SEWING SANCTUARY
When Clare Mansell and her husband added a second floor to their home in Chichester, West Sussex, they had the brilliant idea of getting a shed to use as a temporary bedroom cabin. ‘I’d always fancied having a creative space in the garden, but it was hard to justify spending money on it,’ she says.
When they were weighing up the options for a cabin, the Mansells decided on a kit shed and searched for a company that would also do the full build. Since they needed it in a hurry, Clare didn’t spend too much time worrying about things like the right paint colour. A local company installed this 16.5ft × 10ft log cabin in one week at a cost of £9,500.
Later, when the house was complete, the cabin was converted into Clare’s very own she shed. To celebrate, she repainted it and mended gaps where the wood had expanded. Nowadays Clare, a blogger and photographer, uses her shed for sewing and modern quilting but also to take professional-quality photos as part of her business, Maybush Studios. The shed’s uncluttered white interior offers a perfect photo backdrop, while also serving as an ideal place to watch movies, using a projector attached to a beam.
The walls are covered in mini quilts and other items Clare has made or that were given to her. ‘I believe our environment has a hugely positive or negative effect on us,’ she says. ‘Having my shed has definitely made me more creative in all areas of my life.’