The Shedworking staff have seen many depictions of Dylan Thomas's writing hut in Wales but this is quite unique. It's a panel in kiln formed glass with paint (45cm x 45cm), a lovely piece of work by glass artist Frances Arkle.
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Insurance specialists Ryan's have announced the winner of their second annual Beach Hut of the Year in association with Millie's Beach Huts.
Judges Veronica Henry (bestselling
author of The Beach Hut, Christmas at the Beach
Hut and A Wedding at the Beach Hut) and Vicky Gunn from Millie's chose Isobel and Paul Robson's hut on Mundesley seafront in Norfolk which is a meeting spot for the North Norfolk Crawlers who enjoy bracing early morning sea swims.
First prize is £300 plus a year's free insurance, a luxury hamper, winner's plaque, plus £150 donation to the winner's beach hut association.
Veronica Henry said: "I loved reading all the stories behind the beach huts and seeing the huge benefits they had brought to people’s lives. If only we could all have a beach hut on prescription!"
Vicky said she found it hard not to get emotional when reading the stories behind this years entries. "Having a local group and hut like this one would have definitely made me discover the huge health and mental wellbeing benefits of wild swimming that we've all desperately needed this year. I particularly love how not only did the hut bring people together but how it's collective use shone through in it's décor too. My Instagram feeds are always full of younger members of families enjoying a dip in the sea, I'm hoping this may inspire lots more mums and dads to join them too!"
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Although they are designed as BBQ cabins, Arctic Cabins' distinctive buildings often serve multiple purposes. Here's a 10m² model belonging to mental health social worker Julie in Scarborough which was fully erected in just four hours. This is what she says about it:
"I use the Cabin at least three times a week, many more in the Winter," says Julie. "I just love to light the fire on a dreary afternoon and spend the day reading, relaxing, snoozing and crafting whilst watching the world go by from our country lane. In fact, it has helped reignite my love for knitting again and I have started doing it again after many years. I have found it to be the most wonderful serene place to relax in after a hard, long and stressful week. I have spent many weekend hours crafting in my hut with a nice cup of tea and the fire roaring."
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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 
"A truly exceptional garden room with all the bells and whistles, built on a tricky sloping site. It sits beautifully within its surroundings and must be a joy to work in. This project sets the bar very high for garden offices.”
Ross Hogston, Director of Oakston Solutions, said: “I’m buzzing to win. The customer being happy at the end of it, knowing he goes into the office every day to work, that’s the best bit of the build.” Iain McIlwee, Chief Executive of the Finishes and Interiors Sector, and National Judge for this award category, added: “If Carlsberg did garden offices, it would be this one. It’s a garden office with a difference. With so many comforts and so much thought put into it, it looks like an amazing place to work.”
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This and other important questions about how a garden office can fit nicely into your garden are addressed in an excellent article by Liz Nicholson from expert garden designers Nicholsons who have been at Chelsea Flower Show this week as we reported on Wednesday. In 'How to create an inspiring garden office', on the Savills blog (she knows whereof she speaks as Nicholsons HQ built five work-from-home huts last year during the pandemic at their headquarters, pictured above). Read the full post at the link above but here's a snippet about planting for all seasons:
Planting trees and shrubs for seasonal interest will give added structure to any garden. Some of my favourite choices include Betula utilis jacquemontii, with its wonderful white stems that glow on winter mornings and soft apple-green shade in summer. Rowan trees are well known for attracting birds and buddleia bushes bring in butterflies, all adding interest. Lavender meanwhile is good for bees, winter architecture and herbal cookies. Most importantly, hang a bird table for those dreamy moments when you look up from your work and take in your fabulous surroundings.
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The Apollo range from Timothy Oulton is designed as a private dinner lounge setting for rather nice restaurants around the world (Gordan Ramsay has one in his Bread Street Kitchen in London), but there's no reason they couldn't be used as a distinctive garden office, even for interior shedworking if you have the space.
The same dimensions as the famous capsule that touched down on the moon for the first time in 1969, each Apollo is bespoke but they all have polished stainless steel shells, Odeon pendants, and glowing alabaster tables - inside expect features such as tufted Tomahawk Camel leather, Chinese embroidered silk, and vintage Persian rugs. You can seat about eight people inside so there would be plenty of room if you wanted to deck one out as an office.
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One for the shed section of your bookshelf, Shed Heaven by Anna Groves is published by National Trust/Pavilion. What makes this stand out for those working in garden offices, is that in addition to the various sheds owned by the NT on their properties, there is a significant focus on the ones in which people worked. There'll be no surprises for readers of Shedworking in terms of the properties, but it's nicely done. Here's the bumph:
"The National Trust looks after many of Britain’s most important and beloved buildings – its sheds. They lurk in the shadow of grand country houses; they brave the elements on the tops of cliffs; they have inspired famous writers and housed everything from beehives to birdwatchers.
"These beautiful and sometimes eccentric structures are as individual as their owners. A Victorian coastal shed in Cornwall is where the Reverend Hawker went to write verse, and smoke opium. It’s also the smallest building cared for by the National Trust. George Bernard Shaw’s shed could be rotated throughout the day to make the most of the sun, while sculptor Barbara Hepworth used hers for napping in. Rather than a place in which to create, many of these sheds are the creation.
"Alongside the literary writing dens and horticultural hideaways there are also floating sheds, coastguards’ sheds, artists’ studios, summer houses, beach huts, camping pods, bothies, teahouses, follies and much more."
