Sunday, June 30, 2019

When is a shed not a shed?



A nice piece on Stuff about shedworking and garden offices in New Zealand focuses on various options from Homelandz and features this rather lovely studio above owned by Marlborough Sounds artist Sirpa Alalaakkola which features a Scandinavian style 'alcove bed'. Here's what she says about it:
"Underneath I can fit a clothes rack and drawers for storing my wardrobe. It has curtain rails around it, it makes a nice cocoon to sleep in. My plan was to just use it as a sleepout in the busy summer season, but I find myself still sleeping in it even now when it's winter. Any time when I need some quiet time or meditation the shed is the place."
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Sunday posts are sponsored by eDEN Garden Rooms. Stunning, bespoke high quality garden rooms, to suit your unique space and style

Caked: garden office for making cake


Caked is run by Claire who makes bespoke wedding and celebration cakes and pastries from her garden office in Shaftesbury, Dorset, having recently relocated from London. It's a custom-designed Garden Affairs log cabin in 70mm timber, measuring 5.5m x 4.6m. Features include a recessed porch area for architectural interest/shelter with balustrades, factory-painted doors and windows, pitch roof with bitumen felt and black shingles, roof and floor insulation, double glazed Velux roof lights, all on a concrete base.

Here's what Claire says about it:
After relocating my business from London to Dorset, I decided now was the time to create a dedicated cake space. I wanted somewhere that I could store all of my cake equipment and ingredients (there’s a lot!) and host consultations in a relaxed atmosphere. As always with these kinds of projects, the final version ended up quite a bit bigger than the original plan, but I couldn’t be happier with my little cake studio. Since the build, friends and family have been helping me paint and add all the finishing touches to make it my little cakey haven.


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Sunday posts are sponsored by eDEN Garden Rooms. Stunning, bespoke high quality garden rooms, to suit your unique space and style

Friday, June 28, 2019

The genie of the shed


The Dandy annual is always a must-buy at Shedworking HQ but this year's will be even more hotly anticipated after we discovered that comic artist extraordinaire Lew Stringer will be penning a Keyhold Kate story which features 'the genie of the shed' (see above). Although normally we think of annual as Christmas treats, they actually come out much earlier than that and you can get your hands on this one sometime in August probably. More details about both this and The Beano annual on Lew's excellent site here. -------------------------------------------------------
Friday posts are sponsored by Warwick Buildings, manufacturers of outstanding quality timber buildings. Click here for more information.

Thursday, June 27, 2019

Aux Box: Canadian Shedworking



Aux Box is a marvellous garden office possibility designed by Landon Sheck and Morgan Seeber in British Columbia, Canada. It has a glass front wall, measures 11' x 10' x 9.5' (though there is a longer version and they can make it bespoke to your tastes) coming in at 106 square feet, with pre-powder coated metal siding and flashings, and can be installed in less than a day, usually craned into place. Features include a white roof, solar cooled glass, and closed cell spray foam insulation. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thursday posts are sponsored by Cabin Master: garden offices and studios to fit any size garden. Top quality contemporary or traditional buildings.

Wednesday, June 26, 2019

Do wheels on a shed make a different to planning regulations?


A common question about keeping your shed legal is the issue of making it moveable - to cut a long story short, if it's mobile, then there are fewer restrictions on what you can build (this is one reason why shepherds' huts have become more popular). But as with everything it's more complicated than that...

There was an excellent example of the issue this month when Pembrokeshire Council took James Kershaw to court for trying to avoid planning regs by adding wheels to a wooden shed (top) he built on his land in front of 12th centurey Pill Priory (a Grade II listed building, above) near Milford Haven - he claimed that the wheels meant it was no longer a building and thus exempt.

District Judge Chris James at Llanelli Magistrates' Court did not see it that way, that he did not believe Mr Kershaw, who runs a gardening business, intended to or indeed could move the shed around (despite the wheels) and fined him £700, plus costs of £2,244. The shed had been put up in 2015 without planning permission and was described by a planning inspector as “clumsy and monolithic” which did not fit in with the historic property.

Images courtesy Pembrokeshire Council
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Tuesday, June 25, 2019

Pubworking: The Bottle of Sauce


We have been banging on about pubworking here on Shedworking since 2006 and even launched an entire website devoted to it (sadly no longer with us). So we were delighted to hear that The Bottle of Sauce - Cheltenham’s Pub of the Year for the second year on the trot - is launching a new co-working and hot desking space in August.

