Arctic Cabins on tour

A few garden office suppliers have showrooms, but if you can't make it to their HQs then the next best thing is to head to one of the many shows throughout the year where they are exhibitors. Among the most travelled is Arctic Cabins who, in addition to their Nottingham Show Site, are regulars at these events. You can find a full list of where they'll be over the next few months here, but this is their schedule for the rest of April:

• 15 - 16: Newbury Garden Show, Newbury Showground

• 20 - 23, Harrogate Spring Flower Show, Great Yorkshire Showground

• 21 - 23, The Garden Show at Firle Place, Firle Place

• 22 - 23, SEAS Spring Live!, South of England Showground

• 28 - 30, BBC Gardeners' World Spring Fair, Beaulieu

• 29 - May 7, Grand Designs Live (ExCeL London), ExCel Center

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Thursday posts are sponsored by Cabin Master: garden offices and studios to fit any size garden. Top quality contemporary or traditional buildings.

 

Garden Spaces: new website

There's a new look to Garden Spaces online offering as it's new-look website has just gone live. "Hopefully it is a massive improvement on the old one, which was great but showing its age," says the company's director Roger Hedges. "The new site is a massive step forward and once again industry leading. We have decided to drive this by our design styles/specifications, and also our customers usage – Form and Function if you like -  as you will see through the high level Style and Spaces image menus."

Roger is particularly pleased with the Details page which comes with interactive images, and the pricing guides."We have been very busy in the last six months and we have a backlog of builds to add to our Gallery section on the website.  A further 120 entries will hit the new website Gallery pages next week."

Work is also underway on the sister Annexe Spaces site which will be up and running for Grand Designs Live London at ExCeL in May. Roger says: "Never has there been a better time to offer modern, stylish, highly quality and energy efficient, yet affordable living space. We are very excited about how we are going to grow this side of our business over the coming years." 

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Creating your own craft studio

Today we're very pleased to have a guest post from Norwegian Log on the subject of craft studio garden offices.

A bright and light garden craft room can provide space and inspiration for a myriad of creative projects. Here’s some crafty design tips to consider …

Build zones into your layout

Get creative before you even start your projects by segregating areas of your log cabin for different tasks. This will help you stay organised and reduce clutter in those areas where you want to create. Consider having dedicated areas for storage, cleaning up and crafting. For example, why not add plumbing for a kitchenette and sink, and laminate flooring for easy cleaning. If more than one member of your family is going to be crafting at the same time, consider side boards with dedicated space for each person. A mood board is a fun way to share ideas – and your floor-to-ceiling views are sure to trigger off grand designs!

Contain your crafting

With good crafting, comes a good deal of ingredients – and if you want to have space to shape, mould and forge, you’ll also need room for your tools. Draws with compartments allow you to stash small items such as sewing thread, scissors, glues and buttons in one place, while storage trolleys on wheels mean you can take your kit to wherever you’re working. A pegboard with hooks and pins maximises vertical space, while separate baskets for ‘works in progress’ mean you can pick up projects quickly after a break. Think about ladder shelves for storage jars or hanging racks for fabric, paper and ribbon.

Have a light bulb moment

Good natural light is crucial for creating. Think about including a combination of daylight magnifying lamps, light boxes and floor lamps to illuminate close work. Ceiling level track lights can light up large areas, with light switches recessed into work tops for easy access. During the day, our log cabins are flooded with natural light, but we also offer integrated glass blinds for privacy and glare reduction on sunny days.

Furnish your creativity

Measure the dimensions of your space so you can get the right sized furniture to fit. Before buying your table consider whether you prefer to sit or stand to work, and whether a wheeled chair or static stool will be best. Corner desks or drop-leaf tables are great space savers if you want to add an easel or other large objects to your cabin, but a centralised workspace will allow the whole family to muck in. Add cabinets underneath your table to maximise storage, or add casters so you can move it around.