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We've been following the build of Piers Morgan's garden office on Shedworking for nearly a year now, but here's the finished product from Archipod. It's one of their 3m models and here's what they say about it:
"Special features on this one are the walnut veneer desk, with burr walnut edge, and curved shelf unit. The desk had a few firsts, with having to steam bend the edgings, and the steel on the shelves had to be blackened by heating with a blow torch, and brushing oil on with a wire wool brush (we did have a couple of ‘flame outs’ whilst doing it!)."
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The place to catch garden offices this year at Chelsea Flower Show is not in the big gardens where the media swoop on the great and the good, but at the trade stands. We looked at Plankbridge yesterday, but today the focus is on the excellent artist's studio on display at sculptor David Harber's stand at MA336, already the recipient this year of a five start trade stand award. Sponsored by property specialists Savills and the garden design practice Nicholsons, the garden shows off Harber's intriguing work (for images look here) as well as the advantages of shedworking, and includes an on-site kitchen.
Here's what founder Liz Nicholson says about it: "The show garden was designed as an inspiration to encourage people to work from home in green spaces for creative thought and mental wellbeing and most importantly reduce the commute to help protect our planet."
There is an excellent diary of the build on the Nicholsons website with lots of photos, a day by day account of how it was built, and gratifying full details of everybody who was involved in the build, in front and behind the scenes.
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This year's Chelsea Flower Show is not a great one for garden offices, which is a little strange considering that they are probably the biggest trend in the garden world at the moment (though there is a nod to pandemic gardening in the considerable focus on balcony gardening). So it's nice to see one of the show's stalwarts, shepherd's hut specialist Plankbridge, is still flying the flag.
Pictured above are images from their stand, plus one of their many visitors, musician Cerys Matthews. Below is a typically witty Plankbridge sign...
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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 
Our list of favourite garden office features includes a semi-underground build, ability to revolve, and room for a cider press. But that list also includes mirrored exterior and you now have a chance to buy your very own.
Knight Frank is marketing a property in Surey (between Wotton-under-Edge and Tetbury) called The Round House. It's of major architectural importance, contains a world class music recording studio, seven bedrooms, and numerous outbuildings, among them in the garden a
mirrored annexe - pictured above - which has been built into the side of a slope. The studio also comes with an en-suite shower room and attached
garden store. And it can all be yours for just £5,950,000.
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And still the advice on tax and garden offices keeps coming, the latest thoughts coming from chartered accountants M.B. McGrady & Co. Full article at the link but here are the key takeaways:
- Tax relief cannot usually be claimed on the cost of a garden office building
- However, tax relief can be claimed on furnishings and equipment used in the building
- Capital allowances can be claimed on thermal insulation and some wiring/plumbing
- Tax relief can be claimed on running costs, such as heating, lighting and repairs
- VAT can be reclaimed on the costs of the building itself and the ongoing running costs
As always, we recommend talking to your personal financial adviser about all garden office-related tax issues before making any claims.
Image courtesy Moonalabs
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RHS Chelsea is going big on houseplants this year as we reported last week. One of the most intriguing elements promises to be the Zen Cabin setup put together by biophilic design studio Ro Co. Here's what they say about it:
"‘The Zen Cabin’ will help to realise the fantasy of a city dweller who longs for a wild, secret space to retreat to in challenging times. The planting will ignite the senses with colour, texture, sound, taste and nostalgic natural fragrances. We’ll be inviting visitors in one by one to experience an intimate peace and personal connection with houseplants and nature."
Illustration by Rachel Hillis and more information in the video below.
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Once you've bought your garden office, you don't have to live with the exterior finish forever. Decking supplier Cladco offers a range of possibilities for those who want to freshen up their shedworking space with minimal ongoing maintenance. Their boards are made from 60% FSC Certified wood fibres and 40% recycled plastics Above, a building clad in Stone Grey Woodgrain Composite Wall Cladding. Below, the mobile glamping shepherd's hut run by The Hut Life in north Devon, in Ivory Wall Cladding.
And here's another Stone Grey, tongue-and-groove, with matching corner trims around the edges of windows and doors. You can see more examples in the company's gallery here.
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Every so often the tech media run a piece on how to extend the wifi to your garden office to guarantee a decent speed and stability. But it's also useful to have the advice and experience of shedworkers on the ground and they provided their hive mind support to writer and broadcaster Greg Jenner when he asked for help on Twitter. You can read all the replies here but here is a selection of suggestions:
Sorry Greg, but cables for the win. Wifi is for people who don't understand that it's a backup for cables.
— TheEggmaster (@theeggmaster) September 15, 2021
Genuine answer if I was doing this is use a cable. https://t.co/naqNMKEfmi
— Skip Survey 🏳️🌈 🏳️⚧️ (@JonMarkDeane) September 14, 2021
Starlink, Greg. I went from 3mbps where I live to (fluctuating but so worth it) 260mbps …
— Jon Holmes (@jonholmes1) September 14, 2021
You mentioned that cabling underground is problematic. I wonder if a mesh network might be the best answer. I am using Google WiFi and it feel far more superior to my Netgear WiFi extender. Get a router with 2 points. 1 point in kitchen. 1 point in garden office.
— Tony B (@Saltbar) September 15, 2021
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The ongoing beach hut price saga is about to ratchet up to another level with the arrival onto the property markeet of this hut on the always expensive Mudeford Sand Spit in Christchurch, Dorset, at an asking price of £570,000. It has dual aspect front and back views of the harbour and beach, and features a mezzanine, solar panels to provide electricity, and sleeps six. The kitchen has a stone work top and integrated fridge freezer. On with Denisons Estate Agents where you can find more details and images.
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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 
