Garden office lit up in solidarity with Ukraine ππππΊπ¦ #IStandWithUkraine pic.twitter.com/UeGeMnQf9z
— NeilMac55 (@_neilmac_) February 26, 2022
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Monday, February 28, 2022
Garden office lit up in solidarity with Ukraine
Sunday, February 27, 2022
George Bernard Shaw's writing hut suffers storm damage
Good and bad news for fans of George Bernard Shaw's iconic writing hut at Shaw's Corner in Hertfordshire. As the picture in sunnier times above indicates, his literary sanctuary now owned by the National Trust is surrounded by trees and when the winds brought down a nearby Scots Pine, it nearly took out one of our foremost shedlike landmarks. The good news is that the tree only gave the hut a mild whack and while it did damage the roof (pictured below and more images of the wreckage in the Welwyn and Hatfield Times), repair work looks like it should not be too extensive.
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Saturday, February 26, 2022
Ben Patrick Holden's Vessel
Derwent Valley-based writer Ben Patrick Holden (who grew up in a travelling circus) works in an intriguing garden office which he calls The Vessel, as he explains in the video below in which he shows us around his writing space. It features a rather nice wasps nest, his hagstone shrine, and a really smart collection of paperclips. Well worth a look.
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Friday, February 25, 2022
Friday Finery - Shepherd's hut shutters
Way back in the early days of Shedworking in 2007, we ran a regular weekly series called Friday Eye Candy which did very much what it said on the tin. This then morphed in 2017 to Shed Box of Delights which did very much what it said on the tin. Today, we're regenerating it Doctor Who style once again to become Friday Finery. And to start it up, here's something beautiful from shepherd's hut specialists Plankbridge. Here's what its founder Richard Lee says about it:
"The medullary rays really stand out on these English oak shutters that Lucy has just made. Great grain selection from the quarter-sawn oak boards."
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Thursday, February 24, 2022
Garden office names as most valuable home improvement
A new study by property portal MoveStreets suggests that the best way of adding value to your property is by investing in a garden office. Its figures say that on average it costs £9,000 but then adds a, very precise, 8.4% to the value of your home - on that basis they reckon that’s nearly £23,00 in the current market.
If that's not possible, they also put a garage conversion right up there, at an average cost of £14,500 but adding £27,000. Both of these blow away conservatories, kitchens, and garden landscaping.
In a related story about working from home, Zoopla's latest research shows that nearly 9 million bedrooms have been lost during the pandemic, around 5 million of them to home offices - more than half of homeowners say they plan to make the change permanent, although 16% say they resent giving up space in their home for the benefit of their employer. The average household spent £3,700 adapting their home during the pandemic. Their findings also show that nearly 7 out of 10 people believe that employers should contribute to the cost of home offices, but just under a third have actually forked out any help at all.
Nick Neill, managing director at estate agents EweMove said: "It's worth considering a garden office, which could be anything from a glorified shed to a swanky purpose-built luxury cabin. Not only can it enable a better work-life balance and space to work outside of the family home, but it will definitely add value to your property and not take it away, which could be the case if you convert a bedroom."
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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, February 23, 2022
Shed Of The Year returns for 2022
Entries for the 16th annual Cuprinol Shed of the Year are now open. Sheddies are encouraged to submit their creations in one of the seven categories for the chance to win the top prize of £1,000 and £100 worth of Cuprinol products.
The categories include Workshop/Studio (pictured above is the 2021 category winner, Ally Scott's The Peculiar Pear in Hampshire) and a special section for Lockdown builds, consolidating the Lockdown New Build and Lockdown Repurpose categories introduced in 2020.
Last year’s overall winner was Danielle Zarb-Cousin who won with her chic 70s-inspired Creme de Menthe bar which she decorated using vintage and charity shop finds. “The shed became a real focus for me during a turbulent time in my life," said Danielle, "and during the first lockdown when there wasn't much to do I think it was really important for us to create spaces in our homes or gardens that gave us the opportunity to escape, unwind and relax and the shed gave me a place to sit and write my blog and to just get away from all the madness going on in the world."
Andrew Wilcox, founder and head judge of the competition, said: “For the past 16 years, sheddies up and down the country have been blowing us away with their brilliant and creative designs. I expect this year to be no different as we’ve seen people build peaceful sanctuaries to retreat to as well as building pubs, social hubs and shops in their back gardens to bring people together after lockdown measures lifted. I can’t wait to see all the imaginative and unique ways people have used their sheds over the past year.”
