Polhus: Swedish garden offices

We regularly feature Sweden on Shedworking because of their long history of building sheds and other shedlike structures such as Friggebod. Here's an update on garden offices there from our regular Swedish correspondent:

"In Sweden we are again advised by the authorities to work from home as much as possible. The pandemic has not resulted in a big boost of shoffices, but there is a clear demand for bigger flats and houses so homeworkers can get the extra space needed. But now one producer of tiny houses and cabins seems to have spotted a possible new market. Polhus is selling these cabins with - I guess - references to wellknown Swedish writers - August [pictured above] for Strindberg, Hjalmar for Gullberg and Selma for Lagerlöf. The August cabin is readymade and just needs a lift into the garden, the others you buy in a kit and assemble yourself."

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George Saunders: shedworker (part 2)

We've already talked about novelist George Saunders (Lincoln in the Bardo, A Swim in the Pond in the Rain) before on Shedworking, but now we're delighted that he's shared an image of his writing shed in Corralitos, California, for the first time. He talks about it on his substack page where he is also launching his new excellent-sounding Story Club programme. Here's a snippet about how he felt while writing A Swim in the Pond in the Rain:

I’d come flying/stumbling down at the end of the day from a little writing shed I have up on the hillside in Corralitos, California, feeling, not that I’d “taken a break from” the current difficulties, but that I’d, well, girded up my loins for a deeper, less fearful engagement with the world.

He also talks about it in an interesting interview with the Guardian. 

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Sarah Beeny tips garden offices as 2022 trend

Property expert, television broadcaster (most recently seen on Renovate Don’t Relocate, and Sarah Beeny's New Life in the Country), as well as one of my former co-judges in an early Shed of the Year competition, Sarah Beeny is also a big fan of garden buildings as she recently told Ideal Home. Here's what she said:

"If you can just get that sense that you leave the house, even if it’s four steps, it’s really good for your mind to separate your work and your home."

She also points out that a garden office is also a marvellous way of enjoying your garden on the many non-sunny days that the UK 'enjoys'. "A garden room," she says, "is a really good way of doing that."

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Treehouses at Kew design competition

Shed design klaxon! The Royal Botanic Gardens and the Museum of Architecture have teamed up for a new project, Treehouses at Kew. The final results, on show to the public from April 2023, will include seven treehouses and the two organisations are looking for designers to come up with something special, ideally that celebrates play, nature’s architecture andbiomimicry, and showcases pioneering sustainable materials and innovative design. Garden offices are not specified, but they would certainly fit these categories. The budget is a generous £139,000 per treehouse, plus some additional help with materials and engineering. Here's some more detail (full information at the link above):

The exhibition will communicate the value of good design and the role architects can play in addressing some of the most pressing problems we face today – how can we use materials sustainably, how can we respond to the climate crisis and how can we build for the needs of people and the planet.

Each treehouse design should be accessible to all our visitors. Designs should champion Kew’s beautiful and important trees, and be inspired and informed by Kew’s vital scientific research into plants and fungi. With an informal, playful approach we will allow our narratives to be told in an understandable yet compelling way.

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#hrfrommyshed

Julie Grabham runs her awardwinning HR company JG HR Solutions from two bases in Wales, but most intriguingly works regularly from her tool shed at her home in Lampeter. As recounted in an excellent piece in Wales HR Network, she was one of the many people who turned to shedworking during lockdown in order to continue offering advice to her many UK clients, and on social media using the hashtag #HRFromMyShed. Here's a snippet from the piece:

“The thought of me conducting professional and confidential phone calls, surrounded by pots and tools in my shed was ludicrous. I sent my daughters a photo of me working in the shed and they texted back with “#HRFromMyShed”. I knew that there was an idea there and started filming videos of me giving business advice from my shed.” 

She also records useful videos inside the shed on a range of HR topics which you can find at her page on YouTube.

 

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Building a writing shed

 

Shedworkers often mention their garden offices on Twitter - especially if they're new, snowy, or involve a cat - but fewer chronicle the build on a dedicated feed. Fantasy author and artist Cheyanne Murray is one of the exceptions and her short but elegant Building a Writing Shed is well worth a browse. Here's what she says about it:

"My grandpa was extremely kind and allowed me to build a writing shed on his property. I don’t know as much about construction as I would like, so I started from scratch and am getting help from great teachers (who happen to be friends and family)."

 

 

The exterior of my writing shed is done!!! Hopefully I can save enough to do the interior next summer! It would be great to have some insulation, but at least it’s weather protected now pic.twitter.com/nDG2J3AB85

— Cheyanne Murray (@Cheyanne_Author) September 3, 2019

I marked out the spot where I am going to put my writing shed! It's barely in the forest and has a lot of birds in the area. 🙂 pic.twitter.com/yyLt9UKk3s

— Cheyanne Murray (@Cheyanne_Author) May 22, 2018

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Dave Chisholm: shedworker

Kent-based cartoonist Dave Chisholm has recently refurbished his garden office with the pleasing results above, top all moved in, above the space waiting to be filled. You can find a selection of his wide variety of work at the link above.

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