Thursday, March 31, 2022

Time running out to enter Shed of the Year 2020


There's only just over a fortnight to get your entries in for this year's Cuprinol Shed of the Year competition. Here's a flavour of the entries so far, the Mid Century Modshed owned by Stephanie Antrobus from Oldham, who created it as a refuge from the hurly burly of general life. Inspired by the mid-century modern design movement, it features a retro 1970s music centre, while all furniture and interior decor has been sourced from charity/antique shops and eBay. Pride of place goes to Stephanie’s collection of uranium glassware that gives off a green glow under light. 

As the cherished competition enters its 16th year, there is still time to enter one of seven categories which include the new lockdown category. Entries for this year’s competition close on April 19. 

“The entries for this year’s Cuprinol Shed Of The Year really exemplify the very best of British creativity and eccentricity," says competition founder and organiser, Uncle Wilco, "from creating fantasy lands, to cool refuges from modern life and a musical haven in the back garden.” 

Marianne Shillingford, Creative Director at Cuprinol, adds: “Recent years have been challenging for many of us, which is why it is so delightful to see such a flowering of creativity with this year’s competition. There’s still time to showcase your efforts, so don’t delay, enter now!” 

A public vote will crown the winner from each of the seven categories before a judging panel will name the overall Cuprinol Shed Of The Year 2022. Winners will be announced in August, with the champion awarded £1,000 prize money and £100 worth of Cuprinol products. Entries can be submitted at readersheds.co.uk


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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, March 30, 2022

Garden office is top of wish lists

When asked what home projects they’d invest in if money were no object, a third of people in a new survey by money.co.uk said a work studio or garden summer house, with almost a fifth going for a greenhouse. 

Its annual Renovation Nation Report found that the average UK homeowner has spent £1,473 on home renovations, furnishing and DIY projects over the last year, with one in five spending the majority of their home improvement money on their garden. Around 20% funded these works using money originally intended for holidays, with 7% using money originally intended to buy a car, and 5% previously intended for an engagement ring. Just over a quarter of the 2065 people asked said that spending less money on going out had given them more money to spend on their homes and over a fifth  cited wanting to increase the value of their home. In a separate study, British homeowners plan to spend a collective £217 billion on renovations and extensions over the next two years, according to Direct Line Home Insurance.

Image courtesy Moonalabs

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Wednesday’s posts are sponsored by Norwegian Log Buildings  - Log cabins and garden buildings for a better quality of life. Click here for more details.

 

Tuesday, March 29, 2022

Study Box

Bert's Boxes - part of the Bert & May design group - launched its Study Box model during the pandemic targeting very clearly those people looking for a garden office. Here's a fine example belonging to Anna Ferguson which replaced a rotting wooden hut at the bottom of their garden. It has plenty of reclaimed timber both on the interior and exterior, features black and white Bert & May tiles, and windows that match the Crittall-style windows at the back of the house. This is what Anna says about it:

"We use it mainly as a home office but have set it up with a large comfy sofa and drinks fridge full of beer and wine. Both me and my partner use it for work (we have to take turns as we both want to be in it!) and occasionally our greyhound joins us as he likes lying on the heated floor! If homeworking diminishes and as our little boy grows up, we can imagine it becoming a really cool hang out space for a teenager."

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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, March 28, 2022

Garden studio clad in Gendai Yakisugi


 
A black exterior on garden offices was once a major trend but now it has become fairly common. However there is black exterior and black exterior and one way of doing it is provided by this garden studio designed and built by Nakamoto Forestry Europe.  It's done using a 'Gendai Yakisugi' technique, charred and then brushed. Here's what they say about it:

"Gendai is our most popular Yakisugi (brushed Shou Sugi Ban) surface for exterior applications. A single pass through the brush machine knocks down the heavy soot layer and leaves a smooth, silky look. The burnt fibre crevasse shadows are subtle, and Gendai can either be installed without oil prefinish, with a traditional oil prefinish, or with a water-based oil prefinish depending on the appearance or colour desired."