Marianne Shillingford, creative director at Cuprinol, added: “Every year the Cuprinol Shed of the Year competition reaffirms just how important our sheds are to us. Whether it's a workshop, a place to socialise or a sanctuary away from the house, sheds provide us with a little place of our own and a creative outlet for an individual’s unique artistic vision. Each year we see people push what a shed can be to its limits, so I can’t wait to see some of the most eccentric, beautiful and magnificent designs this country’s sheddies have to offer.”
Entries need to include at least two photos of their dazzling designs along with an explanation of their inspiration and what makes their shed stand out. This year’s categories are: Budget Cabin/Summerhouse, Pub & Entertainment , Unexpected/Unique, Workshop/Studio, Nature’s Haven, and Lockdown. Entries can be submitted until April 19 at https://www.readersheds.co.uk/shedme.cfm. The shortlist will then be selected by a panel of judges before the public vote opens to select the nation’s favourite shed for 2022. Category winners will be announced in August.
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Tuesday, February 22, 2022
Storm Franklin and Eunice vs garden offices
I didn’t take much notice of #StormEunice. Until the tree from 4 doors up crashed thru my garden studio & bathroom. I’m a grown adult but shaking like a leaf. Imagine that hitting a classroom. Or a school bus or car full of kids. Dangerous, scary stuff. Kids should be home safe. pic.twitter.com/xtJOMP3RHJ
— ⚫ Yuron Mute (@pip_pip_hooray) February 18, 2022
Have just bought all precious things in from the garden studio… pretty much all of it as I don’t fancy stumbling round the garden at 2am picking up hundreds of pencils and crystals π
— Laura π±π (@thebowerhare) February 17, 2022
Tree just fell on my writing shed while I was in it. I’m ok. I *think* the shed is ok. But bloody hell, the noise was scary π
— Tor Udall π (@TorUdall) February 21, 2022
I'll read Chapter 4 tomorrow, I promise, can't get in my writing shed because it's underneath a great big tree and the winds are still strong in London at the moment!In the meantime, here's Chapter 3 of How to Betray a Dragon's Hero, see below:#readingaloud #Booktrusthometime https://t.co/u09UK4VVYw
— Cressida Cowell (@CressidaCowell) February 21, 2022
Well, it turns out that working in the house this morning was a good call. My poor writing shed... #StormEunice pic.twitter.com/SMC87YPegu
— Paul C. Mercer (@Paul_C_Mercer) February 18, 2022
Feels like quite a hazardous commute to the writing shed this morning anyway. #StormEunice
— Eve Chase (@EvePollyChase) February 18, 2022
Storm Eunice brought our next door neighbour tree on top of our garden office. Never seen such strong wind in london pic.twitter.com/8mHbZzACrl
— Ian Wong (@Ian_HKU) February 19, 2022
Very grateful to have had the support of a builder mate who has kindly temp fixed my garden office roof. And thanks to the neighbours for clearing it all up from their back garden. #kent #StormEunice
— Graham Clewes (@GrahamClewes) February 18, 2022
I am slowly seeing tree branches littering the garden! Huddled in my garden office hoping that I won’t be blown away! #StormEunice
— Dr. Nasreen Majid (@DrMajid_nasreen) February 18, 2022
So my garden office is my first #eunice casualty. Hopefully it stops there pic.twitter.com/LzMt76IbSS
— Graham Clewes (@GrahamClewes) February 18, 2022
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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, February 21, 2022
Shed history: The first Anderson shelter is erected on this day 1939
Plans for civilian protection from air raids in the UK had been underway well before the beginning of the Second World War in 1939. One of the earliest provisions was the Anderson shelter (pictured above is part of the official installation instructions), designed in 1938 by Dr David Anderson, William Paterson and Oscar Carl Kerrison and first built in Islington, London, on 25 February 1939. A shed-like galvanized corrugated steel structure of 2 x 1.4m, the shelter was erected in domestic back gardens sunk 1.2m into the ground and then covered with earth. Able to accommodate up to six people, they were provided to more than three million people living in the most exposed locations and were free to those earning under £5 a week (£7 to everyone else).
Although they undoubtedly saved lives, they were of no use to those without gardens and were uncomfortable and prone to damp. They gradually fell out of use, to be replaced by the cage-like indoor Morrison shelters. After the war, many Anderson shelters continued life as chicken coops or tool sheds.