After a £100,000 renovation project there is now a series of offices over two floors, with 46 desks available seither individually or grouped together in their own room. Naturally there is wifi, private meeting and function rooms, a secure entrance, communal kitchen, plus perks on food and drinks. There will also be regular tenant meetup and brainstorming sessions organised by the company behind the move, Dodo Pub Co.


“We initially considered installing bedrooms," explains founding member of Dodo Pub Co., Leo Johnson, "particularly as The Bottle of Sauce is a former hotel. We got as far as designing the rooms before reviewing the way the High Street and town centres are changing. We clocked the way people are working is changing too with more smaller businesses than ever and the freelancing community growing.

“We know we have a great space here and we wanted to maximise its potential. We’ve had Abercrombie & Kent with us for a year while their offices have been refurbished and now it’s time for us to open up our offices to the wider community. There’s no doubt that the way people use the town centre is changing especially with the crisis facing retailers so Dodo Works is about moving with the times and catering for what people want and need.

“Being able to pop down to the pub for a bite to eat for lunch, meet clients for a working lunch or enjoy some downtime means work can definitely involve some play too. The pub is the perfect common space for relaxed and casual meetings or socials."

For more information go to the Dodo Works site.


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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

Monday, June 24, 2019

Garden office and foxes



Over the last year, writer Chuck Wendig has talked regularly on Twitter about the foxes who live and hang out around his garden office. There has been a lot of interest in following their updates. But not everybody is so keen...

Above is a Booths Garden Studios garden office pod, a 3.6m x 2.7m model with anthracite windows, French doors, black pillars and fascia, with added recessed blinds, exterior pillar lights and outside power socket. It also features a "skirt" at the bottom to fill in the gap below the studio which is a feature of all the company's garden offices. On very level then this gap is about 4 inches, but increases if your site has a slope. Here's what Alex Booth says about this:

"The gap allows air flow below your garden office and guarantees that dampness is never an issue.
The studio skirt only has a conventional one year guarantee as it is touching the ground. Touching the ground means it is exposed to damp and moisture and any product will deteriotate more quickly in this situation. The skirting can also be damaged by strimmers being used near them, especially if there is gravel which the strimmer can launch at the skirt. Many of our customers just put planters in front of the gap to hide it.

"Foxes are a concern for some of our customers but in all the years Booths have been going (since 2000) I have only had one case of foxes being under a garden office so the chances are extremely slim. If this is a concern for you then you'd need to cost in a wire barrier to go all the way around your garden office. Some of our customers have installed chicken wire themselves but personally I wouldn't bother as the odds of foxes being an issue are so tiny."

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Monday posts are sponsored by garden2office, the Swedish garden office specialists. Click here for more details.

Sunday, June 23, 2019

Yoga studio


An interesting exterior for this yoga/pilates studio by Garden Affairs for a customer in Bath. It's their Linea (Duo) model which measures 5.5m x 2.5m including an integral store room coming in at 1.5m x 2.5m. The whole thing is fully insulated, double glazed, and installed on their deck base system. It comes with stain-finished and painted doors/windows. ---------------------------------------

Sunday posts are sponsored by eDEN Garden Rooms. Stunning, bespoke high quality garden rooms, to suit your unique space and style

Saturday, June 22, 2019

Shedworking fundraiser

https://www.buymeacoffee.com/shedworking

Every couple of years the Shedworking bean counters say to the editorial staff at HQ that it would be nice if the company's bank account looked a little less like a large empty sack. We say that our advertisers very kindly help to keep the site going and that we're doing fine, thank you, and do not want to put up any kind of paywall (however tiny) to prevent people enjoying the content.

But to pacify the suits, we have agreed to set up a page in conjunction with Buy Me A Coffee - this little gadget means that if you click the banner above or this link here then you will be taken to a page where you can make a small (or indeed large) donation towards the running of Shedworking. All donations will be very much appreciated, but even if you don't donate you are still extremely welcome to continue visiting and enjoying Shedworking. -----------------------------------
Saturday posts are sponsored by iHUS Projects, specialists in the design and build of granny annexes for elderly and disabled care.

