The Hinterland: Cabins, Love Shacks and Other Hide-Outs

Another attractive coffee table tome to add to the Shedworker's Bookshelf, this time from Gestalten (see here for our reviews of their previous shedlike offerings). The publishers quite rightly say that "The cabin has become our third place, our hideaway where we can recharge our spirits and reconnect with ourselves, away from the restraints of society and the stress of the everyday" and to that end present a well-illustrated collection of microarchitectural delights, many of which would be perfect as garden offices. Here's their blurb:

Escaping from the city and the everyday. Making a home within the forest’s foliage. Using architectural remains as a foundation for a new retreat. These are the makings of many daydreams and the realities present in The Hinterland. For, even if it only lasts a moment, we all need a change of scenery. Cabins provide that coveted change. Located on mountain tops, nestled in villages, or ensconced in lush forests, The Hinterland showcases homey hide-outs and charming cabins from shelter to domicile. These getaways free us from the distracting and unessential, and offer to put us back in touch with nature and reclaim our own inner peace.

Thoughtfully crafted and built, the stories behind these structures are just as curious as the walls themselves. Through portraits of the inhabitants and their invitingly inventive homes, The Hinterland explores architecture and design approaches to creating works that refresh and revitalize amidst the beauty of nature. With the right materials and mindset, this stirring collection reveals that we can all create our own radiant refuge and follow the call of The Hinterland. 

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

Popcorn Shed

Gourmet popcorn producers Popcorn Shed not only have marvellous packaging, but the company was also started in a shed. The made to order, gluten-free, preservative/additive free popcorn was started by cousins Laura Jackson and Sam Feller who started production in a family kitchen but quickly outgrew it and moved operations to the garden shed.

The excellent packaging was designed by branding agency White Bear Studio who explain their shed design journey:

For the packaging, to us, the answer was in the name. Let's make Sheds! Why not? And so we set about creating theatrical stories for each of our three key flavours. Pecan Pie, due to its flavour was inspired by an American barn, Salted Caramel by the bright lights of the Brighton seafront and Chocolate by a rich winter log cabin.

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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

The Writing Room

A marvellous London garden office/extra leisure space designed by architecture and interior specialists neighbourhood for an actor and keen surfer. Replacing a rather less exotic shed on the same location, it features areas for writing, and storing surf boards and garden tools, wrapped around an external terrace. According to neighbourhood: "The external timber cladding was designed and chosen for its warmth and its form helps create a “cabin-in-the-woods”, which was something of an inspiration for the client." It was shortlisted for the Architects Journal Small Projects Award

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

Shed Box of Delights: The Grand Designs Shed Project

Waltons and Grand Designs Live have been running a transformative shed competition at Grand Designs Live this year to test five designers' skills at furnishing a 10ft x 8ft Tradesman Storage Shed. The winner was Rebecca Jones’ reading snug pictured above. Here's what Kevin said to Waltons:

Storage is important, but I think what The Grand Shed Project shows is that you can use even the humblest of spaces. I think it’s important not to be too plugged in and a shed is a place to unplug. All the contents of the sheds are so different, it’s like looking into different worlds, expressing both the imagination and desires of the designers. But it also teaches you that the shed should be a place for the imagination, not for storing tins of paint, but for retreating to or from the world in order to pursue a hobby, or mix a cocktail or have a sleep.

Shedworking's favourite was the 'Bringing the outdoors in' shed by Liam Sapsford, pictured below.

You can see the other sheds - a South Miami Beach inspired cocktail shed, boutique guest bedroom shed, and a crafter's haven - at Walton's blog.
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Friday posts are sponsored by Warwick Buildings, manufacturers of outstanding quality timber buildings. Click here for more information.

Garden office and wisteria

As I got much love for my garden office pictured through our 100-year-old Wisteria - changed twitter pic @dwg @maverickwoman @DWExperience pic.twitter.com/hxYgrTVgGm

— Paul Miller (@paulmillersays) May 4, 2017

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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.

Boat Pod

Those looking for a truly one-off garden office should take a look at the Boat Pod, a 4m-high shedlike atmosphere constructed by Barney Dearsly who runs Weathered by Water - it is the former bow section of Cornish fishing trawler the Anthony Stevenson built in 1945, with its original curved larch planks and oak ribs, now covered in fibreglass to make it watertight.

It comes with a large circular doorway with sail canvas 'door', electrics, oak floor, wood burning stove (which was made using an old mast step), and Penzance port name and number, and all together, in Barney's words "offers the comforts of 21st century living within a cosy, atmospheric and beautifully crafted structure that was built to withstand the waves of the Atlantic Ocean". ----------------------------------------------------

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

The Anderson: Retro wartime garden office

The Anderson is part of what The Posh Shed Company calls its 'Tin Hat' range which, as they put it, "is a throwback to war-time Britain when practicality usurped all else. It is designed to appeal to those seeking a traditional shed, solid yet understated in appearance and built to a standard to guarantee years of service."

With genuine Anderson Shelters very hard to come by nowadays, this may be worth a look, though it's bijou shedworking at its most snug with the two models coming in at 2m x 1m and 2m x 2m.  It comes with a galvanised steel roof, guttering, and a half-glazed black door. Extra features include the decking and vegetable trugs. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tuesday posts are sponsored by Garden Spaces, suppliers of contemporary garden buildings, offices, gyms and studios, many of which do not require planning