Friday Finery: Snowy shed

It's not been the snowiest winter so far but here's an example of what might be coming our way, an Arctic Cabins build beating back a blizzard from yesteryear.

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Cobham Mews Studios listed by English Heritage

English Heritage has done a very worthy '19 Remarkable Historic Places Listed in 2025' listicle which features the Cobham Mews Studios in London which were designed by David Chipperfield Architects and built between 1987 and 1989. Here's what English Heritage say about it:

Seeing the potential of a back-land plot, then in use as a scrapyard, Chipperfield worked with Derwent Valley Property Developments to create a pair of studio offices tucked behind the residential terraces of central Camden. The building remained the practice’s home for over 20 years. 

The design draws inspiration from small-scale industrial buildings as well as Victorian artist’s studios, using rooflights and glass bricks to bring in natural light whilst protecting the privacy of surrounding houses. The exterior nods to Modern Movement pioneers of the 1920s and 30s which were an early influence on Chipperfield. Inside, crisp detail, double-height spaces and mezzanine floors create spatial drama.  

"These newly protected places demonstrate the remarkable diversity of England's heritage," said Claudia Kenyatta and Emma Squire, Co-CEOs Historic England. "They connect us to the people and events that shaped our communities." 

Photo courtesy and © Historic England Archive

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Working from home and mental health

A new study of 16,000 people has focused on how working from home, whether in a garden office or otherwise, affects people's mental health.

The study by Jan Kabetak, Ferdi Botha, Jordy Meekes and Roger Wilkins from the University of Melbourne relied on information from thousands of Australians and indicates that: 

• commuting time had no detectable effect on women's mental health while for men longer commutes were linked to poorer mental health for those people who already had mental health issues
• working from home had a strong positive effect on women’s mental health when women worked in a hybrid situation, mostly from home but with one to two days in the office/on-site per week
• people with poorer mental health are the most sensitive to long commutes and the most likely to benefit from substantial working from home arrangements. 
•  employers should avoid one-size-fits-all return-to-office policies

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New designs for Sidmouth beach huts unveiled

The Shedworking staff members are known for their enthusiastic support of all thing Sidmouth so were particularly pleased to see the designs for the town's upcoming upgraded Jacob's Ladder beach huts by the Bailey Partnership released. Interestingly, the new huts will not be timber but made of a composite material to increase their longevity.

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

 

Friday Finery: The Philosophy of Sheds

Coming to all good bookshops in May 2026...

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

Ceramicist's garden studio

 

 

A pleasing bespoke brick-timber approach for a ceramicist's garden office/studio from Cosy Garden Rooms with plenty of light flowing in and enough room for a kiln.

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Craning a garden office into place

If you're in a tricky spot, it's often possible to still crane a garden office building into place. Here's an example from Okopod who took part in BBC TV's DIY SOS series earlier this year to help a deserving  family in south London. Okopod donated and installed this self-contained garden annexe which included a bedroom, bathroom, and kitchenette. More photos of the whole thing at Okopod's blog here and you can see the whole heartwarming episode on the iPlayer thingy here.

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Garden office shed inside a garage (video)

This is tremendous, a build by Joey from Man Made which documents how he constructed a garage office inside his garage. Well worth a look.

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Tiger enters Midlands with 21st franchise show site at Rugeley

 
Woodlands Home & Garden Group has announced that its Tiger sheds retail network has now expanded to 21 sites across the UK with the launch of its new show site in Rugeley. While a small number of locations are operated directly by Tiger, it is the franchisees who are driving the network’s continued expansion.

"The rapid growth of our Tiger retail network is a key component of our multi-channel strategy," said Ross Moran, CEO of Woodlands Home & Garden Group, "positioning us to achieve our ambitious goals of doubling revenue and becoming the UK’s leading garden building brand. By combining a strong digital presence with a growing physical footprint, we are giving customers more opportunities to experience Tiger’s superior quality in person while supporting our franchise partners in building highly successful businesses."

The new show site is located at Wolseley Bridge Garden Centre, A513 Rugeley, Milford, Stafford ST17 0YA and is open from 9am until 5pm on Monday to Saturday and 10.30am until 4.30pm on Sunday. 