Top Five Crafts to do at Home

1. Marbling Endless designs can be swirled on to paper, and you don’t have to have specialist materials to do it. Follow this tutorial for making inks and oils from household ingredients: https://artfulparent.com/marbling-with-oil/

2. Stenciling Whether it’s a book, lamp, cupboard or wall, stenciling is easy and effective. Always prepare the surface well before you start and secure your template to stop it slipping. Here’s a lovely way to decorate plant pots: https://diycandy.com/how-to-stencil-a-clay-pot/

3. Decoupage Layering cut-out pictures on to hard surfaces is a great way to personalise objects around your home. Try this lovely watercolour mason jar: https://craftsbyamanda.com/watercolor-luminaries/

4. Upcycling Tired household items can be given a new lease of life with a little thought to repurposing – think colander light fittings and tea-cup plant pots. Try these whisk tea-light holders: https://designintuition.co/awesome-diy-inspiration-hanging-whisk-tea-light-candle-holder-votive/

5. Quilling Create unique designs in paper by rolling strips into different shapes. You can use your own paper and create a quilling tool from a cotton bud tip or cocktail stick stuck into cork! Check out this beautiful quill vase: https://www.instructables.com/id/Paper-Quilled-Teardrop-Vase/

Read here how Norwegian Log customer Francoise Read expanded her craft business with a contemporary log cabin studio. 

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Thursday posts are sponsored by Cabin Master: garden offices and studios to fit any size garden. Top quality contemporary or traditional buildings.

 

James Furzer’s ‘Homeless Cabin’ at Grand Designs Live

Grand Designs Live returns to Birmingham’s NEC October 10-14 and will include architect James Furzer’s design the ‘Homeless Cabin’.

Outside Hall 5 of the NEC visitors can see a prototype shell of the Homeless Cabin that James has developed as an alternative towards defensive architecture (e.g. spikes in building voids) meant to deter the homeless that is found throughout the UK. Inside Grand Designs Live, visitors can look inside one of these cabins, and find out more information about this potentially life-changing project.

According to James: ‘We require friendlier architecture to change the current perception of homelessness and provide thoughtfully designed spaces for those less fortunate. A place of warmth, security and privacy, where one can gather their thoughts and regenerate away from the public eye.  In short, a worldwide, immediate, temporary solution to rough sleeping.’

A panel of experts, including representatives from GROUNDWORK, a charity helping vulnerable and homeless people, along with property expert Kunle Barker and James Furzer discuss the ‘Rise Of The Rough Sleeper’ at the Grand Theatre on October 12.
 
 

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10 free pairs of tickets to Grand Designs Live to give away

Shedworking has teamed up with Grand Designs Live to give you the chance to claim one of 10 free pairs of tickets, worth up to £34 each, to the UK’s leading contemporary home show Grand Designs Live at the ExCeL, proudly sponsored by Anglian Home Improvements.

This inspiring event, presented by design guru and TV broadcaster, Kevin McCloud, at ExCeL London from 5 –13 May, will see an array of new exhibitors, features and stages alongside established favourites.

To claim your free pair of tickets head to www.granddesignslive.com and use the code SHED2018 before April 16.

Terms and Conditions:
Tickets can only be claimed online and cannot be claimed by any other method. Tickets are available for use on 8th, 9th, 10th or 11th May 2018 only. Tickets cannot be exchanged for cash, are not transferable and cannot be duplicated. There are only 10 pairs of tickets available which will be issued on a first come, first serve basis. Once all tickets have been claimed, the code will no longer work. You must print your own tickets and show them at the entrance to Grand Designs Live on the date you have chosen. Failure to print your tickets could result in refusal of entry. In the event of any dispute, the show’s organisers, Media 10 Ltd have the right to refuse admission. Call the ticket hotline on 0844 854 134. ------------------------------------

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Tom Raffield 's steam-bent garden office at Chelsea Flower Show

Followers of Grand Designs may remember furniture and lighting designer Tom Raffield's splendid house in Cornwall being featured at the end of last year. He is also exhibiting his work this week at the Chelsea Flower Show as well as his marvllous Gwenver Garden Room which shows off all his skills in the art of steam bending.

It's made out of steam bent oak and white-washed ash cladding on the interior and exterior - naturally, one of the selling points is the lovely curvey feel. The Gwenver is 6m x 4m x 2.5m and comes in a range of bespoke sizes and specs (so you can choose which way the curve faces) including  bi-fold double glazed aluminium dark grey doors, ammonite grey corrugated metal wall to the back, and a white-washed exposed wooden ceiling.

You can find them at 539 and also look out for their marvelous hanging seats, armchairs and mirrors.
 

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Cardboard shedworking

Ideal for the eco-minded shedworker with a penchant for water, Harry Dwyer and Charlie Waller of Aircraft Workshop have created what they claim is the world's first houseboat made entirely of recycled cardboard. Theywill be showcasing the logic-defying boat for the first time at Grand Designs Live on April 30.       

