The Potting Shed

A splendid build by By Boon in South Oxfordshire near a natural swimming lake. Features include a tin roof, decking along the length of the cabin, and old Crittell windows sourced from a 1950s East London factory. Interestingly, the whole thing was built on a cassise and wheels so it can be fairly easily moved if/when necessary. 

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The Philosophy of Sheds is published today

Available everywhere good books are sold, ideally from your local independent bookseller, and online at the likes of Blackwells. It's published by those fine folk at the British Library who have this to say about it:

At a time when it feels like every year buildings get larger and more impersonal, sheds remain a beacon of ergonomic simplicity. Maybe it's the nostalgia of the ancient huts from which humanity evolved, or the sense of focused calm produced by shutting yourself away in one, but around the world and across generations we have found comfort in our sheds. They are wooden repositories for our inner lives: cheap, multifunctional spaces ready to be filled with the passions, tools and ideas of the individual.

In these pages you'll find rotating sheds, sheds on wheels and holy sheds, as Alex Johnson uncovers the universal lure of these tiny structures. Also detailed are some of the big ideas these little huts have birthed, from inventions and philosophies to literature, art and increasingly eccentric answers to the question: what exactly can a shed be? The Philosophy of Sheds also includes a gazetteer of famous and unique sheds of the world and is illustrated with archival imagery from the British Library collections.

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New garden privy shed launched at Chelsea Flower Show

Plankbridge is delighting folks at this year's Chelsea Flower Show with its sauna snug which we covered previously on Shedworking here. Joining it on the tradestand AR640 is the company's new Garden Privy, what they describe as "a nostalgic throwback to the world of the Victorian gardener". 

It can be wheeled into position and connected to the mains in the garden, beside a garden office (or elsewhere, e.g. glamping spot). Alternatively, it can be fitted with solar lighting and a compost toilet for use in any remote, off-grid location.

In keeping with the traditional Victorian-style shepherd’s hut, the Garden Privy is mounted on iron wheels and is clad in hard-wearing corrugated iron. It measures 4ft x 4ft and features a small glazed window with oak shutters for privacy.

The Garden Privy was inspired by an outdoor privy that Plankbridge co-founder Jane Dennison remembers from childhood. "My mother had an old red-brick privy in her garden that was covered in rambling roses and the perfect place for her grandchildren to play hide- and-seek in later years. We have a great deal of affection for beautiful old structures like these at Plankbridge. I can’t think of a more fitting place to unveil the new Garden Privy than at RHS Chelsea Flower Show."

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The Book Nook

Entries for this year's Shed of the Year close at the end of the month so get your skates on if you're planning to take part. Pictured above is not only one of the newest entries for the annual competition but already one of the Shedworking staff's favourite builds in the whole field. 

Located in London, it's called The Book Nook and is owned by Yannick Read who describes it as like a mini shepherd's hut. Features include being on wheels, barn-style doors, a hanging fire pit, and a bird feeder, as well as lots of books and comfy seating. Enjoy the video of it below.

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The virtual garden sheds of Chelsea Flower Show 2020

So in normal circumstances this would have been the first day that the public got in to have a nose around the marvellous Chelsea Flower Show. Things being what they are, there are obviously no display gardens, nor exhibitors areas where there are always plenty of sheddish structures. It would not have been a classic year for garden offices, but if it had gone ahead, here is what you could have (probably) seen starting above with Kazuyuki Ishihara's Zen garden for Glion with a garden house designed in collaboration with Kengo Kuma.

 

 

Designed by Jonathan Snow for Trailfinders with a focus on Nepal, the garden plan includes a timber shelter inspired by local architecture with a rather nice stone path and water-powered prayer wheels.

 

 

This looks like it would have been particularly lovely, a teahouse designed by Miaofu for its own garden. Here's what the RHS says about it: "The tearoom is a set to host a social gathering reminiscent of those held in ancient China. Friends will gather here in the traditional way to enjoy time together and in doing so slow their pace of life and spend time in nature."

 

 

This Nikki Tibbles garden, to have been built by The Outdoor Room and sponsored by Bicester Village Shopping Collection, doesn't have a shed as such but it does have a wooden pergola made from reclaiemd sea groyne which is described as "an enchanting space in which to escape, work, create and relax away from the hustle and bustle of life".

