New issue of The Scottish Shedder out now

The November issue of the official newsletter of the Scottish Men's Sheds Association - The Scottish Shedder - is out now (download it here). Excellent as always, it features articles about the Stonehaven & District Men’s Shed which recycles prosthetic limbs for Africa, the Scottish ‘Shed of the Year’ Award runners-up, and how Dingwall Men’s Shed has secured ‘Licence to Occupy’ for its new home, and much, much more. A great read. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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

Diary of a Somebody by Brian Bilston

If you're looking for a suitable Christmas present for the shedworker in your life, then Diary of a Somebody by Brian Bilston (the slightly strangely monikered 'poet laureate of Twitter') might be a consideration. In no other novel of 2019 does a garden office play such a part and certainly not in such a major way on the front cover.

Featuring plenty of his cleverly devised poems and a plot about a marketing executive looking for love and a career as a writer, the central character Brian is let go from his job about halfway through the novel and decides this is the moment when he needs to buy a writing shed garden office with his £15,000 redundancy money. He is excited about it well before it arrives - here he is on May 28 writing about his furnishing purchases:

"I stuck to the essentials: a writing desk and chair, two floor-to-ceiling bookcases, an antique Remington typewriter, a whiteboard for brainstorming writerly thoughts, a desk lamp, a standing lamp, some curtains, a rug, a small wood-burning stove, a yoga mat, two tins of Lapsang Souchong, coffee machine, two packets of fair-trade Sumatran kopi luwak coffee, a neo-Dada abstract painting by up-and-coming artist Monica Bannerjee, three cushions, three Penguin Classics cushion covers, a footbath, a min-fridge, and an antique globe mini-bar."

The text does not go into detail about the type of garden office, but it's obviously a decent one since it take "a team of four experienced shed-builders a whole day to assemble it" and it has cedar cladding. Moreover, it seems warm enough in winter so must have proper insulation. Once finished, Brian proudly describes it as "not so much a writing shed as un palais jardinière des lettres". He goes on to say: "It is magnificent! A Wi-Fi-free oasis for literary endeavour. A cedar-clad creative hub!"

The shed goes on to play a significant part in the plot when the police arrive following the disappearance of Brian's poetic nemesis (who, it is also hinted at, also has a writing shed). --------------------------------------

Wednesday’s posts are sponsored by Norwegian Log Buildings  - Log cabins and garden buildings for a better quality of life. Click here for more details.

'Brexit bunker" garden office

This full-width garden office in London by Rise Design Studio is not only an unusual shape but was built to complement the railway which runs behind the property. The owner has christened the 15 square metre build the 'Brexit bunker'. It's well insulated and clad in black mild steel which will weather naturally, while inside is finished in what has become one of the major trends for 2019, birch plywood.

Photos by Edmund Sumner

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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

Save 25% on the new Haynes Shed Manual

You can currently save 25% off the rrp of the Haynes' Practical Lifestyle Manuals which includes my Haynes Shed Manual (as well as fitness, space, etc) co-written with John Coupe. Let me remind you that it was described as "A thing of beauty" (and by implication, a joy forever) by none other than The Sunday Sport. For details, click here.  -------------------------------------------------
Monday posts are sponsored by garden2office, the Swedish garden office specialists. Click here for more details.

Black Urban Grow Pod

I wrote in the most recent issue of the Idler magazine about how black has become a popular colour for garden offices. Here's the Urban Grow Pod from Obe & Co, a design practise with its own industrial workshop facility which produces many non-garden office products too. An interesting part of its design is the curved aluminium roof, plus there is eco-friendly sheep wool insulation.

Below is what a non-black pod looks like.

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Sunday posts are sponsored by eDEN Garden Rooms. Stunning, bespoke high quality garden rooms, to suit your unique space and style

Garden room with a loom

There's a first time for everything and so here is something we've never seen before, a garden office with a loom inside it, designed and built by eDEN Garden Rooms for a client in Canterbury who runs a successful weaving business. Here's what they say about it:

Starting out as a hobby, this client’s passion for weaving had slowly began to take over the family home, with piles of wool, cushion covers and equipment cluttering up communal spaces. As the small business began to grow, so did the piles of wool, and supported by her parents, our client made the decision to take this hobby into a dedicated outdoor workspace. Not only would this give the family more space within their home, but it would give the growing business a space for focus and development; taking it from strength to strength.

It's 4m x 3m, with a large sliding door, floor-to-ceiling side window, and an adjoining storage area. Other features include underfloor heating, brushed still electrical fittings, and fully plastered and painted interior walls. -----------------------------------

Saturday posts are sponsored by iHUS Projects, specialists in the design and build of granny annexes for elderly and disabled care.

Writer's studio

An intriguing facade to this writer's studio in London by Beasley Dickson Architects which replaced a disintegrating summer house at the end of an overgrown back garden. Here's what they say about it:

"The client’s brief was for contemporary space with a cabin-like quality. The brief evolved to embody a series of elemental additions: a plinth, roof, screens and hearth alongside existing structural steels and joists that were exposed."

So the more unusual features include a stone plinth with sunken plunge pool and reflecting pond, a large triangular sliding rooflight, and various slatted timber screens which can rotate 90 degrees to stop it getting too sunny. Additionally there is a kitchen and lavatory which are cunningly hidden using timber cladding, plus an outside shower, and oak floorboards, plus hot rolled stell cabinetry.

Photos: Agnese Sanvito

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