The aim is to make use of otherwise wasted cardboard found in and around the site of their workshop, transforming it into a fully seafaring vessel, capable of sleeping two. The boat, currently being assembled in London's historic docklands will contain two bunks, an electric motor, kitchen and all the amenities one would expect to find in a houseboat, in cardboard. As well as all the interior facilities, Harry and Charlie will include everything required for a fully functional boating experience such as fenders, rubbing strips, funnels, wheelhouse, portholes and even an anchor. ----------------------------------------------------

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

George Clarke launches Amazing Sheds

Look out for the launch of Amazing Sheds in early May at Grand Designs Live (May 2-10), a collaboration between TV presenter George Clarke and builder William Hardie, who have worked together on the Amazing Spaces television series. The first prefab shedlike atmospheres (flat-packed delivered then erected by the AS team) will come in two sizes and various colours and come with 'space saving furniture' including fold-out desks and day beds. No word yet on prices though there's 10 per cent off if you order one at the show.

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Tuesday posts are sponsored by Garden Spaces, suppliers of contemporary garden buildings, offices, gyms and studios, many of which do not require planning

Man Made Home: the new Walden?

We're just about to get overrun with television programmes about building shedlike atmospheres. Later this autumn Channel 4 will run a series fronted by George Clarke called Micro Designs which will be along similar lines to Kevin McCloud’s Grand Designs but focusing on very small build projects for living and working. And starting on Sunday at 8pm, McCloud himself has a new series on the same channel called Man Made Home in which he does a bit of a Walden and goes out into the woods to build an off-grid cabin of his own out of recycled and very locally-sourced materials. Here's what he says:

"This is the shed of my imagination; a shedtastic opportunity to explore off-grid ways of living, meet craftspeople of all ages and disciplines and ask whether living a life where we make and do is better than one where we simply buy and consume. A life-changing experience."

Not everybody is overjoyed at the programme's concept. Shedworker Nick Rosen, who runs the off-grid site describes it as "a bit of a vanity project", pointing out the problems of getting planning permission for such a project and that for something like this to succeed it really needs to be based around an off-grid community. Here's what he says:

“He says he is “off grid and off mains,” but if McCloud’s new series is to be anything more than an essay in Grand Selfishness it should be used to kick off a campaign to loosen the planning restrictions on building eco-homes in the countryside – and in the suburbs or in people’s back gardens. I call on McCloud to join with us to campaign for looser planning laws to allow a new generation of back-to-the-land homesteaders. This would create jobs and housing, and bring life back to the countryside."

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SHËD: Build your own designer garden office for less than £2,500

Longstanding readers of Shedworking will know all about Dominic Jones's One Grand Designs garden office which was a, very worthy, winner of the Garden Office category of Shed of the Year 2010. Now Dominic - who blogged about the experience at http://www.onegranddesigns.com/ - has put together an excellent ebook (more details here) which walks you through the process of building your own decent quality garden office on a low budget, including plans and nice images.

"I fully intend the book to be a work in progress," he says, "it goes hand in hand with the forum for builders at gardenofficeplans.com/forum and as questions are asked, answers given and other builders' experiences recounted, then they will become a part of the book to help other builders complete their dream garden office."

You can download a sample and buy the book at https://leanpub.com/diygardenoffice and if you're thinking of doing a DIY garden office, I can't recommend it too strongly. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tuesday posts are sponsored by 3rdSpace modular garden rooms.
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Mushroom shed

Fancy working in a toadstool? One of the most intriguing garden shed structures at Grand Designs this year, the LOL from Lancashire based Outdoor Pods. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tuesday posts are sponsored by 3rdSpace modular garden rooms.
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Teenager's house on wheels

Mark Burton from Custom Built Surrey has been hard at work, as he explains... "Our stroppy teenage son informed me that he "needs his space". So, as if by magic, a House on Wheels appeared at the bottom of our 100ft garden within 3 weeks. I will also be driving the house through central London to The Grand Designs Show with the message "All Teenagers Should Have One." You can visit Mark - who builds custom made garden buildings, log cabins, garden offices and workshops - at Grand Designs Live, Stand G360. -------------------------------------------------------------------------
Monday posts are sponsored by garden2office, the Swedish garden office specialists. Click here for more details.

