David Gilmour loses shed planning battle

Pink Floyed guitarist David Gilmour has been ordered by Camden Council in London to take down a newly-built shed after a planning row with neighbours.
 
Pictured above are the summerhouse and sheds that previously stood on the footprint before the musician had them removed and replaced with a new shed build 2.5m x 1.9m x 2.9m. However, Hampstead Hill Gardens Residents’ Association called for his retrospective planning application to be refused with neighbours complaining that it was “overbearing” and “intrusive” and not built on the original shed footprint.

The council has now demanded that the existing structure be moved and rebuilt further away from the back fence.

Back in 2011, Gilmour was told by the council to pull down a yellow beach hut at his £3m seafront mansion in East Sussex which he used to house his bicycles as it was an "eyesore" in the Hove conservation area (though it looked fine to the Shedworking staff).

Photo credit: Whiteacre Planning Ltd/Camden council 

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Aerial view of Dylan Thomas' writing shed (video)

You don't often see aerial shots of garden offices and this is a particularly interesting one to focus on, Dylan Thomas' writing shed in Wales which has famously fabulous views.

 

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Curved garden office

Today's Finery is this beautifully rounded build from the appropriately named Curve Garden Rooms. incorporating its curved fibreglass insulated roof design.

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Garden office construction timeline guide

There's a brief but useful guide for those considering going down the shedworking route about how long it takes to get your garden office set up on the Smart Modular Buildings blog. Here's a snippet:

• Design & Consultation: one to two weeks for layout, approvals, and finalising options
• Groundworks: one to three days depending on site conditions
• Construction: one to two weeks for prefabs, up to three to four weeks for bespoke builds
• Final Touches: two to five days for electrics, painting, flooring, etc
  

You can read the rest of it here.

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Garden office with kitchen and bathroom

A hugely impressive recent build from InFrame Garden Rooms in Ham, Surrey, a 24sqm garden office designed for a client who works from home and wanted a dedicated, self-contained workspace. It’s a single open-plan room fully kitted out with two sets of panoramic aluminium bifolds (a 5-leaf and a 3-leaf) opening onto the garden from adjacent sides, and a small kitchenette for making tea and coffee, plus a lavatory and shower room.

The idea was to create a professional space that feels completely separate from the main house which is ideal for welcoming the client's personal assistatn without the need to come inside the main home.

The structure is built on a steel core frame with screw pile foundations and finished in Millboard cladding.

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Tiger launches new garden building show site at Tong Garden Centre

Woodlands Home & Garden Group has launched its latest Tiger garden building show site at Tong Garden Centre, near Bradford, marking the 18th location in the retailer’s growing national network (double the number it had at the start of 2025).

The new display site is the fourth Tiger outlet in Yorkshire, and features selection of premium garden buildings on display, including sheds, summerhouses, and log cabins, including the new 70mm Obsidian insulated log cabin with extra thick timber walls and insulated roof and floor. Stuart Davison, Commercial Director at Woodlands said:
 "As a Yorkshire company through and through, this is a fantastic moment for us and for customers across the region."

The new site at Tong Garden Centre, Tong Ln, Bradford BD4 0RY, is open 10.30am - 3pm Monday to Saturday, and 11am - 3pm on Sundays. Tiger has also launched a virtual showroom at https://www.tigersheds.com/modular/showroom/

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Monday's posts are sponsored by Smart Modular Buildings, the UK's best garden room company

 

Shedworking holidays

In an unusual fit of humanity, we've given the interns a few days off so Shedworking HQ will be a bit quiet over the next few days while we enjoy some annual leave.

The Philosophy of Sheds

An item of good news. It's been a while since I've written a book about sheds (Haynes Shed Manual, co-authored with John Coupe in 2019), and even longer than my first one on the subject (Shedworking: The Alternative Workplace Revolution, 2010), so I'm delighted to announced that in 2026 the trilogy will be complete with The Philosophy of Sheds.

