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People often weigh up the pros and cons of a garden room against an extension. While it's obvious which side Shedworking sits on for this debate, we asked the fine folk at Cosy Garden Rooms for their expert thoughts.
There is no structural reason that anything you do in a brick-and-mortar home can’t also be done in a well-built garden room.
Annual data from the price comparison site Reallymoving shows the average cost of moving is now more than £14,000. You’ll need to pay upfront fees, stamp duty and legal expenses. There are also costs closer to your moving date, including removal vans, packing materials and cleaning. Plus, many homeowners love their home, its location, the family is settled at work, in school; so many people choose to extend their home rather than move.
Some of the most popular ways to extend your home include building a conservatory, a loft conversion, garage conversion, an extension or garden room.
A garden room is a building that is detached from the main home in your garden but is built to high standards; this includes full insulation, electricity, lighting, windows, doors, etc. that provides a fully insulated comfortable living space that can be used all year round; it is not a summer house or posh shed.
The first thing to decide is what do you need extra space for?If you are looking for a quiet area away from the distractions of the main home, a garden room could be the perfect solution; an office or work space, a room for the kids, an artist studio, somewhere to operate your business from, a gym, a music room, a games room. The beauty of garden rooms is that they are extremely versatile, flexible spaces. If you are looking for a larger kitchen or more bedrooms and bathrooms a built extension is likely to be a better option.
Image courtesy Cosy Garden Rooms.
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This appealingly-fronted log building comes from Scandinavian Homes and is their Moisala model. It's originally built to be used as a sauna but SH do say that "with minor tweaks it would make a great home office". It's the unusual circular opening to the covered terrace that caught our eye.
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This was the full-sized Conker design, but there are several others in smaller iterations (not all of them fully spherical), a mini-igloo, a kind of sliced Conker, and as pictured above a single person meeting pod which is perhaps more of a teardrop than a conker but still looks delightful.
Designed and manufactured in Cheshire, all Conkers are constructed from 100% recycled materials where possible, and the rest are 100% recyclable. It's properly insulated, double glazed, and comes with a host of options including wet room with shower, lavatory, kitchenette, bench seat with storage, off grid models, underfloor heating, ventilation system, air filter, and entry/exit steps.
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Readers with fine memories will recall we previously mentioned this play Men Don't Talk constructed in collaboration with the Scottish Men's Sheds Assocation a couple of years ago, so we're delighted to be able to let you know it's up, running, and touring. For more details click here. Here's what they say about it:
Three men who have never met before find banter, bird boxes and biscuits in a fictional men's shed, which celebrates camaraderie, companionship.....and custard creams. Men Don't Talk explores and explodes the myth that 'men don't talk' in Clare Prenton's poignant, hilarious and deeply moving, thought provoking play. Written following cups of tea, cake and spirited conversations with real ‘shedders’, the play welcomes audiences into a friendly fictional shed, inspired by real mens’ stories.
Here are the touring dates:
* 18 October | An Tobar & Mull Theatre | Isle of Mull
* 19 October | Bunessan | Isle of Mull
* 23 October | Lantern House Arts | Cumbernauld
* 25 October | Heart of Hawick | Borders
* 26 October | Eastgate Theatre | Peebles
* 29 October | Scottish Parliament | Holyrood
* 30 October | The Lemon Tree | Aberdeen
* 2 November | Flotta | Orkney
* 3 November | Burray | Orkney
* 5 November | Stenness | Orkney
* 8 November | The Barn | Aberdeenshire
* 14 November | Paisley Arts Centre | Paisley
* 16 & 17 November | The Scottish Storytelling Centre | Edinburgh
* 19 November | Victoria Hall | Cromarty
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One of the many knock-on effects of the decision to call a general election in early July is that the UK Men's Sheds awards organisers have decided to push the dates of the competitioon back. Here's the full announcement from CEO Charlie Bethel:
"Following the announcement of the Prime Minister on Wednesday to call a General Election, the country enters Purdah and a dissolution of parliament for the 25 days leading to the General Election.As such the Speaker’s State Rooms are no longer available for the Shed of the Year Awards. As such we will postpone Shed of the Year to the autumn as we hope to move the event and not lose such a prestigious venue fitting for our Awards.
"All nominations will remain and you can still submit them to the deadline. We will reopen nominations for a short time when we have a new date. As you can imagine this is out of our control, but we thank you for your efforts so far in such amazing nominations. Our very best wishes and we look forward to welcoming you to ShedFest which will certainly be going ahead."
