End of an era for George Saunders' garden office

We've mentioned novelist George Saunders and his writing shed, pictured above, several times before here on Shedworking, so we were sorry to read that he has effectively called time on it by moving to California and leaving it behind (it would be a tricky one to move). Here's what he says in his latest newsletter about it:

Finally, I want to say a proper and public GOODBYE and THANKS to one of the best non-sentient pals I ever had, my writing shed here in Oneonta. It was very good to me. I remember finishing Lincoln in the Bardo in there the fall of….2016, maybe? I was out here alone, driving to Syracuse to teach Wednesdays through Thursdays, but then the rest of the week I was racing to finish the book, sometimes fourteen hours a day, feeling everything falling into place in this crazy way I’d never experienced before (all the bowling pins coming down on their own, smiling at me, all of them meaning something, something extra, that I hadn’t anticipated), racing out of the shed to walk the trails when I needed a little time to think, or going over to the house for the excellent creativity blend of Graham crackers plus Wilco or Sleater-Kinney…and, by the end of the semester, the book was done.

And most of Tenth of December was written in there too.

These places, these places, this short and sacred life…

Goodbye, old friend,

I know I’ll dream of you often.

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Road workers help pave the way for entrepreneur's garden office business

Workers carrying out improvements to junction 10 of the M6 for National Highways and Walsall Council stepped in to help when their work brought them into contact with Monzur Mia.

Monzur, who has cerebral palsy and uses a motorised wheelchair to get around and an electronic talk box to communicate, came to the attention of the project team when a pedestrian route had to be diverted for safety reasons during the improvement work and they realised that the diversion was taking him out of his way when he wanted to travel between his home and Walsall.

They decided to do something for Monzur in appreciation of his understanding so Works Manager Steven Adamson arranged for workers to prepare and level the ground and install a concrete path with recycled stone. Six people from the team volunteered to carry out the work over a weekend.

Monzur launched his flower business, Monty’s Flowers, during the pandemic and he sells artificial blooms. He is planning to build a garden office to support the business at the end of the garden and the new pathway will help him achieve that goal.

“I am very grateful for their help," he said, "for sparing their time and helping to improve access for me, preparing the ground for my future freestanding office plans. This meant so much, I want to give a big thanks to all who helped.”

National Highways Project Manager, Rumbi Dzikiti, said: “We appreciate that any roadworks, particularly on a scheme as large as this, can cause disruption for local people and appreciate their understanding while works are carried out. So if we can be a good neighbour and help people in the local community we are happy to do so. The project team got to know Monzur and volunteered to carry out this work in his garden. Hopefully he can now better enjoy the outdoors this summer and ultimately get the office he wants to support his business." 

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Gurinder Chadha: shedworker

 

 

Film dirctor Gurinder Chadha (Bhaji on the Beach, Bend it Like Beckham, Beecham House) is also a shedworker. In the video below she shows us round her roof top garden office built by Booths Garden Studios and talks about why she has air conditioning, working at night, and the need to go bespoke to abide by planning issues.

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How much does a garden office add to the value of a property?

At a time when money is tight, getting a return on your investment when buying a garden office is obviously a key concern. There are various ways it helps financially e.g. no spending on a commute, and one of them is simply adding value to your property. Here's a story from Garden Office Buildings who suggest it indicates that one homeowner increased the value of their home by £90,000 by investing in one:

One fantastic example of how a dedicated garden office increases the value of a property comes from one of our clients, who in late 2020 was struggling to sell their home for £700k. Frustrated, they decided to put off selling.

In early 2021, they came to us with the vision of installing a mini garden office (pictured above) which we then installed as per their requirements. Towards the end of 2021, our client decided to relist their property and sold it for £790k right away.

This is one example of how a dedicated garden office can help to increase the value of your home, as well as how attractive the listing is on the market to prospective buyers. 

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Pub Shed of the Year 2022

During the pandemic the popularity of having your own pub in your garden exploded. Many of these bars are DIY built featuring fully functioning bars with sound systems, pool tables, darts boards, real fires and a huge variety of drinks for friends and family.

