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comfort

things

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Whatever your needs, there is one for you

PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY IMAGES

H

ole up in a shed for a couple of hours and normal life

drops away. In your own private hideaway, anything is

possible,evenifit’sjustthechancetodrinkacupoftea

in peace. Anything goes in a shed. It can be somewhere

to sit and read, furnished with a battered old armchair, a

kettle and a blanket to put over your knees. Or it can be a

productive place where plants get potted on, seedlings pricked out and

tools are lined up by your elbow. It can be a creative space where novels

are written, wood is whittled, music is played and pictures are painted.

What a shed isn’t is

everyday. As a separate

building, away from the

house, it’s a place apart,

an escape pod, a room in

whichtodream.

Maybe it’s a childhood

love of building dens that makes sheds so appealing. Enter a shed and

you enter your own ramshackle world where things don’t have to be

perfect, where shoes aren’t clean, where mugs are chipped, and

where, like in the Just William books, plans may be hatched.

All of which is counter to the shed’s ostensible purpose as somewhere

to store tools, to stow the lawn mower, or to fix mechanical devices.

Allotment holders are well aware of the practical purpose of a shed but

they also know its power as place to create. In winter when little is

growing, allotments resemble fields of sheds, each one a little different

to the others; some lashed together from bits of wood found in skips and

tips, others painted in cheerful colours or extended with makeshift

verandahs. When it comes to shed decoration, let your imagination run

free: it’s a rare opportunity to be unconventional and a little wayward.

All in all, a shed provides a rare opportunity to live simply and

differently, to step out of normal life, if only for an afternoon. A shed

is a comforting place. Which is why we love it.

“It’saplaceapart,an

escape pod, a room in

which to dream”

For the allotment

The Mokau wooden shed is 6x5ft, just under

the size allowed by many allotment tenancy

agreements. Double doors make it a good

spot to survey your veg from. £570, diy.com

For potting on

The Tongue and Groove Potting Shed

Wooden Greenhouse, £799.99, has a sloping

wall of windows with staging underneath,

making it a warm and cosy place to settle

for the afternoon with the radio, plants and

a bag of compost. waltons.co.uk

For stashing your logs

Keep your home fires burning with a pile of

logs in easy reach. The Rowlinson Oxford has

a lean-to attached to its side, to keep wood

dry and tidy. £269, cuckooland.com

For escaping with a cup of tea

The National Garden Scheme Shed, has a 3ft

veranda with balustrades – just the place to sit

in a deckchair with a book and a cuppa.

From £2,877, theposhshedcompany.co.uk

For nights of rural bliss

Shepherd huts have moved on from rural

workhorses to cosy escape pods. The Retreat

Shepherd’s Hut, £17,950, is made of oak with

tin cladding and can be fitted with a bed and

a log burner. blackdownshepherdhuts.co.uk

A GUIDE TO SHEDS

There are certain things in your home that are like old

friends, they always cheer you up. We feel the love for

a ramshackle garden room

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NEST (^) | HOW WE LIVE
Words: CLARE GOGERTY
A GARDEN SHED