It will be published by the British Library in spring next year as part of its Philosophy of... series, what it describes as "a thought-provoking range of books which take a deep dive into niche topics" and features subjects such as curry, puddings, cider, cheese, tatoos, beards, and Christmas. "With their gorgeous colourful covers," continues the British Library, "the titles are great for gifting, or those curious to learn more." I hope you'll enjoy it.  

Beach hut prices jump by up to 100% in some locations

Research by Regency Living suggests that the average price of a beach hut has soared by as much as 100% in some seaside towns in recent years. 

According to their figures, in West Sussex,the going rate for a beach hut currently stands at £33,044. This marks an increase of 102.1% over three years. Meanwhile, in Dorset the average beach hut price is £102,451 having increased by 66.3% since 2022. In Essex, the price tag is £45,878, followed by Kent (£43,661), Hampshire (£32,655), and East Sussex (£30,784).

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Friday Finery: garden office garden

This week's Finery focuses on the rather lovely flowerbed outside a Cabinmaster garden office, what must be a beautiful thing to see when looking up from your desk.

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Garden office for sale at Fanny Craddock's and Frederick Delius's former home

This garden office in a fine location is in the grounds of The Dower House, a property near Watford which was previously owned by composer Frederick 'On Hearing the First Cuckoo of Spring' Delius, and Fanny Craddock, who presented her television cookery programmes from the kitchen inside the house. On with Knight Frank and Savills for £4,500,000, which includes the seven bedroom, Grade II listed house, which has river and mill stream frontage.

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Is a shepherd's hut a fixture or a fitting?

An interesting, an important question, which is explained in a useful post by Farrer & Co in a blog post 'Advice on fixtures and fittings when purchasing a country house with a shepherd’s hut'.

Long story short, a buyer and a seller disagree (politely) about the status of a shepherd's hut (not the one pictured above) located in the grounds of a property on which a sale has been agreed. Here's how Farrer & Co clearly explain the issue:

This prompted a discussion between the parties as to whether the hut was a fixture (and therefore deemed part of the property) or a fitting or chattel (and therefore removable). The seller argued that, because the hut was on wheels, it was a fitting and not included in the sale by default. This was frustrating for our clients as there had been no suggestion prior to this point that the hut (which was being used as a functioning office space) would be excluded from the sale – they thought it was included in the agreed purchase price.

Happily, the two parties do come to an agreement. For more details about how, do click the link above.

Pic courtesy umbrellahead56 CC

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Vote here, vote now!

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

Chartreuse: summer 2025's shed colour

According to Malvern Garden Buildings, chartreuse is the colour of the season, seen above on its Hopton summerhouse model at the recent RHS Hampton Court Palace Garden Festival where it was used by natural deodorant brand AKT London to launch their latest fragrance, Hay Fever. For those of you with an interest in these things, the hex code is #DFFF00.

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Plankbridge vacancy for a hut maker

 Dorset-based shepherd's hut specialist Plankbridge is looking for a hut maker. Here's what they say:

"This is a skilled position responsible for the construction and finishing of huts using various materials and techniques. This role requires a strong understanding of carpentry and joinery, as well as the ability to work with both hand and power tools. The successful candidate will be involved in all aspects of hut construction, from initial design to final finishing touches, ensuring that each structure is built to high standards of quality and safety."

More details at https://lnkd.in/ekHapRgB or email production@plankbridge.com

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Torbay beach huts to be unavailable for 2026 season

Torbay Council has announced that new development works will mean beach huts at Preston Sands will be in hibernation for the whole of next year.

The council said that it had confirmed the appointment of Knights Brown as its developer for the Paignton and Preston Promenade scheme to carry out the construction of the coastal flood defences and public space improvements. This is on track to commence in Septemberand will be carried out in three separate phases from 22 September 2025 to 10 May 2027.

Development at Preston will be carried out in a single phase from 30 September 2025 to 4 December 2026.

