A fine setup for either working from home in your garden office or settling down for a nice read, from Lincolnshire Shepherd Huts' extensive gallery of delights.
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A fine setup for either working from home in your garden office or settling down for a nice read, from Lincolnshire Shepherd Huts' extensive gallery of delights.
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We haven't had a 'how I built my garden office' series of posts for a while so the Shedworking team was delighted to come across Andy Hammett's new series of videos doing exactly that. Andy is methodically building a new garden office and leather working studio in his back garden, starting with this first video from last month below in which he explains his aims and shows his plans. It looks like it will become a very useful set of videos for anybody else going down this route as Andy clearly knows what he is doing, though it will likely be a couple of months before we get major updates.
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You've only got a couple of days left if you want to take advantage of Malvern Garden Buildings's January offer on garden offices. Essentially there is 10% off all new Malvern Collection buildings plus free delivery and installation (though as always some terms and conditions apply). It's valid until January 31.
There's a similar cut-off date for it's Breeze House offer where there are even larger savings to be had, 30% on new circular Breeze Houses, 35% on new Oval Savannah and Oval Safari Breeze Houses, and 40% on new Oval Cape and Oval Amanzi Breeze Houses.
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Important news about the garden office and studio situation in France via the fine folk at The Connexion who report that what has become known as the 'garden shed tax' or taxe d’aménagement has gone up this year.
The rules are complex (as they are in the UK) but it's essentially focused on any extensions or separate builds - and including mobile homes - with specs of 5m² or greater and have walls of 1.8m or higher. The calculation also varies between regions but the base figure has gone up to €930 per m² ( €110 higher than it was three years ago) everywhere except in Ile-de-France where it is ow €1,054 per m². Connexion also wars that the tax folk are using AI-based detection services to hunt down any undeclared extensions.
Image courtesy France-based garden studio specialist Rêves & Bois whose Freyja model is pictured.
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Let's head into the weekend with something cosy and comfortable in the form of this rather pleasant windowseat arrangement from treehouse specialists Blue Forest.
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A pre-construction image from Studio Hallett Ike's design for a fabulous looking standalone separate studio in a client's garden at their property in the Cotswolds within a conservation area. Here's what they say about it: "The use of local stone, laid in different formats, contrasts against minimal detailing to the doors and windows, opening up to views over the Cotswolds. "
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According to yahoo! finance, along with 'rush to convert rural barns', 'flats replacing shops', and 'more upwards building', 'influx of garden annexes' is one of the key trends to look out for in 2025, partly down to what it describes as "multi-generational living solutions". Here's a snippet about what they say:
With an aging population and families increasing looking to share the costs of accommodation, multi-generational living solutions are expected to increase in the coming years. Garden annexes, which offer easy access while simultaneously giving households privacy, are a particularly popular option.
Image courtesy Modern Garden Rooms
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Although this is a U.S. report from Pew Research Center, it makes relevant reading for those in the UK.
According to Pew, of those adults with a job they can do from home, three quarters are working remotely for at least part of the week. And 46% claim that if their employer banned working from home, it is likely that they would leave - indeed 26% say it is very likely.
Breaking the figures down, women are slightly more likely than men to look elsewhere for work, as are those under 50 than over 50, and not surprisingly people who work from home all the time mre than those who only do it sometimes.
Interestingly, most hybrid workers say they do not want to work from home all the time, with nearly three quarters saying they like going into the office sometimes during the week.
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This week's Friday Finery is this garden office layout in an Eden Garden Rooms build. Desks are usually rammed against walls in most shedworking situations but here it's proudly set up in the centre of the studio where there is plenty of space and light to make the most of the working day.
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A fine example of how you can mix business with pleasure, here is a 10m² BBQ Cabin from Arctic Cabins which also serves as a garden office thanks to a carefully added extension at the back of the building.
"We use it at least every weekend and cook on the fire as much as possible," said owner Tim who also uses it to house his collection of memorabilia about The Beatles. "There’s something primeval I love about shutting yourself away down there and cooking on an open fire. We've made some delicious food in there and it's a great space to use when friends & family visit, as well as being a really handy room I can use when I'm working from home or I just want to escape the house for a while."