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

Crane Garden Buildings announce its Shed of the Season 2025 winner

This year Crane Garden Buildings has run its first Shed of the Season competition which is open exclusively to owners of Crane sheds. Customers were invited to share seasonal images of their Superior, Classic and National Trust models which showed off the delightes of autumn.

So congratulations to Dr Dianne Gull from Cumnor who is the inaugural winner. She and her husband Professor Keith Gull replaced their old, windowless (and rat-infested) shed during lockdown, picking  a 2.8m x 4.0m Superior with roof overhang, double doors with windows, and shiplap cladding painted in Farrow & Ball 'Pigeon'. It is used for gardening purposes as well as entertaining,

“The shed has made such a difference. It’s practical, looks beautiful, and it completes the garden. What’s not to like!” said Dianne.

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

Bothy Stores to close

Sad news from the fine folk at Bothy Stores who have decided to call it a day. Launched in 2017 by artist Bobby Niven and architect Iain MacLeod in response to demand for the cabins they hadd created for the arts organisation Bothy Project, over the last nearly decade, Bothy Stores has built bothies across the UK. 

Here's what they say:

"The integrity and quality of the bothies have gained Bothy Stores wide recognition, and the opportunity to work in spectacular locations and with exceptional clients. This work has enabled Bothy Stores to help fund Bothy Project’s mission to provide creative residencies. We’re incredibly proud of this legacy and deeply grateful to everyone who has been part of our journey."

Although Bothy Stores is now closed, the Craft, Artist and Studio Bothies can be commissioned through Studio IMA, Iain MacLeod’s architectural practice. 

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George Bernard Shaw's memory celebrated at his writing hut

Yesterday, volunteers at Shaw's Corner came together at his writing hut for their annual celebration of George Bernard Shaw marking the day in 1950 when the great man's ashes were mixed with his wife Charlotte's and then spread around their garden surrounding the house. On this day, the volunteers meet at the hut and read from his works. An excellent thing to do.

Photo courtesy of Leah Calnon/National Trust

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

 

Friday Finery: Bathing huts at Deal

The watercolour painting Bathing Huts at Deal by Edward Ardizzone (one of Shedworking's favourite artists) is among the items featuring in 'The Illustrators: The British Art of Illustration 1806-2025' exhibition at Chris Beetles Gallery, London, through to January 2026.

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

Hutsmith's new cabin on wheels coming in 2026

Cotswolds-based Hutsmith has announced that next year it will officially launch a new range of huts on wheels which can be much wider than a standard shepherd's hut, though any size will be availabl. 

This is a rendered image of a 3m x 3m but still gives a very tempting impression of what will be available at some point in 2026.

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Underwing workshop pottery studio

There might be a small cavil here about whether this is a shed or not since it's a pottery studio by Ashton Porter Architects that is probably a former animal shelter and an adjunct of a 15th century barn. Anyway it's lovely (more photos of it at the link above).

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Garden office micro-bakery

 

A really interesting new case study at Malven Garden Buildings focuses on Vanessa Rae and her micro-bakery Bread & More not far from Stoke which is a 14 x 10 Studio Flat model

“There wasn’t a suitable space in the house, so my husband Tom suggested a garden building," she tells MGB. "We had the perfect spot next to the garage. I don’t need to travel anywhere, and we designed the space, so it works beautifully for both baking and selling. I couldn’t be happier with the result.

“The main challenge was fitting all the equipment needed in the space without it feeling cramped. We didn’t want the building to dominate the space, so we didn’t go for the largest size, but somehow, we managed to make it both practical and beautiful.” 

You can read more via the top link above.

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Friday Finery: Charred timber garden room

A lovely Finery this week to help make the stinky weather more bearable, this is a 5.8m x 3.6m garden room/gym in Guildford with charred timber cladding from Cosy Garden Rooms.

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

 

Beach Hut of the Year 2025

Congratulations to yoga therapist Chrissie Bond who has won the Love Your Hut of the Year 2025 with her Clacton-on-Sea hut called Mamastay. She takes home the winners' plaque, £25 voucher, and a luxury  hamper.

"Well done to all the other entrants," she said. "There were so many beautiful beach huts, and I’m sure they were all created with the same love and dedication that I poured into mine. Namastay is my sanctuary by the sea."

Runners up Róisín Murphy, Adrian Gullick and Jeannine Williamson all get a voucher, Love Your Hut towel, and a pair of heart-shaped sunglasses!