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

 

Sunday, March 27, 2022

EcoShed 01


There are some remarkable garden office builds nowadays, but there is also something immensely satisfying in something with a strongly traditional ethos. This is EcoShed 01 from Shape Architecture, in a quite spot in Loris Gardens, Hammersmith, London. It's a beam and post build, clad it timber, and with a green sedum roof, what the architects describe as "merging into its garden setting and providing an oasis of calm". Inside the green roof ethos is continued, with plenty of secondhand/upcycled features including doors used as flooring, and a recycled sink. There's an equally impressive EcoShed 02 with a rubble roof also in Hammersmith which is well worth a look.

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Sunday posts are sponsored by Henshalls Insurance, specialists in insuring garden offices and other garden buildings. Click here for more information.



 

 

Saturday, March 26, 2022

Garden gym man cave


Home gyms have taken off in much the same way as garden offices over the last decade and here's a fine example, built in Henley-on-Thames by Norwegian Log. It's owned by Richard Lawrance, a keen marathon runner and fitness enthusiast, who calls the silvery 6m x 4m space his 'man cave' - it features a sauna, weights bench, darts board and pool table, as well as double bi-fold doors. Richard says he has used his running machine "instead of training along the river in the miserable weather. I opened up the gym’s wide doors, put the music on, and it was almost like running outside without getting wet.

“I couldn’t live without the building now. I’m just delighted as it’s such a versatile space. If I’d had a gym in the garage it would have been cold and horrible. This is self-contained, away from the house and I can go and lose myself in there if I want to."

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Friday, March 25, 2022

Win a personal visit to Cressida Cowell's writing shed

Here's a cracking competition for shedworkers. The National Literacy Trust is running a Gala Auction (bidding on items to close at 10pm next Tuesday, March 29) to raise funds for their very worthy work "changing the life stories of the most disadvantaged children in the UK. Through literacy we provide a route out of poverty."

The winner of this item will get to virtually meet writer Cressida Cowell (author of the How to Train Your Dragon and The Wizards of Once books) via a private Zoom call. She will give you a virtual tour of her writing shed which we regularly feature here on Shedworking as well as chat about her work and current projects. More details at the National Literacy Trust.



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

 

Thursday, March 24, 2022

Garden studio design inspired by Gaudí

Here's one from the drawing board that we're looking forward to seeing in real life. It's a garden office designed by Shape Architecture that has been just been given the green light from the planning folk. It will eventually be located at the top of a steep garden owned by a carpenter who has an interest in the work of Catalan architect Antoní Gaudí, celebrated by Shape in the Gaudíesque roof shaping.

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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, March 23, 2022

Karin Celestine: shedworker


Karin Celestine is the creative force behind Celestine and the Hare. From her garden office shed in her back garden in Monmouth, Wales - crowdfunded by supporters and built by Garden Affairs - she makes needlefelted woollen creatures which she sells online and in galleries, and runs popular needle felting workshops. She also produces stop motion animations of them and writes about them in a growing range of children’s books published by Graffeg. Here's what she says about her work:

I love the inbetween, that is where I am most happy, in myself as a mixed heritage non binary person and in my work combining art and science, and in my worlds I create where real meets fairy tale and folklore. I have a love of the magical worlds that exist just out of the corner of our eye, the idea that creatures are going about their every day business, watering their flowers, reading books in the woods,
Karin calls her space 'Shed of Glory', a wonderful name. Here's what she says about it:

"It looks like a little Swedish red house on the outside. Inside the wood feels so lovely to be around. It is so easy to put up shelves or hooks. It is warm and cosy, The doors and windows all work and are double glazed but there is something cosy about being in a small wooden space. I have all my stuff around me, pictures on the walls.. I just love it so much. And I’m planning on a green roof for it too so it will be helping the wildlife as well as making me happy inside.