Finally, a sauna and cool-off in the Finnish Soul Garden, designed by Taina Suonio for the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry of Finland. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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Sheds on wheels planning dispute: update

We reported back in June on James Kershaw's planning dispute with Pembrokeshire County Council over the effect of putting wheels on a shed in terms of planning regulations (details here). That first case went against Mr Kershaw but he appealed and as the Pembrokeshire Herald reports, he has had that decision overturned with a judge finding that the council's action were an abuse of process.

There are more details at the link above but talking exclusively to Shedworking, Mr Kershaw said: "I have learnt a lot during this legal argument and in planning terms whether a structure on wheels is a building or simply a chattel placed on the land is a matter of fact and degree. There are a number of variants. Permanence is a major factor, and if it was intended to remain in one position for a long period. My advice to people unsure on the issue is erect the shed on a fully movable, towable chassis which is able to be moved around your garden with ease either behind a vehicle or pushed around by a group of strong men or women."

Do wheels on a shed make a different to planning regulations?

A common question about keeping your shed legal is the issue of making it moveable - to cut a long story short, if it's mobile, then there are fewer restrictions on what you can build (this is one reason why shepherds' huts have become more popular). But as with everything it's more complicated than that...

There was an excellent example of the issue this month when Pembrokeshire Council took James Kershaw to court for trying to avoid planning regs by adding wheels to a wooden shed (top) he built on his land in front of 12th centurey Pill Priory (a Grade II listed building, above) near Milford Haven - he claimed that the wheels meant it was no longer a building and thus exempt.

District Judge Chris James at Llanelli Magistrates' Court did not see it that way, that he did not believe Mr Kershaw, who runs a gardening business, intended to or indeed could move the shed around (despite the wheels) and fined him £700, plus costs of £2,244. The shed had been put up in 2015 without planning permission and was described by a planning inspector as “clumsy and monolithic” which did not fit in with the historic property.

Images courtesy Pembrokeshire Council
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The fastest shed in the world

While this is arguably the world's fastest office on wheels, Kevin Nicks's motorised shed (pictured above) is certainly the fastest shed after reaching just over 100mph on Pendine Sands in Carmarthenshireat the weekend (Kevin's previous best was an official 80mph though I know unofficially he has been much higher). The shed is based around a Volkswagen Passat which now has a Audi RS4 engine installed. Below you can see it in action. More details at The Independent. -------------------------------------------------
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Shed Box of Delights: Coroflot Mobile Work Unit

Another entry in the interior shedworking file, although this also has the potential to be moved around and even used outside. The Coroflot Mobile Work Unit is a trailer designed by Los Osos for Coroflot ('Career and community site hosting individual creative portfolios, a global design firm directory, and a database of job and project openings'). It's made from douglas fir with a polycarbonate cladding.

The Making of: Coroflot – Office on Wheels from Los Osos on Vimeo.

Via Treehugger via designboom where there are lots more details and photos. --------------------------------------------------------

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George Clarke's (and Jane Field-Lewis's) Amazing Spaces - the book

A new series of George Clarke's Amazing Spaces starts tonight at 8pm on Channel 4 and it promises to be as intriguing as series one. To coincide with the first programme, Quadrille has also just published a book of the same name written by Mr Clarke and Jane Field-Lewis of My Cool Shed fame which we'd certainly recommend to readers of Shedworking.

Along similar lines to Ruth Slavid's Micro: Very Small Buildings, Sally Coulthard's Shed Chic and Phyllis Richardson's Big Ideas, Small Buildings series, it looks at a very wide variety of microarchitecture including familiar favourites such as beach huts, shepherds' huts, and garden offices (although what they call a 'schoffice' is surely a 'shoffice'?). There are extensive sections too on small buildings on wheels, repurposed and multifunctional spaces, and selfbuilds, and as you would expect it features plenty of examples from both television series in considerable detail.

Although it's not a 'how to' book, there is a huge amount of general and sensible practical advice (a minor quibble, it would have been useful to include some kind of 'where to go for more information' section for books, websites, suppliers, etc) and the standard of colour illustration is very high indeed. Indeed, the inspiring photographs - and there are huge numbers of them - are probably it's biggest selling point - it's easy to see how this would inspire readers to have a go themselves at thinking small. Certainly in the running for a Shedworking 2013 award.