To recognise the best of the best Pub Shed Radio and Two Fat Blokes are holding a competition for back garden publicans to enter their bar for the converted title Pub Shed of The Year 2022 with prizes for first, second and third places. With hundreds of entries last year the judges selected their top three which then went to public voting via a voting platform. Each bar will be shown on the site for visitors from across the UK to vote for their favourite.

None of the three finalists will know if they are the winners until they are live on air, Ashley Turner, owner of Two Fat Blokes, and DJ Tommy Funka, owner of Pub Shed Radio, will knock on the door of the winners on the night of 19 November with a DJ rig to broadcast live to the nation from the winning pub shed.

Garden bar owners can enter their pub sheds & bars into the 2022 competition by heading to pubshedoftheyear.co.uk. Entries close 30 September.

Iain Weetman won last year 2021 beating 481 entrants to the overall titles. He self-built and fitted out his bar, pictured above, which has the bar taps from HMS Ark Royal that served in the Gulf war installed on his bar.

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Garden office becomes key selling point for househunters

A new study by Rightmove shows how homebuyers' list of sought-after features has changed over the last decade. To cut to the chase, it's thumbs up for garden offices (and orangeries, summer houses, and bi-fold doors) and thumbs down for conservatories. Here's the full rundown:

"Our findings show that as working patterns have changed, optimising the space in our homes is more important than ever," said a spokesman for Rightmove. "Features like an outdoor office space have soared as working patterns have changed. The proportion of property listings that mention them now 11 times higher than a decade ago. And we aren’t talking a shed with a desk in it here. Many of the homes with garden offices currently for sale come fully equipped with mains electric, their own air-conditioning systems, and of course, wi-fi."

Image: Garden office of two bedroom cottage, Wymeswold, Loughborough, on for £550,000, with Benjamins 

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The Potting Shed named Shed of the Year 2022

The Potting Shed owned by Kelly Haworth from Bury, Lancashire has been named Cuprinol Shed of the Year 2022. Made entirely from recycled materials, the 2m x 3m build is the first winner ever which has come from the 'Budget' category and sits on the allotment space created by Kelly and her husband Derrick. It took around a month to construct using old doors, pallet wood, and other pre-used materials, and features a small kitchenette, potting area, tool store and off-grid bathroom. Total cost was an impressive £200 and her hard work has scooped her the £1,000 first prize, a personalised Cuprinol Shed of the Year plaque and £100 of Cuprinol products.

“I’m over the moon to have won this year’s Cuprinol Shed of the Year," said Kelly. "It’s been a real labour of love and I haven’t stopped dancing since I found out the wonderful news. I was inspired by my dad’s shed and after waiting years for a plot, I couldn’t wait to build my own. “It’s just so peaceful, I can stay in the shed for hours on end, in fact, I often lose track of time while I’m down at the allotment. It was fun being able to share the journey with people on Instagram – it even encouraged others to start collecting doors for their own ventures too!

“I always enjoyed upcycling and reinventing items, which is even more important now that prices are on the rise again. I hope those that see my shed can look at it and say: ‘I can do that’ – so much so that I’m actually going to start my own Potting Shed blog.”

Head judge and founder of the competition Uncle Wilco said he was extremely impressed with the calibre of entrants this year. “We’ve seen some first-of-their-kind designs, making it nearly impossible to choose just one overall winner. Every year, people’s creativity really levels up. Kelly’s Potting Shed really impressed us with the use of second-hand materials. It just feels right with the current cost of living crisis to crown someone so cost-savvy as the winner.” 

Marianne Shillingford, Creative Director at Cuprinol, added: “We love seeing all the entrants making the most of the outdoors and that’s exactly what Kelly has done. She’s managed to create a special place for herself, without it costing the earth which is so crucial at the minute. We’re thrilled that Cuprinol could play a part in Kelly’s creation, her use of Sweet Pea pink next to Ducksback Black to decorate and protect the shed is simple yet effective. Such a deserving winner.”

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