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Large congratulations to Hartley Botanic whose 2024 RHS Chelsea Flower Show tradestand pictured above (‘Simple Elegance – A Traditional English Garden’) has been awarded five stars. Although they are a glasshouse and greenhouse manufacturer, the stand showed that it's possible to introduce a little garden office flavour into their builds. Not visible here, but the company also launched their new attractive water butts at the show.
Tom Barry CEO of Hartley Botanic said: “We are thrilled with our 5* award from the RHS. We are extremely proud of this year’s tradestand which with our amazing greenhouses, its beautifully curated plantings, curved borders, and luxury styling exudes quality, sophistication, and elegance.”
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The National Garden Scheme Garden designed by Tom Stuart-Smith for the National Garden Scheme which features a fabulous shed and is funded by Project Giving Back has won an RHS Gold Medal at the Chelsea Flower Show.
Although the garden with its woodland edge planting is lovely, it's the artisan hut - a cleft Green oak structure around a softwood timber frame, lined with beech and oak panelling and with a timber shingle roof - that is the true star of the design. Inside is a York stone floor.
It's designed by architect Ben Stuart-Smith, Tom's son, and was built by furniture maker and woodworker Fenton Scott-Fielder with his colleagues in Bristol. When the show finishes, it will be moved to the new Maggie’s garden at Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge for the use of those receiving cancer treatment and their families.
Below, Tom talks about the shed, and the garden, and there's an excellent walk-through:
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Plankbridge is delighting folks at this year's Chelsea Flower Show with its sauna snug which we covered previously on Shedworking here. Joining it on the tradestand AR640 is the company's new Garden Privy, what they describe as "a nostalgic throwback to the world of the Victorian gardener".
It can be wheeled into position and connected to the mains in the garden, beside a garden office (or elsewhere, e.g. glamping spot). Alternatively, it can be fitted with solar lighting and a compost toilet for use in any remote, off-grid location.
In keeping with the traditional Victorian-style shepherd’s hut, the Garden Privy is mounted on iron wheels and is clad in hard-wearing corrugated iron. It measures 4ft x 4ft and features a small glazed window with oak shutters for privacy.
The Garden Privy was inspired by an outdoor privy that Plankbridge co-founder Jane Dennison remembers from childhood. "My mother had an old red-brick privy in her garden that was covered in rambling roses and the perfect place for her grandchildren to play hide- and-seek in later years. We have a great deal of affection for beautiful old structures like these at Plankbridge. I can’t think of a more fitting place to unveil the new Garden Privy than at RHS Chelsea Flower Show."
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In what's been a rollercoaster fo a week for the Scottish Men's Sheds Association (happily ending on a high note), here's a lovely image for our regular Friday Finery slot, the Cromarty Firth Men's Shed who in addition to all their normal activities look after the woodland surrounding their shed to preserve it for their local community.
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Although garden offices are usually pretty compact structures, it's interesting to see the many and varied ways that suppliers work with the space. Here's an example from Cedar Living, a false wall concealing a lavatory and cupboard using acupanel acoustic panelling. And here's what they say about it:
"With the challenge of small spaces, this calls for creative solutions. Inside your garden room, not only can we create little nooks for kitchenettes, but we also introduce false walls, often in acoustic panelling, to maximise every inch of space. These false walls serve a dual purpose: they create separate areas for different functionalities, and they discreetly hide doors leading to a toilet or additional storage cupboards. The illusion of the seamless interior whilst enjoying the convenience of concealed rooms. The advantage of a modern acoustic panelling reduces noise levels and eliminates echoes, whilst adding warmth and appeal within the room."
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Hot on the heels of our post yesterday about the terrible possibility that the Scottish Mens' Sheds Association faced closure by the end of the year, we were delighted to hear that the Scottish Government has, once again, done a u-turn on this vital funding issue.
Welcoming the decision, SMSA CEO Jason Schroeder (pictured top) said: “The government grant in 2016 of £75,000 was an initial start-up grant for the charity which supported, at that time, five Sheds and developing the movement across Scotland. Unfortunately, that amount has never been increased as the movement grew and we immediately sought other grant funders. However, now post pandemic and with men needing more support than ever, we now require £360,000 per annum to deliver our development plans and support to over 200 Sheds across Scotland.
