Saturday, August 31, 2019

Urban summerhouse garden office



A lovely bespoke summerhouse garden office in London also used for photography shoots designed by its owner interior designer Hannah Portman (who often tweets about it on Instagram). In keeping with the trend towards black exteriors, it has a Farrow & Ball Off Black cladding, although inside it's very light and white.

The 20sqm shedworking atmosphere is far nicer than the previous dilapidated timber decking area. Features include reclaimed clay roof tiles, with the sides clad in green powder-coated steel, and pine floorboards. For exact details on the paints used and the furnishings inside, take a look at Hannah's site here.
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Friday, August 30, 2019

Shed music



We covered the launch of Devon-based writer, musician and shedworker Mark Brend's debut novel, Undercliff, earlier this year (see details here) and there is now a release date for the accompanying music which was written and recorded in the three separate sheds of three-piece band Fariña, made up of Mark, his former Palace of Light/Mabel Joy bandmate Matt Gale, and drummer/horn player Cliff Glanfield. Here's what Mark says about it:

"The book was almost entirely written in my 10 by 8 insulated, double-glazed shed," says Mark. "It was built about 10 years ago for £5k, and is maturing nicely. As well as serving as my writing room, office and retreat it’s also my recording studio. The Undercliff music was written and recorded here, and also at Matt’s and Cliff’s sheds. We worked separately, swopped files and then convened at Matt’s a few times to put it all together."



The Undercliff Suite EP (HPR 044) will be a limited edition cassette tape/DL/digital release on 24 October comprising five short instrumental pieces composed as incidental music for Undercliff.
Originally active until 2005, Fariña released two acclaimed albums on the Picked Egg label and the Undercliff Suite is their first release since reconvening in 2018.
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Friday posts are sponsored by Warwick Buildings, manufacturers of outstanding quality timber buildings. Click here for more information.

Thursday, August 29, 2019

Multi-functional garden office with wildflower roof


We started writing about sedum/green roofs on Shedworking a decade ago and it's a pleasure to see they are still popular. Not only attractive, they make your garden more eco-friendly (especially for wildlife and bees) and add insulation. This one from eDEN Garden Rooms is in London and is a garden office with a workshop which is also used as a hobby space. Originally intended to be partitioned, it evolved into a single space.

"As our client’s home is a three-storey house, which looks down on the garden from the master bedroom, they decided to create an eye-catching roof feature to improve their view, and promote biodiversity in their garden," explains eDEN's Mia Walmsley. "Based on the core design, this garden room in London didn’t require planning permission as it was built within their Permitted Development Rights. However, due to the wildflower roof, we needed to increase the size of the roof joists and add retaining bars for the turf, which meant that the overall building height eventually needed to be over 2.5m high. This therefore required planning, which was managed from start to finish by us.

eDen use a soil-free system which cuts down on maintenance with a turf made up of more than 40 native wildflowers and grasses making it great for insects.


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Thursday posts are sponsored by Cabin Master: garden offices and studios to fit any size garden. Top quality contemporary or traditional buildings.

Wednesday, August 28, 2019

Sheds on wheels planning dispute: update


We reported back in June on James Kershaw's planning dispute with Pembrokeshire County Council over the effect of putting wheels on a shed in terms of planning regulations (details here). That first case went against Mr Kershaw but he appealed and as the Pembrokeshire Herald reports, he has had that decision overturned with a judge finding that the council's action were an abuse of process.

There are more details at the link above but talking exclusively to Shedworking, Mr Kershaw said: "I have learnt a lot during this legal argument and in planning terms whether a structure on wheels is a building or simply a chattel placed on the land is a matter of fact and degree. There are a number of variants. Permanence is a major factor, and if it was intended to remain in one position for a long period. My advice to people unsure on the issue is erect the shed on a fully movable, towable chassis which is able to be moved around your garden with ease either behind a vehicle or pushed around by a group of strong men or women."

Unlimited Space Agency’s Space Shed


Voting closes for this year's Shed of the Year competition tomorrow (August 29) at noon. One of our favourites, a finalist in the 'Unique' category, is the mobile Space Shed run by the Unlimited Space Agency.

It was founded in 2010 by Unlimited’s artistic director Jon Spooner who set up his own space agency from his garden shed as an intriguing way to tell children all about science through theatre and storytelling. The shed is mobile so regularly attends festivals and events in other public places including theatres and museums. And at night, it doubles up to become a kind of disco shed.

It's certainly got the vote of astronaut Tim Peake who wrote on Facebook: "The fabulous Unlimited Space Agency’s Space Shed has been shortlisted for #ShedOfTheYear! They do great work inspiring young people in #science and #space so please give them your vote."

