Roald Dahl's Tales From The Yellow Door (video)

My favourite find from this year's annual Roald Dahl Day yesterday was a charming animation by animation director/writer and storyboard artist (Pixar, Aardman, Netflix) Matt Jones which I'd not come across before. Here's what he says about it:

I found footage of Dahl talking about his writing hut and creative process and thought his wonderful voice would make him the perfect narrator for an animated version. All creatives need their own writing hut; a creative space whether it’s a corner in a cafe or a private studio- it’s a place to think and dream without distraction.

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Why biophilic sounds could enhance your garden office working routine

We talk on here sometimes about the place of music in the shedworking environment. We've also talked about why it's good to have plants in your garden office and also the benefits of looking out onto a garden rather than a skyscraper. But what if there were some way of combining them? 

There is now, thanks to a new company Moodsonic which has put together a programme of natural audio soundscapes or what they call "biophilic design for the ears". Here's what they say about it:

"It harnesses our innate preferences for nature to create workspaces that are more healthy, productive and agile. Research shows that natural sounds can mask distracting noise and promote optimal cognitive functioning – even better than silence. They can decrease our muscle tension and heart-rate and help us feel safe and secure. They can even cue our bodies’ circadian rhythms. Moodsonic uses science-led design to bring these benefits to workplaces, schools, healthcare and more."

In practical terms, this is essentially how the calming sounds of nature such as rivers and rain can have a major impact on cognitive performance, even better they argue than silence.  

Naturally they've done some research which they suggest indicates:

• Moodsonic’s biophilic soundscape increased relaxation responses in people compared to typical office sound, based on both heart-rate and alpha brainwave data

• Participants completed cognitive tasks significantly more quickly in the Moodsonic soundscape condition without loss of accuracy

• Participants scored higher in creative thinking (+ 12%) with Moodsonic compared to typical office sound

Image courtesy Moonalabs

New homeworking survey indicates 7% of people work from garden offices

A survey by workplace health, wellbeing and ergonomics company Posturite indicates that only 48% of people who work from home have a designated room for doing so. Its figures show that 7% of people work from a garden office, with a dedicated study/home office in the house the most popular at 41%, followed by a spare bedroom at 21%, then pretty much every other home in the house. The problem with working at a kitchen table or in the living room is that you almost certainly are damaging your body in the process as a result of poor posture.

Katharine Metters, Lead Consultant in Ergonomics at Posturite, said: “Working from home should be as well set up and comfortable as working in an office and standard home furniture, such as a sofa or dining chair, is not designed to support the body in a suitable position for inputting into a computer. Setting your home office up in an ergonomic way is vital to your effectiveness and to limit the risk of aches, pains and injuries.”

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King of sheds: The man behind Shed of the Year

A nice interview in the Daily Star with my old friend and shed collaborator Uncle Wilco, pictured here awarding this year's Shed of the Year prize. Here's a snippet:

A shed overlord who set out to find Britain's wackiest and most unique outbuildings says the days of them only belonging to blokes are over.

Andrew Wilcox was sinking a pint in 2006 when he decided to launch a competition to find the best sheds in the country, which has since unearthed the weird and wonderful.

Sheds were a love of Andrew's long before 16 years ago and he recalled to the Daily Star how as a kid he would visit his grandad and his retired miner mates in a small village of sheds which they built from scrap metal.

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Garden studio linked to house

As we all know, the first rule of Garden Office Club is that it has to be completely detached from the main home building. It can still be a first rate home office, but if it's part of the home it's by definition not a garden office. But we may have to rethink the history books thanks to this intriguing design from Shape Architecture for a build in Hammersmith, London.

It's a garden studio with a glazed link to the garden flat behind, not yet built but with planning permission granted. Here's what they say about it:

"The studio is a creative response to the garden setting and the glazed link is wide enough to provide further opportunities to sit and admire the garden.  A composition of various types and size of glass panels ensure the studio and link are flooded with light and a wide variety of views are had.  This composition of glass sits well with a series of green sedum roofs that define the various spaces.  The nature of the site also allows for a second entrance to be created off the side street."

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Kent summerhouse in Buckingham Palace's Rose Garden

The summerhouse in Buckingham Palace gardens was built in 1740 during the reign of King George II and is attributed to William Kent. Among its features is a corgi dog made out of wicker in homage to Queen Elizabeth II. This was also where the Brownie pack, formed by King George VI to provide social fun for the young Queen Elizabeth and Princess Margaret, met for their activities.

Photo by KJP1 via Creative Commons

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How to build a garden office using a kit

 

There's an excellent step-by-step guide put together by Ben who lives in Cornwall on his Wood Create blog chronicling how he built his garden office room (which is also a family relaxing and exercise space) using a BillyOh Kent Garden Office log cabin from Garden Buildings Direct. He looks at everything from the very beginning, listing materials and where he got them from, talks about using professional electricians and plasterers, and generally provides a very useful first hand honest account of the build, pictured above during and below after. If you're thinking of going down this route, it's an absolute must read.

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