The garden shed: sometimes a beautiful feature, sometimes a little more utilitarian! In celebration of just how many shapes and sizes they come in, and how creatively the spaces are used, there are even ‘Shed of the Year’ competitions. Hotly contested, the entries are a source of inspiration to many, showing a myriad of ways in which you can utilise that under-used outdoor ‘room’.
During the past year, many have spent happy hours repurposing our sheds as a more useful extra space. Depending on the size and structure, they have become everything from outdoor offices, artist’s studios, home-schooling hubs and playrooms, mini gyms or reading rooms – an escape from the hubbub of family life in lockdown.
If your garden shed has not discovered a new lease of life as an extension to home life, over the past year, many of us have rediscovered our love of gardening: the neglected tools and potting shelves have had a complete makeover as our enthusiasm for putting food on the table from our own vegetable patches and flowers around our homes has again become part of how we live.
From bijou courtyard sheds to ‘lean-to’s’, from those resembling a small barn to functional spaces with corrugated iron roofing, the interior has the potential to become that extra room you can’t fit in your home. If a garden shed is on your property search wish list, have a look at 5 homes to inspire you:
The Coach House, Blackdown Avenue, Woking
The garden at the Coach House includes a timber-framed garden room, currently used as a gym, but would also be ideal as a home office or studio, and has underfloor heating, TV connections, Sky and Wifi via a booster.
Spinnaker, Cliff Road, Woodbridge
A unique and contemporary built waterside home, Spinnaker has a useful building which offers versatile use as a home office, games room and, a lovely studio or garden room.
Old Bank House, Brown Street, Blairgowrie
A stunning former bank house in the heart of Blairgowrie, Old Bank House benefits from a multi functioning shed within its enclosed garden.
Darlingscott Hill, Shipstone-on-Stour
Originally a traditional farmhouse, Darlingscott Hill is set in 1.85 acres: the delightful gardens include two useful timber garden sheds.
Highfield Farm, Rookery lane, Stretton Oakham
As well as a stable block with 5 stables, feed room and a tack room, Highfield Farm has a large wooden outbuilding, currently used for storage.
