Margaret Drabble: Shedworker

Author Margaret Drabble, Lady Holroyd (A Summer Bird Cage, The Witch of Exmoor), works in a writing shed at the bottom of her garden in Somerset with marvellous views over Porlock harbour. In an interview with the Guardian she explains that her wellknown gardening son Joe Swift helped her turn a jungle-like garden into "a long, level retreat, complete with pond, willowy foxglove tree and a wooden writing shed".

She first started writing in her garden office in 1994, saying: "I work better in my little shed. Your concentration changes when you know people can't get at you. When they can, you're half-waiting for them to do so. You even feel a bit annoyed if they don't. It's such a luxury to have something that you've arranged for yourself, with a view. "

Apparently there is no phone line inside the shed, nor any internet connection, but there is a desk, typewriter and laptop, a globe, and a photo of her father.

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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

Tiny house bookshop

Very high on the list of 'I really like the sound of this' is La librairie itinérante, a travelling bookshop from French company the La Maison Qui Chemine (rough translation, 'The house that plods'). It's been built specially for bookseller Jean-Jacques who plans to wander from city to city and from festival to festival plying his trade. 

This perfect shedworking atmosphere is essentially a 5.4m-long trailer, measureing 2.5m by 4m which has dry toilets, a kitchen, office, and bedroom on a mezzanine level, accessed via a ladder also hangs on a handrail that runs along the library so you can reach the highest book . According to Jean-Jacques's request, there's no plumbing.
 
You can see their similarly lovely but less bookish tiny house model here. --------------------------------------------------------------------
Monday posts are sponsored by garden2office, the Swedish garden office specialists. Click here for more details.

Shed Box of Delights: Green roof container garden office

Turning shipping containers into garden offices and buildings was flavour of the month half a dozen years ago and there are some signs that it is on trend again. The Grass Roof Company is among those putting forward some lovely designs, the one above built from two used containers and clad in larch featuring a wood burning stove. The company supplies them straight to site with green roof and habitat walls. Here's what they say about them:

We love used freight containers, they have already spent at least 10 years at sea, they are immensely strong and versatile. A perfect base to fix green roofs and habitat walls. Take the side away and you have a shelter for interpretation, cycle store, outdoor classroom or stage? A truly sustainable building, they can move with you or sell on complete!

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Friday posts are sponsored by Warwick Buildings, manufacturers of outstanding quality timber buildings. Click here for more information.

Garden pod office and library

A marvellously bookish garden office/library from Booths Garden Studios owned by genealogist and writer Liz Howell who calls it The Dreamery. It's the QCB garden pod model, 6.1m x 2.44m in anthracite grey, a size which means it cleverly squeaks in under the building regulations requirements. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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

Garden office in a small space

A common issue among those considering becoming shedworkers is worries about how much room a garden office will take up. Here's a good example of what can be done in a restricted area, in this case by eDEN Garden Rooms at a terraced home in Hither Green, London. It was built boundary-to-boundary at the end of a narrow garden, measuring 3.3m x 3.7m and featuring aluminium sliding doors (replacing an existing shed) on screwpile foundations. The whole build took just under a week.

You can see more about how eDEN puts together their buildings in the video below.

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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

Is the term shed losing its meaning?

An excellent article from Sharon Dale, the always readable property expert at the Yorkshire Post, looks at the perennial issue of 'is that really a shed?' (pictured is the Hobbit House, one of this year's finalists). Among those she talks to are Sally 'Chic Shed' Coulthard, and myself. Here's a snippet of what Sally says:

“For me, sheds are just as easily defined by what they are not. They are not supposed to be permanent living accommodation or a replacement for a home; sheds also can’t be built from permanent materials like brick or stone, they need to be materials that can be deconstructed or moved if necessary, like wood or metal sheeting. For me, a shed is a retreat, or an extra space, that enhances your home, somewhere you can express yourself or carve out a quiet corner. “

Lloyd Alter at Treehugger has also pondered the definition of 'eco shed' and adds:

Actually, for many years I have been wondering what the traditional definition of a shed actually was, thinking that many of the entries in the past were #NotAShed. And I always thought that there should be some kind of separation between the architect-designed posh sheds and the hand-built-by-salt-of-the-earth types, the archetype being my favourite, Alex Holland’s winner from 2013.

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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

Love Your Hut of the Year competition

Beach hut and garden office insurance specialist Love Your Hut is running its regular Hut of the Year competition again this year. All owners of beach huts in the UK can take part by submitting three images of their hut via the company's web site (entry page is here) before August 25. Pictured above are some of the early entrants and you can see more at Love Your Hut's instagram feed (and if you are looking for garden office insurance, it's worth having a look at their policies).
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Monday posts are sponsored by garden2office, the Swedish garden office specialists. Click here for more details.