Artificial grass

Inspired by the low maintenance building Roomworks recently installed for a new shedworker, the client then decided to dig up their grass (the kind you mow) and replace it with artificial grass (the kind you hoover). Paul Barton from Roomworks says he was initially sceptical about the idea but in the end felt it looked great - there are even dead bits of 'grass' in it to make it look real. Apparently the artificial grass also has good green credentials. What do readers think?
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

For great value home insurance, get a home insurance quote online from Tesco Bank. Every Little Helps.

Cabinet chair

All shedworkers need to make the most of their limited space. Here's a great way of doing just that by doubling (tripling?) up on chair, desk and shelving. The Cabinet chair from ontwerpers is made of wood and metal and measures 82 x 193 x 222 cm. Here's what they say about it:

Have you just managed to think out of the box? Get back in and Google the world! The first Cabinet Chair was designed for the lobby of a hotel. Guests can have a look at brochures and books in this chair. Moreover, it is possible to use the internet with a build in monitor and keyboard. It’s the perfect information desk with a twist. In libraries, flexible working places, a waiting room or at home it can be a beautiful eye catcher too.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

For great value home insurance, get a home insurance quote online from Tesco Bank. Every Little Helps.

Pocket Wall

Not enough room in your garden office? Then start using your wall space properly using Pocket Wall by Maja Ganszyniec. Seen at Treehugger
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tuesday posts are sponsored by The Home Office Company, manufacturers of unique garden rooms since 1998. Now in 10 exciting new colours. Click here for more details.

Get a replica model of your garden office

One Man In His Shed makes bespoke models/birdhouses of your garden office (or indeed your house) from a photograph or sketch which you can put in pride of place in your actual shedlike atmosphere. Click here to contact them.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Monday posts are sponsored by garden2office, the Swedish garden office specialists.Click here for more details.

Notebook lamp

Run out of bits of paper in the garden office? Nowhere to doodle? Worry no more, here's the answer, the Blackboard Table Lamp from Essenze - simply take your chalk and scribble away on the blackboard-like surface of the lampshade.
Via materialicious

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Wednesday's posts are sponsored by The Garden Room Company®, the UK's premier supplier of garden offices and garden rooms. Click here.

Garden office umbrella

Oh no. It's pouring with rain. You need an umbrella for the quick dash to the garden office. But what's this? You're inside your snug den BUT WITH A WET UMBRELLA! What to do? What to do?

Worry no more. Here's the answer from design student Simon Enever, the acrylic ELLA umbrella stand. It holds a couple of umbrellas at a time and, as well as looking rather natty, has an inbuilt grass stand so that the water drips onto it and keeps it alive, adding an extra touch of the garden to your garden office.

Four ways to bring the garden into the office

One of the joys of shedworking is that you can decorate and design your home office in any way you like. But while nobody's stopping you painting your floor black and your walls deep purple, maybe a nature theme would last the fashion test of time a little more successfully.

There are of course a whole host of nature-inspired gadgets from bamboo keyboards to artificial glass chairs, but why not start small with the Charging Station, above, from Kikkerland which hides all the cords from your mobiles, cameras, mp3 players, etc, within a rather pleasing grassish design. Similarly - though with more of a Blue Peter cut out feel to it - there's the Tree of Charge (arf, arf) from Radius Design, below, made from aluminium which doubles as a key rack and magnetic board.For a quick and easy method of adding a little bit of the outside world to your inside office, consider using wall stickers. Supernice stocks the very popular blik range of 'surface graphics' which can help you improve the look of your walls in seconds without sploshing paint around. Particularly pleasant is their Bamboo package, below. Another possibility is Wall Glamour whose Summer Garden range also provides attractive wall art.

Finally, a suggest from Anne Robert's excellent My Urban Garden Deco Guide from Smith & Hawken, a vertical garden which you can install wherever you like in your garden office.
A version of this article first appeared on Enterprise Nation

Bring the garden into the office

From comingBVia My Urban Garden Deco Guide
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Monday's posts are sponsored by garden2office, the Swedish garden office specialists.Click here for more details.

