden office specialists. Click here for more details.

A dating service for shedworkers

Well, maybe not exactly, but it's certainly for people who live in shedlike atmospheres. Find out more about Tiny House Dating at Kent's Tiny House Blog where he interviews Kai Rostcheck who has come up with the novel idea. Here's a snippet:

"While researching the tiny house movement, I noticed several themes. One of them was that “other people” just don’t understand our values. Tiny House Enthusiasts on several different blogs and forums commented that they are confident and fulfilled by decisions they have made on their own, but when it comes to companionship something’s missing. They were having a hard time meeting people who shared their perspective on what’s important, so first dates rarely went much further."

Well worth a read and a look at the site once it's not totally swamped as it appears to be at the moment. ----------------------------------------------------------

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

Solar Powered Tiny House

Here's Tiny House UK's first  fully off grid Tiny House, all powered by a 2.4kw Antaris solar kit with three panels on the roof to charge the six batteries during the day. When fully charged, it apparently holds enough power to boil a kettle for an hour continuously. Lots more details at their post here.

Those interested in tiny houses should also take a look at this article at grist, 'How tiny house communities can work for both the haves and the have nots'. Quite a long read but well worth a couple of minutes of your time.


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Homestead Timber Buildings - Manufacturers of Quality Timber Buildings

The decline of the commute

Despite the average distance travelled to work increasing, a smaller proportion of workers made a regular commute in 2011 (81%) than they did 10 years ago (86%), according to new figures from the Office for National Statistics gathered from the most recent census.

This was caused largely by the fact that the number of people who worked from home increased by a quarter.

However, interestingly, commuters now travel further to work than 10 years ago (see graph above). Commuters in the Midlands and the South West had the largest increase in average distance travelled to work at 2.2km further than in 2001, while those in the East of England travelled the furthest to work on average, at 17.3km. Commuters in only four regions travelled, on average, further than 16km to work in 2011, those in the East of England, Wales, South East and North East.

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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

Poetry Potting Shed

The Poetry Potting Shed comes from Spoke, a new poetry and spoken word programme offering people in East London an opportunity to watch, perform and develop careers in spoken word and performance poetry in and around the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. Special guests include Michael Rosen and Niall O’Sullivan. Lots more information at their site. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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

Dylan Thomas' shed on tour: video

We reported back in January about how the 'garden office' shed belonging to Dylan Thomas was going on the road and now the venerable BBC has put together a rather nice video of it on tour which you can see here.
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Monday posts are sponsored by garden2office, the Swedish garden office specialists. Click here for more details.

Melanie Lark Ellis: shedworker

A nice piece by winner of this week's award for best regional property writer Sharon Dale in the Yorkshire Post focuses on Leeds-based Melanie Lark Ellis and her business Spring Lark. Here's a snippet:

“Now I supply shops in and outside of Yorkshire and I spend six hours a day in the shed working. Having the insulation and heater is crucial,” says Melanie, who studied art and design at Leeds Metropolitan University. When she’s extra busy, she moves the Janome sewing machine into the house for the evening so she can multi-task and keep an eye on her two sons, Theo, ten, and seven-year-old Kieron."

Well worth a read and a look at the nice gallery they've put together. ----------------------------------------------------------

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

Go to sleep in a shed

Tremendous shedlike atmospheres for children to sleep in from Mathy by Bols. Or as they put it, "un design de François Lamazerolles de vraies cabanes perchées dans des arbres pour dormir, s'amuser, inventer, rêver, s'isoler, se retrouver, grandir, étudier, lire, faire la teuf... vivre!"
Via Design Milk ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Homestead Timber Buildings - Manufacturers of Quality Timber Buildings

Corrugated paper shedworking

You don't see shedlike atmospheres built out of two millimetre thick corrugated paper every day. This one was designed by architect Mattias Lind from White and produced by Swedish company EuroWell - it is printed to look like black marble or white marble, depending which way you're looking at it. And inside it's all yellow. The whole thing weighs only 100kg. We've featured various Swedish friggebod designs on Shedworking in the past, but this is certainly one of our favourites.
   Chameleon Cabin from Happy F&B on Vimeo. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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

Why are shepherds' huts so popular?