Available from all the usual outlets but we'd encourage you to get it from your local independent seller.
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Shepherds' hut safety - a cautionary tale

"As a keen follower of all things shed I would like to give your readers this cautionary tale," writes Kim Burdon. "My wife, an artist, has used her shepherd's hut as a studio creating lino prints, oil paintings and watercolours. The hut also became a focus for all her influences and likes. Collections of old china, wallpaper samples, treasures from the garden and books. Emily is a professional artist and had spent the last two years building up a body of work ready to exhibit. Imagine her despair and horror when, on the morning of April 16, she turned up at our plot to find the the whole studio had gone.

"Thieves had stolen a trailer from up the road then come down and broken into our plot and hauled the whole thing away, Taking Emily's work, equipment and personal possessions with it. We called the police and they are doing due diligence, but in all honesty it could be anywhere. The hut was in the garden of our new build plot in Medstead near Alton Hampshire and although there were fears that it may possibly fall victim to petty crime or vandalism, we had not anticipated the taking of the whole hut.

"We have a second larger shepherd's hut we have been building ourselves and have taken immediate action to secure it, We have removed one of the wheels and placed a trench and fence across our drive. You can never underestimate what thieves are capable of doing.

"As a consequence of this theft we are keen for any information or sightings anywhere in Britain. Not only the shepherds hut, which has green corrugated iron walls with dove grey roof. A small window to the rear and a larger window in the right hand wall. There is a fitted bed frame across the back wall and the walls and ceiling are painted off white with a mustard coloured painted floor. It also has polystyrene insulation pushed up between the floor joists from below.

"Emily is  desperate to retrieve the contents. They may have been dumped, or burned, or there may be a chance that someone tries to sell them on. Any work will have the monogram 'EF' within it. To see the sort of work that was present you can look at Emily's web site at www.emilyfeaver.com."

We asked Richard Lee from Plankbridge for his thoughts. "I would be very interested to know if the wheels were under the sides or set outside. If the wheels are outside the body of the hut it wouldn't fit on a normal trailer - we have adapted a trailer to take the extra width, which is one of the features of a genuine shepherds hut. It would take some doing to take a hut, they are very difficult to load and move usually.

"We often suggest, when people are worried, to put some kind of ground anchor in, and chain the axles or wheels to that. Overall though they are difficult to load on a normal trailer and it would certainly need a winch and a fair amount of time, unless the thieves had experience of moving shepherds' huts... One idea we have been given by a customer is to paint the postcode on the top of roof, which may help I suppose. It's a very sad tale, and I hope Emily gets it all back." -------------------------------------------------------------------------
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Olympic guest house shed

Mark Burton of Custom Built Surrey has been in touch to tell us of a client who has a brother travelling to the UK for the Olympics. He has found it hard to get a decently priced hotel room so the client ordered a summerhouse on wheels from Mark as extra accommodation which will then be taken with them when they relocate to Yorkshire later in the year and used as a summerhouse and garden office. -------------------------------------------------------------------------
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Bostin Betty wins garden office category of Shed of the Year

 The finalists for Shed of the Year 2012 have been announced on Shedblog and it's big congratulations to Bostin Betty which has won the garden office category. The selfstyled 'Birmingham Beach and Bathing Machine' is the HQ for the Big Holiday House website and is named in honour of Queen Elizabeth II in her diamond jubilee year.

It's essentially a Keops log cabin on top of cast iron wheels on a steel chassis. We particularly like the daybed inside the office area as well as the wood burner stove. More details and photos at readersheds.co.uk and Bostin Betty is also on Twitter.

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Huts & Hideaways (updated)

Huts & Hideaways is a new Helmsley-based business from Sally Coulthard, author of Shed Chic, building miniature shepherds huts for children. "As a mother of two small children, I know how much little people love spaces designed exclusively for them," she says, "a world where everything is child-sized, comforting and cosy. These portable cabins provide the perfect all-weather space for teddies tea parties, pirate games or summer sleepovers. They’re also a terrific focal point for your garden and a real talking point."