At Preston Sands, development includes the area where beach huts are sited and Preston Sands beach hut users have been advised that huts will need to be removed at least one week before 30 September 2025. Following removal, no beach huts will be available for the 2026 season.

"We understand that this will be disappointing to beach hut users," said a spokesperson, "and have not made the decision lightly. We appreciate beach hut users’ understanding as we make the essential improvements to the seafront.

"We are aware that construction of a scheme of this size will take time and is likely to include some disruption. Our intention is to minimise the impact on local tourism, businesses and people who regularly use the seafront areas. This will be achieved by keeping sections of the seafronts accessible as development progresses."

Image of Torbay beach huts courtesy Tony Hisgett CC 

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Wednesday posts are sponsored by Booths Garden Studios, the UK's No.1 supplier of zero maintenance and portable garden studios

 

Remote Pods

The Shedworking team have been enjoying a long browse through the website of Anglesey-based Remote Pods. As well as the aesthetically pleasing rounded-roof design and craneability of the fibreglass buildings, we were particularly interested to discover that they are the results of decades of experience in the boat building industry.

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Friday Finery: Ebba Brahes' 'Lusthus'

This week's Finery belonged to Swedish ironworks mogul Ebba Brahe (1596–1674) who came quite close to becoming queen (she had a doomed relationship with the young Prince Gustav Adolf). This is her 'lusthus' or summerhouse on an islet at the Bockhammar ironworks in Skinnskatteberg. It stands today in exactly the same delightful spot it was built in 1636, making it arguably the country's oldest pavilion.

Image CC courtesy Steve Henriksson

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Artist's studio: before and after

We've not had a good 'before and after' post for a while on Shedworking, so here's a fine example from Cosy Garden Rooms in Cambridge. It comes in at 3.5m x 2.1m and turned a disused corner of the garden into a fully equipped creative space. Features include sliding doors, wall-mounted infrared heater, a tall side window, and a 1m rectangular roof lantern for additional light. Outside, it has Hardie® Plank maintenance-free composite cladding in a two-tone scheme, Monetary Taupe and Anthracite, topped with a lovely eco-friendly sedum roof.

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Thursday posts are sponsored by Cabin Master, bespoke garden rooms and offices designed, manufactured and installed throughout the UK

Architect's garden office

A very smart garden studio build for an architect by Okopod. Featured in Channel 4’s Extraordinary Extensions series, it's the company's Hip Pod model, approximately 24m2, and features Cedar 'barcode' profile cladding, a concealed entrance door, and an impressive roof light in the high ceiling.

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Wednesday posts are sponsored by Booths Garden Studios, the UK's No.1 supplier of zero maintenance and portable garden studios

Garden office and music room

An example here of Green Retreat's Basebox model for a customer who wanted a 3.5m x 2.44m office room which could also double as extra space for leisure and hobbies. Here's what the client says about it:

“It’s a space where I can take time for myself. The great thing about having a garden room is that it’s really helped me manage my workload, hobbies and home life in a healthy way. As someone who works from home, it’s hard to switch off sometimes, and my garden room certainly helps me with that. Before, I used to work around the house, either on the sofa or dining room table. It wasn’t conducive to a productive working day. Now I just pop down the garden and work from there!"

He also uses it work on songs which he plays with his band. "Having a garden room has really facilitated my creative process because while I primarily use it as an office space, it doubles up as a practise room to jam in.”

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Friday Finery: Hermitage Hut

This week's Finery is a celebration of Plankbridge's 25 years, the fresh off the production line Hermitage Hut. It's off-grid, with solar panels and a living sedum roof, and clad in waney-edge Western red ceda. Features include a fold-down oak desk, wood-burning stove, a 4ft 6in handmade box bed, and a feature wall lined with Organoid Stone Pine Forest flax fleece that apparentl releases the scent of herbs, moss and pine and ferns. The Hermitage Hut measures 14ft x 7ft 5in.

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