“With the growing and highest male suicide rates in Scotland – out of the whole of the UK – we require the Scottish Government to once and for all fully commit and get behind the most successful men’s health preventative model created in Scotland so the SMSA, the movement and the people of Scotland never end up in this situation again.
“We applaud the First Minister’s financial support statement and welcome talks with the Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice Shirley-Anne Somerville MSP to further discuss our vital work through this men’s health and wellbeing model being carried out successfully across Scotland.”
You can watch the issue being raised in the government debate at the start of the video below:
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Terrible news, as reported in the media that the marvellous Scottish Men's Sheds Association is looking to wind up operations of its 200 sheds and 10,000 members by the end of the year.
According to The Sunday Post, the yo-yo decisions on funding by the Scottish Governement continue. It recently decided again to withdraw funding despite the opposition that erupted the last time they made this decision back in 2022 and were forced to backtrack. Irish and Australian governments keep their own projects fully funded.
Speaking to the newspaper, SMSA chief executive Jason Schroeder, said: “We’ve got enough funding for about nine or 10 months and then we’ll be looking at winding up. We’ll be celebrating our 10th anniversary in October – hopefully we’ll be celebrating rather than closing."
More than 5,000 people have signed this petition calling on the decision to be reversed. "Now is not the time to abandon and disinvest in this successful men’s health movement that is voluntarily engaging with and reaching men and changing and saving lives," it says. "These volunteers need our support now more than ever as evidenced by the ever-increasing growth in our membership."
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Some consternation about the long-term viability of beach huts has been raised by North Norfolk District Council in its latest report. Increasingly poor weather is leading to rising maintenace costs which is worrying officers at the council who wrote this:
The beach huts and chalets are being impacted by adverse weather conditions causing damage to them and the promenade. The cost of the Council rectifying the damage is expected to be not financially sustainable if adverse weather conditions increase in frequency. The leases have been changed to include a clause enabling the Council to remove the beach huts in such an event. If adverse conditions become more frequent to the point it is no longer viable, officers may recommend that no beach huts leases are made available.Those with huts in prominent spots such as Sheringham, Cromer and Overstrand would be most at risk, not least because the number of people looking to rent the huts dropped last summer thanks to the wet weather and left the council in the red - its repair and maintenance costs last year were 70% higher than the average over the last four years.
Meanwhile, Great Yarmouth Borough Council is looking at an ongong delay in its plans to build more than 40 beach huts thanks to £200,000 overspend. These should have been completed last summer but will now not begin constrution until around September 2024.
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As the weather turns out nice again, here's one of the nicest flowerbeds for a garden office we've seen, courtesy of Cabin Master.
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Combining two of the most popular uses for garden buildings is this excellent L-shaped build from Cosy Garden Rooms for a client in Lincoln who wanted office space to work away from the main house as well as space to use as a gym for exercise and yoga. Features include a 4m x 4m canopied sheltered seating space at the front, a 7m x 3m main room, wide double sliding door, large corner window, and composite decking.
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One for your shedworker's bookshelf, The Art of Hutting by Peter MacQueen (recently published by Black and White Publishing) who presents his own BBC Alba TV show Gà rradh Phà druig from his hut in Scotland. Here's what the publishers say about it
'Is farsainn beul a' bhothain'
There is always a welcome at the hut
Are you ready for the good life? Huts, whether in the country, by the sea or near to home, are a glimpse into nature, letting us slow down and enjoy the details of life's little things and create time for self-care, health and a sustainable way of living.
Whether you will design alone, build as a group, or just want to find the perfect spot for a restful interlude, Peter MacQueen shares his knowledge and insight on all things hutting - from foraging and places to stay, to fire making and solar panels - alongside some seasoned hutters who share their tales of the joys and challenges.
Full of tips, stories and recipes, The Art of Hutting will teach you how to create the ultimate sense of wellbeing and community, take the sting out of nettle soup and even bake the Hebridean way!
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I think this is the first time I've seen a window seat like this in a garden office. A clever piece of design which doubles as extra storage space from Cedar Living.
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Entries for this year's Shed of the Year close at the end of the month so get your skates on if you're planning to take part. Pictured above is not only one of the newest entries for the annual competition but already one of the Shedworking staff's favourite builds in the whole field.
Located in London, it's called The Book Nook and is owned by Yannick Read who describes it as like a mini shepherd's hut. Features include being on wheels, barn-style doors, a hanging fire pit, and a bird feeder, as well as lots of books and comfy seating. Enjoy the video of it below.
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