Friday, August 31, 2018

The Conker: Circular shedworking


The ‘Conker’ (more images at the link) is the brainchild of engineer Jag Virdie and will appeal to anybody who also enjoys the sheditecture of the Archipod. It has a 3.9m diameter and  floor area of 10m2 and according to Jag can be set up in a single day. No traditional foundations are needed. Here's what he says about the project:
"My engineering perspective was further enhanced through a desire to give my children ‘hands on’ practical experience, culminating in building wooden sea kayaks and a spherical tree house. The Conker™ was born in 2015 through the knowledge that a garden building should be aerodynamic, strong and versatile. I envisaged a contemporary, state of the art, desirable environment which could be adapted and personalised. A sphere was an obvious choice and a full-size prototype was built, realising my aspirations."
It's not yet on the market, although you can get an early glimpse of it at The Glamping Show in Warwickshire which runs September 20-22.


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Thursday, August 30, 2018

Heals to recreate Jessie Burton's writing shed in their shop window


Jessie Burton, bestselling author of The Miniaturist and The Muse as well as a shedworker (see previously on Shedworking) will have her writing shed recreated by Heals in the window of their Tottenham Court Road shop in London as part of their campaign 'Spaces: A celebration of pioneering creative women' during London Design Festival (September 11 -23). More about Jessie's new book The Restless Girls on her website here which she talks about in the video below while also giving us a glimpse of her writing shed.
 
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Wednesday, August 29, 2018

Garden office with shower and bathroom


An elegant garden office in London by Square One Architects (so nice in fact that the Royal Institute of British Architects included it in their official 2018 commercial brochure). Here's what they say about it:
"This garden studio project is aimed to maximise the limited amount of space within the rear garden of a 19th century terraced house. The presence of a large sliding door and skylight provides ample natural light which highlights the texture of the various internal materials, in particular oak veneer and slate flooring."
The exterior Siberian larch slats are designed to complement the neighbouring timber fences and inside there's plenty of bookshelf and cabinet storage.

Photos: Emanuelis Stasaitis ------------------------------------------
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Tuesday, August 28, 2018

Backyard reading retreat




A lovely build by Seattle-based Board & Vellum in what was an overgrown back garden and is now what they describe as an "indoor-outdoor oasis". The inspiration was the concept of a "found shed" with lots of grass and carefully-considered placement of windows and doors as well as a timber deck. An interesting feature is the wallpapered ceiling which hides music speakers hidding underneath. The retreat functions as a reading room but also as an entertainment area or guest accommodation, including a shower and firepit.

Photos: Andrew Giammarco
 
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Monday, August 27, 2018

Classroom garden office for teaching painting


Here's a large garden office used as a classroom for teaching children from 6 up to A level from Booths Garden Studios. Internally it's 21' x 12' with room room for up to 10 pupils. Features include a sink with hot and cold water supply, lots of storage for painting accessories and art works, plus a compact toilet, and an air conditioning unit at the back of the garden room. According to the client: "Until I got my garden studio I was working in the dining room of my house and the rest of the family were thoroughly fed up with me constantly coming home to the sink being filled up with paint palettes and brushes so I decided I needed to move out of the house to a purpose built garden room."

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Sunday, August 26, 2018

David Cameron's second shepherd's hut


Readers will remember when we reported on David Cameron's purchase of a shepherd's hut to use as a writing studio to write his memoirs. Well, now he's bought another one (pictured above), again from Red Sky Shepherd’s Huts as part of the renovations on his swanky holiday home in Cornwall. It's the same as the first with green cladding and black plastisol-coated metal roof.

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Friday, August 24, 2018

Shed and Breakfast


Right at the start of this year we featured the marvellous Shed and Breakfast in Bristol so we're delighted that they've made it to the last 24 of the Cuprinol-sponsored Shed of the Year 2018 competition.

Just to recap, Daisy and Jon run Shed and Breakfast from their Warwick Buildings base in Bristol. One night a month they offer shelter to a homeless young person and also collect for Nightstop, a homeless charity in Bristol, through guest donations. They're actually in the Eco category as the shed uses solar panels and solar thermal. They're one of Shedworkings Top Tips to win the overall competition.

Voting closes on August 28. If you'd like to vote for Shed and Breakfast, simply go to and the eco category to make your mark.

Warwick Buildings - Shed & Breakfast Testimonial from Phenix Digital on Vimeo. -------------------------------------------------------
Friday posts are sponsored by Warwick Buildings, manufacturers of outstanding quality timber buildings. Click here for more information.