Here's an example of her work, The Lightbringers, the first in a four-part series called Tales of the Turning Year, based on the seasons, nature and folklore.

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Wednesday’s posts are sponsored by Norwegian Log Buildings  - Log cabins and garden buildings for a better quality of life. Click here for more details.

 

Tuesday, March 22, 2022

Kate Silverton: shedworker

An interesting look at television presenter Kate Silverton's garden office in the Daily Mail. The Shedworking staff are always rather doubtful about these things because celebrity garden offices always seem to be remarkably tidy and include slightly odd placements (such as the books shelved cover out), but still worth a look - essentially she focuses on photos of her family, royalty, and a lion, plus a childhood swimming trophy (again in a strange location) and some objects she uses during her retraining as a child psychotherapist.

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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, March 21, 2022

Garden office warning for shedworkers

Henshalls, which specialises in insurance for garden offices and other garden buildings, has warned that opportunist theives are increasingly targeting office sheds and outbuildings.

“With so many people working from home due to the Coronavirus restrictions, there has been a real surge in the search for separate office space," said Director Dave Williams, "and even though restrictions have eased, many employees will still be splitting their time between the office and home. And this trend has seen opportunist thieves step up their activities as they realise there is all kinds of technology and equipment stored in quiet and isolated buildings at the bottom of people’s gardens.”

Dave said most home insurance policies offered some level of garden cover, but not to the level of the true value of the items that a home office was likely to include. “Some insurance policies will cover items stored in sheds as standard, but with some firms there could be an extra cost to add them to your cover. Any items stored in a shed or garden office would usually be covered for theft under a homeowner’s contents insurance.

“But there is generally a limit as to how much you’ll be able to claim and under some policies, you will only be eligible to claim if the outbuilding was locked and you can prove entry was forced. You may want to consider a specific specialised shed working insurance policy that will cover every eventuality because figures have shown that it can take up to a month for a home-based business or shed worker to get fully operational again after being the victim of a crime.

“And of course, if you can’t work, you’re losing money which could lead to potentially critical cashflow problems. With the home working revolution that has taken place over the last two years, it’s important to have the right insurance cover in place to protect yourself and your business – don’t just assume your home insurance will be enough.”

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

 

Sunday, March 20, 2022

Thoreau's Walden hut and climate change

An interesting piece of research on JSTOR Daily about the godfather of Shedworking, Henry David Thoreau, and what the Walden Pond location (picture above on a postcard) where he built his famous hut can tell us about climate change. Read the whole thing (nice and short) at the link above, but here's the key takeaway:

The research team identified tree and shrub species that Thoreau had taken notes about, then monitored when these species produced leaves. Before the study, the researchers did not expect to see a drastic change because these species were well-rooted and protected by the canopy in this location. However, after monitoring for five years they found that these species were universally leafing out approximately 18 days earlier than Thoreau had recorded.

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Sunday posts are sponsored by Henshalls Insurance, specialists in insuring garden offices and other garden buildings. Click here for more information.

Saturday, March 19, 2022

Garden office bar ideas

The idea of adding a bar to your garden building really took off during lockdown and if you're thinking of going down the same path, Smart has put together a nice brief look at half a dozen ideas to help you along the way, from conventional bar and cocktail lounge (pictured above), to bar spa and glass bar. Well worth a browse, though take it easy if you're considering adding one to your garden office.

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Welcome to your new teak garden room from Moonalabs. Unparalleled quality at an affordable price.

Friday, March 18, 2022

Rise in shedworking leads to decline in doughnut sales and increase in blazers


An intriguing report from the Office of National Statistics about its 2022 'inflation basket of goods' - the 700+ items that it uses to measure the changing cost of living in the UK - suggests the rise of shedworking and general uptake of 'non-traditional offices' has been responsible for some major societal changes.

Perhaps most attention grabbing is this statement. "The increase in homeworking has seen sales of individual cakes decline in favour of multipacks, so our representative sweet treat, the single doughnut, is leaving the basket this year." 