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I am writing a piece about Swedish sheds at the moment for a periodical so thought I would share this excellent blog post on Lobster & Swan (who also have a lovely online home interiors shop The Future Kept) about turning a B&Q Apex shed into a thing of Swedish-like beauty. Here's what they say about it:
"Could this be the tiniest man cave ever? It has been painted the perfect shade of rusty Swedish red and filled with wood and lots of mannish things. Inspired by our travels to Sweden earlier this year, we decided Dean’s shed should be a mini version of a Swedish cabin."
Lots more interior shots at the top link.
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The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development has urged employers to offer flexible working options during periods of cold weather and travel disruption.
“During periods of extreme weather, employers should try to be as flexible as possible, in terms of where and when their staff work," said Claire McCartney, Policy and Practice Manager at the CIPD, the professional body for HR and people development. "Working from home, where this is possible, may allow employees to be more comfortable and productive and can support them to get their work done effectively.
“However, not all roles can be done remotely, so employers and employees will need to work out the best way for people to get to and from work. Flexibility in start and finish times can help employees navigate some of the challenges presented by icy conditions and travel disruption.
“Employers should also take steps to ensure workspaces are as comfortable as possible for employees, including access to facilities and adequate heating. Official guidance suggests that the minimum temperature for working indoors should be at least 16°C, or 13°C if employees are doing rigorous physical work. Health and safety should be a number one priority, and employers should be particularly mindful of those with a disability or health condition.”
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While the weather outside is frightening, here's something to remind us that it won't be long until we can feel our toes again. It's the latest beach hut to go on sale at Denison's at Mudeford Sand Spit at Christchurch in Dorset, with room for up to eight people sleeping, a first floor mezzanine, and a solar-powered kitchen, not to mention that truly wonderful view. Sadly, it's just been sold (the asking price was £485,000...) but you can still have a virtual nose around at their site here.
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Savills has picked out a range of properties for sale at the start of the New Year with their own garden studios, reading rooms, and gyms. Among them is the Grade II listed Willow Tree Cottage in Axminster which boasts this splendid annexe which has been converted into a soundproofed recording studio plus separate workshop with a loft room. All yours for £895,000.
There is also the garden studio pictured above designed by the Chelsea Flower Show gold medal winner Diarmuid Gavin, currently used as a ceramicist's studio. In Richmond, Surrey, just under £3m, including a house.
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An intriguing recent build by Smart Modular Buildings for artist James Trott who needed somewhere to display his artwork and host events. It's a bespoke Ultra model measuring 10.7m x 3.7m with natural wooden cladding and unusually designed without windows so that it can function better as a gallery, eliminating direct sunlight exposure. Features include large French double doors, specifically tailored lighting, and climate control elements.
Here's what James says about it: “I had a small studio space in my home, but it wasn't ideal for showcasing my work or hosting guests. I envisioned a dedicated space with ample room to display my art, control the lighting, and create a comfortable atmosphere for visitors. Th gallery has been transformative for my art career. It has provided me with a professional and inspiring space to showcase my work and host exhibitions."
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There are plenty of snowy sheds and garden offices around the country at the moment. Here's what the writing shed of novelist Joanne Harris (whose next book Vianne is out in May) looked like over the weekend. Readersheds supremo Andrew 'Uncle Wilco' Wilcox has once again been putting together a hashtag of #snowshed examples from around the country, but on Bluesky rather than Twitter which is where you'll also find Shedworking nowadays, having abandoned Twitter (for obvious reasons).
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A beautifully verdant setting for this tailomade garden room studio from Essex-based Hawksbeck Garden Rooms featuring bifold doors, extra large skylight, and tall windows.
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If your New Year's resolutions include building your own pub shed, then Cabin Master has a useful guide to putting it all together. You can read the whole thing here, but here's a snippet about what key ideas to consider:
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