Friday, June 21, 2019

Hobby room garden office for a sports enthusiast


There's sometimes an 'all work and no play' element to garden offices which cannot be said about this garden den from eDEN Garden Rooms in a large garden in Meopham, Kent. The client - a general sports lover, especially of darts and golf - actually describes it as a 'boys den'. It's largely designed around a space large enough to fit in a pool table, bringing the total size of the build to a smidgeon under under 30m2 to avoid building control regulation issues (it's more than 2m from the boundary so fine to go up to 3m height).

Features include an air-conditioning unit (but not eDEN's standard underfloor heating because of the weight of the pool table), a toilet, a bespoke bar, and decking terrace. The whole thing is on a concrete base because of tree root issues and has water/drainage connections.


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

Thursday, June 20, 2019

Building a garden office: Part 6


Another of the garden office builds we've been keeping an eye on this year is by web designer and developer Jack McConnell who has been chronicling it by video and he is nearing the end, working here on the side and front walls (you can see the others here. "In this video," he explains. "I build the two side walls and the front wall and run into some pretty devastating weather!"

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Sunday posts are sponsored by eDEN Garden Rooms. Stunning, bespoke high quality garden rooms, to suit your unique space and style

Wednesday, June 19, 2019

Garden office for type foundry in Northumberland


A great build by 3rdSpace in Northumberland for type foundry The Northern Block which is actually a multi-shedworking space as it has up to half a dozen people working in there at a time. There's an interesting interview with the company's founder Jonathan Hill on the 3rdSpace website here but here's a snippet:
I’ve always been a massive fan of both Modernism and cleverly-designed small spaces. I learned in Japan how they made so much of small spaces, better than anyone else. I love simple material palettes, minimal spaces, leaving complexity to the hidden details. This studio sometimes has up to six or seven people working in it. Our business is like a small family, people are given an equal voice but not everyone is the right fit, it doesn’t work for everyone. It has to be a real collaborative effort, there is nowhere to hide in a space like this!
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Tuesday, June 18, 2019

Unusual shape garden office


An intriguing garden office from Timber Rooms which shows that you can have a bespoke garden office in pretty much any space. This is a kind of wonky L-shape and is deceptively spacious inside, with windows giving lovely views onto the garden behind and a green sedum roof. Because of the unusual site, the garden office has sliding doors. Other features include underfloor heating and oak-effect laminate flooring and the whole thing is clad with Canadian red cedar. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tuesday posts are sponsored by Garden Spaces, suppliers of contemporary garden buildings, offices, gyms and studios, many of which do not require planning

Monday, June 17, 2019

Log cabin garden office



A very attractive bespoke log cabin garden office from Garden Affairs. Built in 45mm timber, it measures 5m x 4m and as well as being used as a business headquarters for the client in Chester, also features a large games room. There's a recessed porch area to add architectural interest as well as act as a shelter and, slightly unusually, two sets of double doors. Both roof and floor are insulated and there are double glazed Velux roof light. 


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Monday posts are sponsored by garden2office, the Swedish garden office specialists. Click here for more details.

Sunday, June 16, 2019

How to graffiti your garden office


Some intriguing advice from Ashley Cramp who runs Lazy Daisy Jones ('Stylish Midlife Living') about how to add a little something Banksy-inspired to your garden shed or office (see above). You can get the full details at her site here but here's a snippet:
I chose Banksy’s ‘Rage Flower Thrower’ in an 18″ x 12″ size. I knew exactly where I wanted to place it. On our black garden shed!... All the stencils are reusable, made from 10 ml mylar a strong plastic, simply clean and reuse. I find the details fascinating, obviously I know this is no a real Banksy but you can clearly see this guy has his baseball cap on back to front and is using the neck of his jumper as a mask.

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Sunday posts are sponsored by eDEN Garden Rooms. Stunning, bespoke high quality garden rooms, to suit your unique space and style

Friday, June 14, 2019

Garden office caboose writing shed




Writing Sheds is a new venture based in Columbia, South Carolina with the motto 'Writing sheds for work and play'. The first model is inspired by a railway caboose and is very much aimed at shedworkers, especially writers and artists. It measures 8ft x 16ft and features include a cupola, platforms/decking at both ends, and has an EPDM rubber roof. The whole thing is mounted on a hay wagon “running gear” frame. It's early days but still one to watch.
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Friday posts are sponsored by Warwick Buildings, manufacturers of outstanding quality timber buildings. Click here for more information.