 ONS head of economic statistics Sam Beckett added: “The 2022 basket of goods sees some really interesting changes, with the impact of the pandemic still evident in our shopping habits. With many people still working from home, demand for more formal clothing has continued to decrease. So, men’s suits disappear from the basket and are replaced with a formal jacket or blazer."

If you are wearing more blazers and eating fewer doughnuts, we'd be interested to hear from you.

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

Thursday, March 17, 2022

Rachel Camilleri: shedworker


Salford-based abstract artist Rachel Camilleri known for her bold colours and textures is also the proud owner of a Swift Garden Rooms garden studio, "where creativity flows and the magic happens!" as she puts it. Studio appointments are available on request to take a look at her artwork more closely if you are interested in buying.

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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, March 16, 2022

Green garden office


Although external garden office colours go through their fashions, Shedworking HQ staff always enjoy a really good green one. Here's an example from Garden Spaces in Swiss Cottage, London, coming in at 3.7m x 4m x 2.5m.

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Wednesday’s posts are sponsored by Norwegian Log Buildings  - Log cabins and garden buildings for a better quality of life. Click here for more details.

 

Tuesday, March 15, 2022

30% off brand new SMART garden office

 
Every so often garden office suppliers have a special bargain available at short notice. If you're in the market right now, SMART has a great deal with nearly a third off a new Viewline 3.2m x 2.6m Ultra model. Originally £21,400, it's available at just £15,000 (with free delivery/installation withing 100 miles of their showroom but without base and electrical connection) because of a customer's change in circumstance. 
 
In brief, it's a Midnight Black chassis with natural cedar cladding, comes with blinds to double doors and windows, features internal and external LED lights, a freestanding oil-filled radiator, eight double sockets, Cat 6 socket, and eye level window with opaque glass. Click the link above for more details.

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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, March 14, 2022

Writing Shed postcard fundraiser for Ukraine

Dinah Johnson who runs the marvellous Handwritten Letter Appreciation Society from her writing shed garden office has organised a postcard fundraiser for the Disasters Emergency Committee Ukraine Appeal.

It's a simple idea. You donate £5 and Dinah sends you - wherever you live in the world - a lovely postcard of her Letter Writing Shed written by her, the founder. All proceeds (after postage) go to the appeal to help the people of Ukraine. You can pay at her site by PayPal by clicking here or if you live in the UK you can also send a cheque made payable to “The Handwritten Letter Appreciation Society” to PO Box 9347, Swanage, Dorset, BH19 9BG.

"Thank you so much for considering sponsoring a postcard," says Dinah. "Writing postcards is one thing I know I can do."

We've done it here at Shedworking HQ and we hope you will consider doing so too. 

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

Sunday, March 13, 2022

A Century of the Artist’s Studio: 1920 – 2020

While by no means all artists are shedworkers, the artist's studio is still a staple category in the garden office world. There's a particularly interesting exhibition on at the Whitechapel Gallery in London which looks back at a century of artists' studios (with accompanying catalogue, pictured above). Here's what they say:

Whether it be an abandoned factory, an attic or a kitchen table, it is the artist’s studio where the great art of our time is conceived and created. In this multi-media exhibition, the wide-ranging possibilities and significance of these crucibles of creativity take centre stage and new art histories around the modern studio emerge through striking juxtapositions of under-recognised artists with celebrated figures in Western art history.

Plenty of the usual suspects including Francis Bacon,  Pablo Picasso, Egon Schiele and Andy Warhol, as well as more modern folk such as Walead Beshty, Lisa Brice and Kerry James Marshall. There are paintings, sculptures, installations and films focusing on the studio as workplace and worthy of note is a series of ‘studio corners’ that recreate the actual environments where these fine artists worked.

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Sunday posts are sponsored by Henshalls Insurance, specialists in insuring garden offices and other garden buildings. Click here for more information.