ST201903

NEST (^) | HOW WE LIVE
THREE TO MAKE, BUY OR CUSTOMISE
HOME QUANDARIES
I dream of having a garden with a shed and spending happy
afternoons in it pricking out seedlings while listening to The
Archers. Unfortunately, though, I only have a small back
garden, so my kitchen table is where I end up doing most of
my horticultural activities. The result is a f loor and table
covered with a dusting of compost. Can you suggest an
alternative, preferably outdoors?
Answer in brief: invest in a potting table and position it next
to the kitchen door.
Your courtyard, most likely, is full of planted-up containers but if
you have some space, preferably along a sunny wall for maximum
pleasure, this could be the spot for a potting table. Ideally, this
should be big enough to spread a heap of compost alongside your
trays of seedlings and a mug of tea. Not quite as cosy as your own
shed, but it will get the job done and keep the dirt off the lino.
1
Make
Building your own shed
from scratch may sound over-
ambitious but it certainly didn’t
phase Sally Coulthard. Looking for
somewhere to “write, relax and
snooze under the stars” but finding
none on the market that fitted the
bill, she built her own. She distilled
what she learnt in the process in
her book, above,How To Build
A Shed (Laurence King); this
sensible and practical guide
demystifies the process and makes
building a shed seem remarkably
straightforward.
2
Buy
Depending on your budget
andyour intended use, your
choice varies, from basic garden
sheds to pricy, bespoke options
that are more summerhouse in
style. Garden centres and DIY
stores such as B&Q, Screwfix and
Wickes share a similar range of
wooden options in varying sizes
and styles. For a handsome shed
with a Scandi flavour, take a look
at the Holt Apex, above, which can
be painted black and has Georgian-
style windows (from £1,945,
malverngardenbuildings.co.uk).
3
Customise
Manufacturers of sheds offer
various features, including
staging, shelving, window size and
choice of doors. To make a shed
entirely your own, though, buy a
fairly basic wooden one, like the
Forest Shiplap Shed, above, then
customise to your needs. From
structural changes (a pergola to
provide shade, perhaps) to interior
comforts (an armchair, a desk,
pictures on the wall), to decorative
touches (curtains and paint),
there really is no end of options
(£544.99, shop.dobbies.com).
If you hanker for your own room in the garden, whether it’s to store tools, be creative or
simply to escape, try one of these options:
Wooden potting
table in green, Sue
Ryder shop, £42.49