A nice piece by friend of Shedworking Sharon Dale in the Yorkshire Post explores just this question. Here's a snippet:

Writer Arabella Cornelius, who lives near Thirsk, opted for a Yorkshire Hut Company shepherd’s hut rather than a “shoffice”, due to portability. The fact that it’s a moveable structure appealed to me as I know I can take it with me if I move. It’s a safer investment. Arabella, a copywriter, has a deluxe version with underfloor heating, a log burner, sink, a fold down desk and a bed. It is, she says, the subject of some envy.

 Well worth a browse. -------------------------------------------------------------------------
Monday posts are sponsored by garden2office, the Swedish garden office specialists. Click here for more details.

Pallet shed

) An excellent video from Deek of Relaxshacks.com who visits a shed made of recycled pallet wood at a North Carolina Home and Garden Expo Show. Well worth a watch. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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

The Quiet Treehouse

Treehouse specialist Blue Forest hasbeen working with Quiet Mark (the trading arm of the Noise Abatement Society) and John Lewis to develop a tranquil tree-home with next generation sound engineering. The Quiet Treehouse will be unveiled at the Ideal Home Show from 14-30 March 2014 at London’s Earls Court and will be donated for permanent use by Chestnut Treehouse children’s hospice in Sussex and will provide the children and their families with a safe and stimulating environment in which to play, relax and share time together.

Inspired by the shape of a small coppice of trees, three primary trunks support the cocoon-like shedworkingesque structure which is accessed via stairs to the main floor. Its design can actually be installed independently of a host tree.

Andy Payne, Managing Director at Blue Forest, said: “So many temporary structures for shows are designed to only be up for a short while and are then dismantled and the material thrown out which is a tremendous waste. A key challenge of this treehouse project was to design something that could be installed at the Ideal Home Show in only seven days but that would be durable and long-lasting, providing real value for its final home at Chestnut Tree House Hospice.”

Visitors to The Quiet Treehouse will learn about the power of sounds in our homes and lives. The experience will include personal sound-portraits, a Wild Sanctuary animal sound archive and a chance to win an array of Quiet Mark awarded luxury technology products. The treehouse will also be full of the latest quiet gadgets  -------------------------------------------------------------------------
Monday posts are sponsored by garden2office, the Swedish garden office specialists. Click here for more details.

Playhouse or garden office?

Ok, technically it is a playhouse in Cape Cod, designed by Boston-based Zero Energy Design but you could work in there too I think. Very happily. ----------------------------------------------------------

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

World Book Day...

At the very genuine risk of bandwaggoning... ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Homestead Timber Buildings - Manufacturers of Quality Timber Buildings

Ged's Mancave: Getting married at your garden office

"This is my mancave, at the back of a 1930s Mactaggart & Mickel bungalow on Glasgow's south side," writes Ged O'Brien. "The garage was probably a 1940s or 50s addition but it would certainly struggle to cope with anything much beyond a Baby Austin. When we bought the place four years ago I got a joiner to fit it out and that is where my book 'Played in Glasgow' was written.

"I married Diane on the patio in front of the mancave as well. It's amazing how much you can squeeze into a tiny space: an Edwardian writing desk with my iMac and laptop, a two seat sofa for meetings, filing cabinets, pictures and all the books on sport, literature and art that I have collected in my life. Add broadband which I carried out to the mancave via ethernet and we're sound for travelling.

"I did all the work for my MLitt in here and graduated last year. It sits ready and waiting for my return every evening from teaching (which pays the mortgage). None of this would have been possible without my mancave - which is the talk of the south side and the first place everyone wants to see when they visit."

Ged's latest book, Scottish Squash: the First 75 Years, is in the pipeline. ----------------------------------------------------

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

Shedworking in Scotland

We've been a bit remiss in not featuring enough garden offfices in Scotland recently, so here's a fine example from the aptly named Logs Cabin Scotland of a nice bespoke solid log cabin they supplied and fitted. It's 70mm log with insulated roof and floor, hidden electrics, mezzanine and store cupboard, plus an air to air heatpump for heating and cooling.

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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