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Plankbridge has teamed up with nHouse

Shepherds' hut specialists Plankbridge have gone into partnership with sustainable modular home specialists nHouse. In a joint statement they said that "both businesses will benefit from increased market share, shared innovation and economies of scale".

Nick Fulford, founder of nHouse, and Emma Feaver, MD of nHouse will become Directors of Plankbridge, assuming the roles of Head of Strategic Change and CEO respectively, working alongside Plankbridge directors and co-founders Richard Lee and Jane Dennison (all pictured above).

"Jane and I have strived hard to nurture Plankbridge to where it is today and we are proud to have built such a talented team of designers and hutmakers," said Richard. "We are excited to be at this next chapter of the Plankbridge story, and to see where we are headed next with renewed purpose and vision. The individual components of both businesses combine to make something much more valuable and powerful than the elements could achieve alone."

Fulford described Plankbridge as "a quintessential high-quality British brand. It’s right up there with Rolls-Royce and Barbour".

The collaboration is already underway and has already notched up operational improvements and strategic changes to help production and the supply chain.

"Together, we aim to uphold the brand’s legacy and ensure its continued success in the future," said Feaver. "Collaboration thrives on shared visions and honest dialogue, where challenges become opportunities for growth."

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Poet Laureate Simon Armitage's The Shed podcast returns

 

 

Excellent news, arguably the world's best shed-based podcast is back in business. After the BBC mystifyingly decided not to renew Simon Armitage's series, he has quite rightly decided to simply carry on regardless, with Yorkshire Tea as his podcast partner. Here's what he says:

"I’m delighted to announce that I’m opening up the doors of my garden shed to welcome in half a dozen guests for a chinwag. One at a time, mind - there isn’t much room in there, even when I’ve moved the lawnmower. Feel free to put your ear to one of the many holes in the wall and eavesdrop my natterings with Self Esteem, Susie Dent, Richard Hawley and others who’ve ventured into the Pennine uplands."

It's available in the usual places such as Apple and Spotify, with Frank Skinner - himself a poetry podcaster now - the first interviewee of the new series.

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Friday Finery: Mudeford Sandspit beach hut view

It's not always the shed, it's sometimes the view from the shed. In this example for Friday Finery it's the view from Hut 363 at Mudeford Sandspit which has just gone on the market with beach hut specialists Denisons at the bargain price of just £475,000. Features include timber double-glazed windows and bi-fold doors (pictured above) that open onto the beach and deck area, two double beds upstairs, fitted kitchen, and solar panels.

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

 

Dr Jenner’s Hut added to 2025 At Risk register

Historic England has released its latest Heritage at Risk Register 2025 which shows which buildings around the country need some help to survive. Among them is the thatched brick and stone garden office/hut/shed belonging to Edward Jenner in Gloucestershire in which he experimented with vaccines in general, and smallpox vaccine in particular, and which has been dubbed the birthplace of immunology (he called it "the temple of vaccinia"). 

"The heritage we see all around us impacts how we feel about our local places," said Historia England CEOs Claudia Kenyatta and Emma Squire. "The annual Heritage at Risk Register gives us the opportunity to celebrate the many benefits of bringing our historic buildings back into use. The best way to protect our buildings is to reuse them, turning them into places of local connection and joy. The sites that have been saved and have come off the Register this year really highlight the benefits of working together in partnership, and with communities, to create positive, sustainable change. Together we can safeguard our heritage for future generations."

Photo courtesy Historic England.

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New painting of Dylan Thomas's writing shed

An absolutely fabulous painting of Dylan Thomas' writing shed in Laugharne by artist David Cowdry which you can see from this Saturday until November 22 when it goes on show at the Ivy House Gallery in Llandeilo as part of an exhibition of David's work. There's so much to enjoy in it but the Shedworking team was especially taken by the dust in the air in the centre of the painting. "I have visited the writing shed of Dylan Thomas many times and on each visit I have peered in through the window and thought that I must paint the scene one day," said David.

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Garden office with extended height

A nice example of a bespoke garden office project from Haon Garden Rooms. The Oxfordshire-based hotelier client wanted an extended height garden office. Features include cedar brown composite cladding (front and right side) and anthracite Hardie Plank (left side and rear), and large anthracite French doors framed by glass panels. More photos and details of the very attractive interior here.

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