The design does not aim to recreate 19th century shepherds huts but instead capture the essence and charm of the shepherd's hut - however they are built using many of the traditional techniques used for vintage caravans including traditional canvas-bonded roofs (as you’d find on Victorian railway carriages) and tongue and groove timber cladding, as well as iron wheels hand-made by a local blacksmith. Each hut is painted both inside and out using Farrow & Ball Primer & Undercoat and Farrow & Ball Full Gloss. The huts are made using sustainable materials (e.g. Thermowood® timber for cladding, FSC softwood, etc).
As well as the website, if you're interested please call Sally on 01439 748513, email her at sallycoulthard@hotmail.co.uk or write to her at Huts & Hideaways, Stonegrave Lodge Farm, Stonegrave, North Yorkshire YO62 4LL.
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Indoor meditation hut

A marvellous addition to the interior shedworking collection, this is an indoor meditation shed and tearoom designed and built by Toshi Kasai for teacher of feng shui Chinese medicine Liu Ming. It's an eight-foot cube erected in his loft in which he eats, sleeps and works. Here's what he told the New York Times about it:

“In feng shui, we talk about the harmony in the place that you live in,” Mr. Liu says. “The cube evolved out of wanting cozy with the option of keeping a big, open space at the same time. And we added wheels for feng shui purposes. Now that it is portable, I can spin it on an axis, I can point my head and point my desk in different compass directions for different projects. If I am writing something and feel blocked, I can get up and move the room.”

Lots more information and photos at Kasai's Spaceflavor website.
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Mobile shed church up for sale

Built six months ago, this homemade mobile shed church on wheels has been prayed in by more than 300 people at its current base in Stanley, Idaho, but the current owners are keen to sell it, suggesting it is perfect for a wedding event site, winery, business or hospice. Completely insulated, it seats 10 with six more standing and comes with a small wood stove. It's up for sale on Craigslist
Via Tiny House Blog

Mobile coffeeworking

A lovely shedworkingesque design by Bobby Lowe called the “Nescafe Nomadic Cafe Center” - it's a coffee shop in a shed on wheels. What's not to like?
Via the design blog



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Leading London digital advertising agency adopts shedworking

A great example of the creative use of shedworking has been employed by digital ad agency TGB in their refitted offices designed by Satmoko Ball. As onoffice magazine reports (or the e-mag version here), there is not only a more open-plan feel to the office including desks on wheels to make movement between teams easier, there is also a plywood shed in reception. Indeed Adrian Ball of Satmoko Ball specifically says that the concept was based on an “urban garden” with green carpet in the public areas as a kind of 'lawn'. Here's a snippet:

"The most obvious interpretation of the theme is the shed, which is situated smack in the middle of the office floor. Inside it has a writing surface, plus little windows on either side that swing open to break-out spaces with low coffee tables, stools and a couch. Although it works as an interesting focal point for the office, the shed doesn’t look particularly comfortable, which might explain its emptiness.

Ball admits that the shed doesn't yet seem to be getting a lot of use but says it is part of the overall plan to "break the space down into little pockets.”
Thanks to Emma Jones for the alert
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Shed on wheels

Spotted by Robin Peach in North Stainley. If you know any more about it, please get in touch.

Posh Shed Appreciation Society: design competition

The Posh Shed Appreciation Society is a Facebook group run by carpenter Martin Cox who specialises in garden offices, sheds, outdoor structures and reclaimed materials. Today, Martin's launching a design competion aimed at non-professionals, although pros are welcome too. Here are the details:

What would your perfect small outdoor space look like and what would it be for? A posh shed on wheels for towing to festivals perhaps? A snug reading room for the end of your garden? A party hut a la 'Miniscule of Sound'? Or just a funky storage idea? However simple or wacky, send your ideas to this group by 10 December. You don't have to be a designer, a builder or a Habitat fan - you just need to have one inspired idea. Describe it in a few words or just draw a rough sketch and post it to the group page. Easy. There's no big cash prize I'm afraid, but the best one will be drawn up as a shiny new 3D sketch and offered to clients as one of my range of designs! You will be given full credit for this. Let your imagination run wild.

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