Win tickets to Grand Designs Live 2012

Kevin McCloud is bringing his contemporary home show Grand Designs Live sponsored by Direct Line back to London’s ExCeL Centre from May 5 to May 13 and we are offering readers the chance to win one of five pairs of tickets to the live show which plays host to over 500 exhibiting companies and hundreds of products that you can't find on the high street - among them will be the intriguing Tetra Shed which we exclusively revealed to the world here on Shedworking. To win, simply answer the following spectacularly tricky question by emailing us:
What TV series is Kevin McCloud known for?
a) Grand Designs
b) Location Location Location
c) Restoration Man

For those not lucky enough to win, tickets can be booked online at www.granddesignslive.com or by calling the Ticket Hotline on 0844 854 1348. Children go free.

*Terms and conditions apply,
1. This offer is only open to UK residents
2. Competition winners tickets are valid for any one day of the show between the 5th – 13th May to Grand Designs Live at Excel London
3. Tickets are non transferable
4. Complimentary tickets obtained through this offer may not be duplicated.
5. All tickets will be scanned on entry to the show
6. The closing date for this offer is April 16
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Tuesday posts are sponsored by 3rdSpace modular garden rooms.
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Win tickets to Grand Designs Live: Updated

Grand Designs Live returns to Birmingham for its sixth year at the NEC from October 7 to October 9 2011. With over 500 exhibitors showcasing the latest interior products, and free expert consultations on offer for every visitor, it's a great place for shedworkers and those thinking about taking up shedworking - look out in particular for the Grand Gardens which this year will feature a spectacular night garden display and the House of the Future from Virgin Media. Kevin McCloud and other guest speakers will  discuss key industry topics and the Grand Village will feature live demos of sustainable build and green technology.

Shedworking is offering one lucky reader a pair of tickets to this year’s show. Simply email us the answer to this question: How many exhibitors will Grand Designs Live Birmingham have? Normal Shedworking competition rules apply. UK residents only, sorry. Competition closes midday Monday September 19.

UPDATE: the winner was Carol Watkins from Telford. Thank you all for entering.

Grand Designs Live highlights: Pilotis

Judging from the feedback we've received and seen on the interwebs, one of the most popular attractions of Grand Designs Live this weekend was Gaukroger's Pilotis which closely resembles their Forest School (pictured above). Among those who were impressed was the marvellous Patient Gardener (also on Twitter) who had this to say:

It was very compact inside with a small double bedroom, shower room, small kitchen and living area but would be ideal for teenage son in need of his own space and then later to either rent out as a self catering unit or to convert to a glorious garden office. I think the design works very well from the outside; I could imagine it sitting above a large swath of ferns and hostas. I am also a sucker for the wood palings on the outside – as is my son.

What were your highlights of the show?
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Free tickets for Grand Designs with Atelier

If you're considering going to Grand Designs Live in Birmingham next month (8th-10th), there is a banner on the Atelier website which enables visitors to the site to get discounted tickets or the company is offering free tickets to customers who make an appointment with one of their garden studio designers during September. The Atelier stand will be in the Grand Gardens section stand number G410 and look like this.


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Shedworkers do well in Shed of the Year category awards

It's a bumper year for shedworkers in the fourth National Shed of the Year awards. In the category sections which have just been announced on Shedblog there are several garden offices among the winners including Nicola Brown of In The Shed (pictured above) in the Studio category. Winner of the Workshop category was Artemis Russell (pictured below).

And in the official Garden Office category, it's Dominic Jones' One Grand Designs.

Now the judges are arguing around the virtual judging table about exactly who will walk off with the top prize...
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Installing a sound system in your garden office

Dominic Jones, Head of User Experience at Liverpool Direct Limited and garden office blogger at One Grand Designs has a great post about installing a sound system in his shed (pictured above). He's based the setup around Apple Express so he can stream music to his new Acoustic Energy Aego -M 2.1 speakers in his garden office. Here's what he says:

"These puppies are VERY powerful – way more so than the Kenwood Amp of my teens, yet also clear, pin sharp and unobtrusive. I’ve spent the evening in the shed just listening to music – and the Kingspan insulation seems to work a treat for sound as well – nobody seems to be particularly bothered by my booming shed… Rock on!"

Well worth a read.
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One Grand Designs - up and shedworking

I'm very pleased to report that Dominic Jones's marvellous One Grand Designs shedworking project is very close to finishing (so close that he's already starting to post from his shed). Pictured above is the nearly finished thing, below an atmospheric night image.And here he is, officially shedworking. More details at One Grand Designs.

One Grand Designs: update

One Grand Designs - one of Shedworking's favourite selfbuild garden office projects - is almost at the finishing line. Do nip along and enjoy this very honest account.