Tuesday, August 27, 2019

Garden office with beautiful garden


A lovely garden office just finished by Giles & Pike Architects in Clapham, London, with a pop-out window (see lower down), timber cladding, birch ply-lined walls and a selection of hanging plants. The marvellous garden design is by local garden designer Jack Wallington, the glazing by High Wycombe-based L2i, and the tip top photography by Logan Irvine MacDougall.
 




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Monday, August 19, 2019

Annual Shedworking staff holidays


It's that time of the year again when the Shedworking staff are allowed out by our Scrooge-like publisher for a week in the sunlight and an ice cream. We'll be back with all that's best in the world of microarchitecture next week.

Sunday, August 18, 2019

Oak garages


We're a fan of all kinds of microarchitecture here at Shedworking as well as nice relaxing music and videos so this latest video from The Classic Barn Company hits various spots. Sit back and enjoy a very pleasant three minutes of fine oak craftsmanship.

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Saturday, August 17, 2019

Garden office treehouse


The idea of a treehouse-based garden office is a pretty appealing one for most people. Treehouse specialists Blue Forest (pictured above and below) obviously feel the same way and they have a new blog post up extolling the virtues of them as "bringing an element of play and limitlessness" to normal office surroundings.

Understandably they emphasise the positive effect of the natural surroundings ("Everyone knows that nature is one of the best stress reducers, so it makes sense that outdoor workspaces are a clever way to bring a feeling of peace to your working day") and its effect on your working patterns ("Spending your working day in a treehouse office in the midst of all that mother nature has to offer will breathe new life into your ideas, allowing you to bring your work to an entirely new level.").

But for the Shedworking staff, this is perhaps an even stronger point, that it provides  a distinct separation of work and home life which is what we've argued for years, and especially in the Shedworking book. Here's what they say:
"Treehouse offices offer not only an intangible separation from work and home life, it also offers a very physical one. The simple act of returning to earth after a day in the trees will help ground you back into your personal life, hopefully allowing you to maintain a better balance between your work and home time."

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Saturday posts are sponsored by iHUS Projects, specialists in the design and build of granny annexes for elderly and disabled care.

Friday, August 16, 2019

Do you need planning permission for a summerhouse?

Love Shack Argentum - Unique from Corner of back garden #shedoftheyear

Planning permission is a perennial issue for shedworkers - here's the Guardian's latest take on the subject. The question is: "My little summerhouse has upset my neighbour. Do I need planning permission for it? I’d intended to use my 2.4m by 2.1m building as a painting studio. I don’t want to get into an argument, but the complaint is spoiling my enjoyment of i." The answer is effectively, you should be ok - as the journalist points out: "Companies who sell garden buildings are usually fully conversant with what makes a building permitted development because its in their interests to know the rules." And if they don't, maybe think twice about using them. Pictured above, one of our favourite summerhouses on readersheds.co.uk. -------------------------------------------------------
Friday posts are sponsored by Warwick Buildings, manufacturers of outstanding quality timber buildings. Click here for more information.

Thursday, August 15, 2019

Planting your garden round your garden office


As well as a pleasant working environment, it's also important to consider the garden outside the garden office. Here's a nice, and short, video look by Richard Lee of Plankbridge at their RHS Chelsea Flower arrangements which may help with inspiration.


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Thursday posts are sponsored by Cabin Master: garden offices and studios to fit any size garden. Top quality contemporary or traditional buildings.

Wednesday, August 14, 2019

Shedding My Mental Illness


An interesting date for your diaries - on September 14 at the All in the Mind Festival in Basingstoke (an annual event aimed at raising the conversation around mental health), actor Dewi Evans will be performing 'Shedding My Mental Illness',  a performance installation by his Tigz Theatre company that "explores creativity, bipolarity, psychosis and life through Dewi Evans’ writing shed." You can come and engage with Dewi in his shed throughout the day.
Look out for more updates at the dedicated Twitter page here.

Tuesday, August 13, 2019

National Trust loses garden office planning application dispute


As reported in the Bradford Telegraph and Argus, the National Trust has lost a bid to stop the building of a garden office in a garden in Riddlesden close to the boundary with the charity's East Riddlesden Hall.

Although the trust said the single storey building would adversely affect their property, a popular local tourist attraction, and their complaint was supported by the nearby Airedale Cricket Club as well as members of Keighley Town Council, Bradford Council's planning committee decided that the impact would be negligible - the distance between the proposed garden office and the Hall is 350m and 100m from the cricket club.

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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, August 12, 2019

Garden office and games room


We tend to emphasise on Shedworking that it's good to keep office space and family space separate, but of course this is not a hard and fast rule and some people like to mingle the two concepts. Here's an example of just, a Garden Affairs garden office for a shedworking father who runs a training consultancy firm from home and needs plenty of storage space and room for computer monitors, but also wanted a relaxing space for his two sons.