Ear chair

What would happen if a piece of furniture were also a room? That's the question that office design specialists PROOFF asked themselves and their answer was the ear chair, pictured above. The idea is that it operates as a private space within a public one, the height and roundness offering acoustic privacy. And if you put several ear chairs together, voila, you have a cosy little mobile meeting room. We think the ear chair adds a shedlike touch to any office (or indeed an extra bit of sheddishness to your own garden office if you have plenty of space).

We also rather like, for similar reasons, their work sofa which featured recently on MoCo Loco
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thursday posts are sponsored by Vivid Green, the low energy garden building specialists. Click here for more details

Her Shed

You know you want one. Made of wood with a galvanised metal hanger, from Swings & Pretty Things.

Home office rituals and habits

There's an interesting post at Kits and Mortar about designing your home office and homeworking rituals. Here's what Suw says:

"In thinking about where to put the office, I was reminded of how important it is to have rituals around the beginning and end of your day when you work from home. I believe that creating a space that enables me to have an opening and closing ritual to bookend my working day would really help me get going in the morning and switch off at night. Some people go for a walk around the block (with or without dog) to simulate the sense of “going to work”. Shedworkers obviously leave their house to walk to their shed, which gives them a leaving and returning ritual to observe."

I wondered what homeworking rituals readers have? Please share them in the comments below. Here's one to start you off: I always make sure I am wearing shoes and socks in the garden office as it makes me feel more workmanlike. Slippers, while comfortable, encourage me to selfdistract.
Photo of USB slippers via Phatphones.com

Ceramic notepad

If your garden office is still not entirely paperless, perhaps this will help a little. It's a ceramic notepad from Yoyo Ceramics. It comes with a special waxy pencil which easily wipes away and you can buy red, blue and yellow ones if you get tired of black. Comes in any size you like as long as you want it approx 15cm x 21cm x 1.5cm. And unlike your moleskin notebook, its dishwasher proof.

Home office desk roundup

A nice piece by Penelope Green in the New York Times looks at the best of home office desks. My favourite is this stand up desk from The Stand Up Desk Company in mahogany with slide-out keyboard tray and storage rack.
Via workalicious

Prone shedworking

If you work from home, chances are you sit in a chair for a large part of the day. But it doesn't have to be this way. Here is the Lazy Geek's Cushion, an adjustable floor cushion from Geekstuff4U with five level settings. Look how happy she looks. That could be you.

Out-Of-Box - for co-shedworking

Another nifty little workstation construction, ideal for the smaller garden office or for some mobile shedworking, the Out-Of-Box comes from Planet 3 Studios and combines two workstations in one. The full spec includes two cabinets, monitors, keyboard rests, stands and all the cabling. And it's on wheels. And it has a handle.

Nappak

One of the keys to a successful shedworking setup is the ability to have a siesta to recharge your batteries. The Nappak means you don't need to settle uncomfortably into your work chair nor nip back into the house. Merely inflate and lie down. It rolls into a small tube for easy storage.

LIght-emitting glass

If you loved the light-emitting wallpaper, imagine the possibilities of this light-emitting glass from Saazs, especially considering how much window space is built into the normal garden office. At the moment it's only being used in tables and shelves, but they're working on something a bit bigger.

USB fun in the garden office

USB ports can be useful for many work-related tasks, but they can also help you enjoy your shedworking experience that little bit more. Gogo-gadgets are among various suppliers of USB-based fun including the mini Retro Desk Vac pictured above and the mini fridge and mini greenhouse pictured below. Simply plug and play. And work of course.

Floating home office shed

Seen at Prinsengracht.
Via DutchAmsterdam.nl: Tourist Guide to Amsterdam

Dressing gown Friday

A marvellous article from The Chap magazine looks at the correct attire for working from home - a dressing gown (as shown here in plaid by Tennessee Williams). Here's an excerpt:

"When it comes to dress, one of the luxuries of home working is that every day is dress-down Friday. You can take this a step further by not getting dressed at all, and spending the entire day in your bedclothes. For the men, a pair of Wynciette pyjamas, a silk dressing gown and a pair of monogrammed velvet slippers are ideal. The ladies can spend all day sheathed in Chinese silks far too expensive to wear outside the house, and enjoy the sadly neglected delights of the bed coat. This splendid woollen garment maintains an even temperature on the arms and shoulders, while permitting the erratic flourishes of the professional writer's pen."

Well worth a browse.
Thanks to Derek Workman for the alert.