Thursday, August 23, 2018

Britain's southernmost hut sold in rare deal


The BBC is reporting that one of the 20 granite huts on Les Minquiers (about 10 miles south of Jersey) has been bought by a Jersey company in an undisclosed six figure deal handled by Jersey law firm Viberts. Described as the size of a garden chalet and usually handed down within families, they only come up for sale at an average of about once a decade - some have not appeared on the market at all since they were first constructed in the 19th century.

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The return of the Anderson shelter


A cracking article by David Lavelle in The Guardian looks at the rise in popularity of the Anderson shelter and points out that "restoring air raid shelters has become a niche hobby with people repurposing them as sheds or outdoor studies". Here's a snippet:
The survival of Anderson shelters is not only due to their sturdy structure. Millions of families took refuge in them during the war and told their stories to succeeding generations, preserving them in our cultural imagination, too. “I think the Anderson shelter is an icon because so many people had them,” Liz Johnson says. “They figure in many wartime novels and films. I think they do appeal to our den-building fascination.” The shelters are also one of the few relics of the period that can still be utilised. They are an effective and fun way of educating young children about the realities of the home front, and many people are still putting them to good use in their gardens. Johnson says she intends to keep her shelter for as long as she owns her house and has plans to develop the inside as a sleep-out space for her children.
Photo courtesy Martin Stanley's site Anderson Shelters which is mentioned in the article and is indeed a marvellous introduction to the subject. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thursday posts are sponsored by Cabin Master: garden offices and studios to fit any size garden. Top quality contemporary or traditional buildings.

Wednesday, August 22, 2018

Cressida Cowell's holiday writing shed

Not too shabby. ------------------------------------------
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Tuesday, August 21, 2018

Garden office with bathroom

This 5m x 3m garden office with large sliding door in Muswell Hill, London, by eDEN Garden Rooms is a combination build, designed and constructed by eDEN in collaboration with the clients' own contacts who carried out the groundwork, bathroom/wetroom installation and plumbing . The bathroom is a useful addition for any shedworker but was also included in case the garden room is used for non-office space in the future. "Designs were kept within permitted development rights so no planning permission was required," says eDEN's Mia Walmsley, "with fire retardant panels being added to the boundary-facing elevations to ensure compliance." -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tuesday posts are sponsored by Garden Spaces, suppliers of contemporary garden buildings, offices, gyms and studios, many of which do not require planning

Friday, August 03, 2018

Annual holidays


The Shedworking staff have awarded themselves a holiday and scarpared off to the seaside for a paddle, a nice sit down in a beach hut, and an ice cream. Normal service will be resumed shortly.

Thursday, August 02, 2018

Cynan Jones: Shedworker


Author Cynan Jones (The Dig, Cove, The Edge Of The Shoal, BBC National Short Story Award Winner) lives and works in Aberaeron, Wales. He is also a shedworker. Here's how he describes his working environment to electric literature:
"I have a shed. I came home to write from Glasgow where I’d been working for five years as a copywriter. I promised myself I’d come home when I was twenty-eight and give myself two years to write a book. I lived in a shed in my Mum’s garden, which I still work in. I also built a writing room into our house. They are sacrosanct places. No one else goes in them. There’s nothing particular I have to have (other than pens, blank paper and a window) but I am incredibly protective of my writing space."
He also lives in a log cabin which he built himself. Here's what he told the BBC:
"When I am in need of inspiration for my writing, I step out of mother's shed and walk 50 metres to the edge of a cliff where I can be immersed in this extraordinary Cardigan Bay landscape," says Jones."
There's an excellent podcast of him recorded last month talking about "'the square mile' in Welsh culture, the experience of re-telling stories, and the spark that sends him to the writing shed to get a pending novel down on the page" at the Royal Literary Fund site here.

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Wednesday, August 01, 2018

Kudvha makes Wood Awards 2018 shortlist


The excellent Wood Awards which aims 'to recognise, encourage and promote outstanding design, craftsmanship and installation using wood' has announced its 2018 shortlist. Among them is the marvellous wilderness cabin Kudvha, designed by New British Design.

Kudhva means ‘hideout’ in Cornish and these cabins in Tintagel, Cornwall, are the start of a larger project looking at micro architecture. Ideal as an off-grid shedworkingesque office, they each sleep two, are 7m tall, and are made from pine, larch, rubber, steel and glass.

Here's what the judges say about it in the shortlisting:
The Kudhva are a physical manifestation of the client’s approach to natural living. The cabins are made predominately from wood, chosen to act as a lightweight counter to the site’s industrial past. The natural habitat is ecologically rich, therefore the cabins have been designed to touch lightly on the land. The cabins have been designed to be totally off-grid and are temporary structures that can be moved around the site or removed in years to come.
Best of all you can stay in one and here's an account of what it's like.


Kudhva: Installation/Occupation Edit#2 from ben huggins on Vimeo. ------------------------------------------
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