A shed is the answer
Somewhere to store your garden tools? A workshop? A hobby room? An art studio? A garden office? A refuge from domestic pressures?
A shed may be your answer. Sheds are immensely versatile: they can provide a solution to all the above, and
- are much cheaper than any practical, space-creating alternative;
- can significantly add to, or free up, house space;
- don’t usually require planning permission;
- can be installed in a matter of days.
If you just want a tiny tool shed, you can buy a self-assembly kit at a DIY store for less than £100. Or you may want a garden office that you can use all year, wired for Internet use, insulated against the cold of winter or the heat of summer: prices for those start at about £4000.
This website is designed to get you thinking in the right direction. The links will also show you just how varied and satisfying and inventive the world of sheds can be.
It may even turn you into a “sheddist” – a word coined to describe the increasing legions of people who are passionate about sheds.
Ten Types of sheds
Tool sheds – usually for storing garden tools; some are tiny, no bigger than an old-fashioned telephone box
Garden sheds – for storing garden tools, barbecues, deckchairs, with perhaps a small working area
Potting sheds – with large, hinged windows, for storing and protecting tender plants, and bringing on seedlings and cuttings
Workshops – for pursuits such as carpentry, upholstery, dressmaking
Studios – for painting, sculpture, pottery, or music rehearsal and sound-recording
Hobby sheds – for that train set, antique typewriter collection, or Bavarian beer tavern
Garden offices – providing office space outside the home
Summerhouses – for a sheltered place to sit out in the garden
Log cabins – for many of the above purposes: they are not usually made of logs these days, but are log-cabin-like in shape, often with a projecting apex roof over the front entrance.
Bike sheds – for getting your bikes under cover, and secured against theft
A little etymology
The word “shed” appears to derive from Anglo-Saxon scead (pronounced shay-ud) and Middle English shadde, both meaning “shade”. Hence, from an early date, the word had connotations of shelter and protection.