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Friday, February 18, 2022
Photographic studio garden office
Here's a clever 5m x 4m garden office for a professional photographer which has been built with two round windows to echo the lens of a camera, then white rendered to add to the effect. It comes from HUG (which stands for 'How Unique Garden Rooms) who first had to clear an overgrown garden to prepare a base, then constructed the office with cedar cladding with the intention that it would aged to a dusty grey to add to the box camera appearance. Planting around the garden office features pebbles for a beach hut atmosphere according to the client's request.
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Thursday, February 17, 2022
Wine den
Technically, this is what the estate agents Davis Tate selling this property in Sonning, Berkshire (Little Butts cottage, three bed, on the market for £1.1m), call a 'wine den' but they go on to add that since it also has a wood burner it makes it "the perfect place for relaxation throughout the year" or indeed for some summer shedworking. As we asked last month, how many walls does a garden office really need?
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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, February 16, 2022
Be careful out there shedworkers
A garden office is great, until it's heavily raining and you slip while running with your newly made cup of tea.
— trovster (@trovster) February 15, 2022
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Tuesday, February 15, 2022
Garden studio with tree
There are often problems when siting garden offices. But sometimes the challenge ends up adding to the final build. Here's a rather nice illustration, a London garden studio designed to be used as a yoga studio and work studio by Locorum& (more images at the link) which incorporates the family's favourite bay tree. Here's what they say about it:
Designing the space around the bay tree gave it an immanent quality of being connected with nature. It was important that the materials used resonated with the atmosphere of the space. The facade was clad in charred larch battens, the interior with birch ply and the roof topped with sedum. Copper panels set into the facade emanated a warmth when lit at night.
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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, February 14, 2022
Tony Rogers: Roman Temple - Shed of the Year winner
The Shedworking staff were very sorry to hear from Uncle Wilco of the death of Tony Rogers, the winner of the very first Shed of the Year in 2007 for his remarkable Roman Temple. It's still perhaps our favourite build and it sparked a huge new wave of interest in shedlife. Here's what he said about this iconic shed's origins:
I remember admiring a ruined temple one year at the Chelsea Flower show in a garden-stone display. Following on from my interest in all things Roman, I was standing at the kitchen window one day some time later when I casually suggested to my wife that the shed might look better if it was converted to a Roman Temple. She was not amused!
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Sunday, February 13, 2022
SjΓ³n: shedworker
One of the very few Icelandic writers most people can name (apart from those people living in Iceland), SjΓ³n is also a shedworker (pictured above, shedworking). Icelandic Novelist SjΓ³n's Secret Weapon is an interesting piece of radio from the BBC in which he talks about his favourite secondhand bookshop, work in progress, and his former fishman's housewriting hut which is plated with black corrugated steel on Iceland's south coast where the magic happens. Here's what the BBC says about it:
How this Icelandic writer’s couch gives him the inspirational space he needs to work. As a novelist who likes to write as little and seldom as possible, SjΓ³n uses his sofa as a way of establishing his writing zone. Being his bed for naps and his writing chair while working, it allows him to get back to the moment when he felt he had a story to tell
It's only a half hour segment but you can listen to a much shorter clipt about the couch and his naps.
Apparently, the hut lost its chimney a few years ago during an earthquake.
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Saturday, February 12, 2022
Lowestoft's intriguing new beach huts nearing completion
Work is moving forward on the build of contemporary new beach huts (pictured above) on Lowestoft’s South Beach. The first delivery of components for the huts arrived just before the weekend and further deliveries will continue to take place each Thursday and Friday, followed by offloading the following Monday. This will happen for the next 7 weeks, subject to weather conditions.
Designed by architects Chaplin Farrant, the split-level beach huts will face partially south to ensure maximum sunshine throughout the day while the tips of the structures will face eastwards, reflecting Lowestoft’s position as the most easterly location in the country.
Cllr Craig Rivett, East Suffolk Council’s Deputy Leader and cabinet member for Economic Development said: “This is an exciting step in the project to build these bold new beach huts which will absolutely help Lowestoft to gain further recognition as a visitor destination. These huts, along with other regeneration projects taking place along the seafront, will help to attract visitors to the town, enhancing the local economy and the lives of local residents.”