So the blue 5m x 4m log cabin features a multi-screen, two-desk workspace as well as two sets of double doors and skylight, with plenty of room for his sons and their friends to enjoy some gaming. The spec includes 44mm timber, full insulation and double-glazing, a porch, large picture window and a pitched-roof design to provide a vaulted ceiling.


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Saturday, August 10, 2019

Logical Unsanity 24 Hour Book Shed


If you like books and you like sheds (and frankly, who doesn't?) then you'll love the Logical Unsanity 24 Hour Book Shed in Bardon, Australia, run by Yarran L. Jenkins. The always readable book riot has a nice article about the secondhand bookshop that is open daily and offers mostly $1 & $2 books with an honesty box and no books catalogued online. Here's a snippet:
The book shed has developed a following. Jenkins has three guest books that are completely full of comments. When I asked him why the book shed was so important, he said, “It’s definitely become far more important than I ever thought cause it was definitely just another part of my life of handling books,” he says. “I definitely had no idea whether it was even gonna function nor work as it did. It’s becoming this really important place because of the way people use it and the way people access it.”
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Saturday posts are sponsored by iHUS Projects, specialists in the design and build of granny annexes for elderly and disabled care.

Saturday, August 03, 2019

Linda Strachan: shedworker


Children's author and former chair of the Society of Authors in Scotland, Linda Strachan is a shedworker - her latest book is The Dangerous Lives of the Jacobites: Fact-tastic Stories from Scotland's History. In this guest post, she describes her garden office lifestyle.

Nestled in a village in south east Scotland, ‘Tuscany’ is my shed, my garden writing space. About 12 years ago when we first moved here there was a perfectly ‘shed-shaped’ space in the garden. That summer with help from one of our offspring, my ‘him indoors’ built my writing shed. I wanted a place where I could close myself away from everything else to concentrate on writing; a safe haven for ideas, a peaceful, private space that I need for the creative flow. 

Originally the outside was painted a warm terracotta colour that suggested Tuscany to me, and so the name. It gets really warm, even moderately sunny days so I watch the thermometer closely. When it gets above 28°C with the doors and windows wide open, it’s time to move to a cooler spot for a while and in the winter I have a small electric radiator although I rarely need it on for very long. 

This summer Tuscany  got a new coat of paint both inside and out, thanks again to him indoors, a fresh pale green ‘rosemary’ that I love. He even made a name plate, a wooden gekko and a set of musical bars and notes for the wall. Unlike my home office I have a clear desk, also a pin-board for ideas and notes to myself about the book and a comfy chair for reading. I like to keep an assortment of things around me that make it my own space - ornaments that mean something special or might spark off ideas, including a small collection of gargoyles.

I go out there with no distractions, turning off internet, often playing some quiet music until I get into the flow. I only take out the book I am currently writing, (I sometimes have more than one ongoing at the same time). It’s like being in a quiet bubble with my story. When I need to disappear into a story Tuscany is my escape route, a doorway into other worlds. Just perfect.

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Friday, August 02, 2019

Smart Garden Rooms building of the year


Smart Garden Offices has just announced the winners of its inaugural building of the year competition, chosen from customers who have bought one of their models. The winner is Georgina Hanser from Fairview Farm, near Ipswich who uses her Suffolk Barn model (pictured above) as
day provision for young people aged 16-30 with disabilities or difficulties. Georgina calls the garden office 'Willow' and won £100 in National Garden Centre tokens and a photoshoot of her building

“As a relatively new organisation which provides aspirational day care for young adults with disabilities, we believe a high-quality environment is an essential component of our ethos," she said. "The beautiful yet practical barn has provided us with a dedicated creative space where a wide range of activities are facilitated all year round. Equally, the additional space has enabled us to increase the number of young people we can support each day and subsequently appoint two more fantastic staff."


Runner-up was Hertfordshire-based Simon Thompson with his Ultra Extro. Click here to see more images of his atmospheric interior and inside Willow. -------------------------------------------------------
Friday posts are sponsored by Warwick Buildings, manufacturers of outstanding quality timber buildings. Click here for more information.

Thursday, August 01, 2019

How to design your garden office garden


An interesting new series from Norwegian Log looking at garden design ideas starts with Somerset-based garden designer Sarah Fletcher who suggests how to plant around a log cabin structure like the above. Here's a snippet:
Include some tall, delicately-textured plants which will add height without obscuring the view or making the garden feel hemmed in. Verbena bonariensis, with its lilac, tightly-packed flower heads, gives colour throughout the summer into early autumn, and structure well into winter.It looks lovely partnered with the delicate, star-shaped flowers of Gaura lindheimeri ‘Whirling Butterflies’ which look like they’re dancing in the air on their wiry stems.
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Thursday posts are sponsored by Cabin Master: garden offices and studios to fit any size garden. Top quality contemporary or traditional buildings.