The eye-catching new beach huts are expected to be completed in May. Of the 72 huts, 36 will go on sale, with the remaining 36 available for short term hire. For more details about buying a beach hut email lowestoft.beach@eastsuffolk.gov.uk
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Friday, February 11, 2022
Steel frame garden offices
Timber remains the most common garden office frame but there are alternatives. Burton-on-Trent-based OffPOD is among the few suppliers who specialise in steel frame garden rooms which they say are built to feel like a 'disconnected extension' of the home. They say their goal is not only to "offer an improved product with a high level of customer service" but also "bring change to the industry by utilising emerging modern building methods which bring about the same outcome but a hell of a lot faster." There's a good 'Why steel is better than wood' section on the OffPOD site (in essence, they argue it doesn't rot, is more recyclable, is less messy during the build, and is actually cheaper). Other steel frame-based suppliers include Booths Garden Studios, Number 17, Permaroof, Hanson, and Kew Green.
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Thursday, February 10, 2022
Garden offices in France
The venerable Uncle Wilco pointed out to me the other day that the regulations for building garden offices - the 'taxe d’amΓ©nagement' - in France are about to change. There's a good piece in Complete France magazine about what they call the 'garden shed tax' which is a must-read if this applies to you. Here's a snippet:
The taxe d’amΓ©nagement (development tax) applies to home development projects that are subject to planning permission eg. construction of new sheds or extensions such as conservatories. The ‘valeur forfaitaire’, (standard value) per m², used to calculate tax for these new constructions is reviewed each year in relation to changes in the construction cost index. For 2022, the standard values have been set at €820/m2 outside Γle-de-France (compared to €767/m² in 2021) and €929/m² in Γle-de-France (compared to €870/m² in 2021).
Image courtesy French architects JCPCDR
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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, February 09, 2022
Garden office ideas
There are several well illustrated books about decorating your shedlike atmospher (we'd particularly recommend those by Sally Coulthard), but if you're looking for a quick flick of online ideas, Ideal Home has put together '25 inspiring looks for your own outdoor room'. It's quite a wide range, but there's almost certainly something there that give you pause for creative thought.
Image courtesy Cuprinol.
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Tuesday, February 08, 2022
Peter Rising: shedworker
IT and Microsoft expert Peter Rising has been happily charting the build of his new garden office from Smart on his Twitter feed (pictured above) and is well worth a look for anybody interested in how one of these is put together. The video Peter has put together below is particularly interesting as most interior shots we see of garden offices are once they're fully furnished but this shows what it is like from ground zero.
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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, February 07, 2022
Linear Meter Calculator
Today we have a guest post from Mark Burton of Tiny House Cabins.
To some it comes naturally when working out how many linear metres of timber is required for particular project. To others, it’s not so easy. Just getting your head round a relatively easy calculation can become very confusing.
Simply put, if you had a 1 metre x 1 metre area the square metre area would be 1 square metre. To work out the linear meters in a 1 square metre area would depend on how wide the boards are cut. Assuming the boards needed were 100mm wide, you divide 1000mm by 100mm, which will be 10. So…. At 100mm wide boards in a 1 square meter area you will have 10 linear metres. Pretty easy really, yeah?
It gets a bit more complicated when you start to use larger areas, different widths, longer lengths and multiplying the total by a given price. For example: The area is 4 metres x 6 metres and you intend using 22cm wide boards at 3 m lengths. Before you start to work it all out or you are not mathematically minded, there is an easier way to get the answer you need by using the Linear Meter Calculator. It will even tell you how many boards you would need and more importantly, if you know the price per linear meter… how much it will all cost? Don’t forget to add 10 or 20% for wastage depending how far apart your fixings are going to be.
Mark is currently working on a downloadable app to bring his calculator to your mobile but in the meantime you can use it by clicking on the link above.
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Sunday, February 06, 2022
Film-maker's hut
A rather lovely churchlike studio by a lake for a film-maker in Finland by Pirinen & Salo. Clad in wooden shingles, it's reached by a walkway from the lake. Features include a double height main study area, built-in bookshelves and desk, a leather sofa, cast iron fireplace, and mezzanine level. Photo by Marc Goodwin (more at the link above).
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Saturday, February 05, 2022
Name Name Pod
Cork is a more popular building material than you might think when it comes to garden offices. We've covered several examples before on Shedworking, but here's a rather nice example from U-Build called the Name Name Pod in south east London.
Designed and built by designer Michelle Tacdol who runs her Name Name business from this attractive garden studio, it has cork cladding on the exterior for textural reasons with obvious sound/insulation benefits. Other features include a rather nice rooflight and a green roof. As U-Build say: "Who says you can’t fit a square pod with a round hole?"
Photo by Jim Stephenson and lots more at the link above and at Name Name on Instagram.
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