We love our sheds!
Never before have so many of us craved space, peace and a retreat from the world. For these four women, the answer lay surprisingly close to home
Craving a space they could call their own, four women built ‘she-sheds’
‘I joke it’s been a marriage-saver’
With her family all at home during lockdown, Tee Macpherson,
58, felt crowded out and longed for a unique space of her own.
I‘It gave me the space and tranquillity I was craving’
Shedloads of love
still remember how claustrophobic
I felt last year, when the UK first went into lockdown. Overnight, my house was full – my husband, Quentin, was working from home, and our three grown-up children all came back so we could isolate together. Our study, which was my space for sewing and reading, became an office, and between the Zoom meetings and my husband’s messiness, there was no way we could share it.
Although I was grateful we were safe and healthy, the house felt crowded and there was nowhere I could go to get away from it all. I’m originally from New Zealand, where we’re hard-wired to crave our own space! I decided to create my own retreat, and began looking online for second-hand sheds. They were selling fast, and for inflated prices, because so many people wanted the same thing. But, in June, I successfully bid for one on ebay for £450. I hired a van and Quentin and I drove 85 miles from our home in Buckinghamshire to bring it back in sections.
It was in very shabby condition and rotten in parts. My children thought
I was crazy, but I could see that with some TLC, it would be perfect. Eight foot by eight foot, I loved its octagon shape, which made it quirky and unique.
I chose a spot for it beside a beautiful silver birch tree, with views across the countryside, and did the groundwork myself, digging and levelling off.
While I sanded down the wood, then painted the exterior black – I wanted it to look unique, so I avoided the typical pastel shades – Quentin did the repairs and replaced some of the roof tiles. Then we put it back together again, spending around £400 to bring it back to life.
It took us a month and I relished having a project to focus on, knowing the end result was going to bring me so much happiness. A year on, I can’t imagine life without the shed. I use it daily, and as I walk the 50 feet from the house with a cup of tea, I can’t wait to open the double-glazed doors and leave the world behind for a few hours.
On the walls I’ve hung paintings by New Zealand artists and photos of my parents, to remind me of home. Quentin made me a desk, where I paint, draw and craft while listening to the radio, our rescue spaniel, Ted, asleep at my feet.
There are two chairs, both of which came from the house. One, covered by a quilt I made 25 years ago, is where I sew and the other has become known as ‘the counselling chair’ because, over the past year, it’s where my children have come to confide their worries.
The shed is a place solely for me, to do the things I love and I feel very lucky to have it. I joke it’s been a marriage-saver, but it really did give me the space and tranquillity I was craving.
‘I’ll never lose the thrill of knowing it’s all mine’
Kathleen Wynn Davies, 57, longed to find space for her favourite hobby and came up with an idea.
Long before mindfulness became popular, crafting was my way of relaxing and recharging. But I could never find a dedicated space for it. As my three children grew up, I spent years crafting, perching here and there in our home in Goring-by-sea, West Sussex. Once they left home, I had a corner of the study for my sewing machine, but my fabrics were stored all over the house.
When the pandemic struck, I tried to think positively; I’d have time to sew and craft. But while I may have had time, I realised I didn’t have space. My husband, David, took over the study for work; there was no way my sewing machine could be clattering in the background while he was on Zoom!
I relocated to the dining room and breakfast bar, making maternity clothes for my pregnant daughter, Thérèse, but where I see creativity, David sees mess, and it wasn’t great for marital harmony.
I was feeling frustrated, so when a friend said she was having a shed built for her teenage daughters, I knew I wanted one, too! In July 2020, I showed her builder some images I’d found online. I needed a robust structure as I couldn’t risk my fabric, books and sewing machine getting damp.
He quoted £17,200 for the materials, build and groundworks for a 5 x 3m shed with floor-to-ceiling windows and glazed doors. It was a lot of money, but I also knew it was an investment in my future happiness, and David was supportive. Work began in October and it took three weeks to complete.
Watching my shed take shape, I was giddy with excitement. I could hardly believe I was finally going to have a dedicated space just for me. Now, three to four times a week, I cocoon myself away. I listen to audiobooks, play music, organise my fabrics and make outfits for my granddaughter, Penelope Rose, who was born last December.
My work with a local hospice can be very emotional. I go to the shed when I need some quiet reflection, and the joy it gives me helps me to support others. Having physical separation and time apart during the day has been great for my marriage, too! Come 5pm on a Friday, David will appear with two G&TS and join me for a drink and a chat. I don’t think the thrill of knowing it’s mine will ever fade. It was worth every penny.
‘I wanted to imagine I was at the beach’
Despite living 40 miles from the sea, Vivienne Birch, a 39-year-old GP, was keen to capture a special feeling.
Sitting on the veranda of my shed, a croissant and fresh juice in front of me, I close my eyes and listen to the birdsong, inhaling the scent from the climbing jasmine I’ve planted.
After a busy week at work, I love to get up early at the weekends and take my breakfast down the garden to my little sanctuary, for an hour or two of peace before my daughters Célestielle, seven, and Aurélie, five, wake up.
It’s long been a dream of mine to have a retreat of my own, somewhere to relax and feel close to nature, because being outdoors is where I’m happiest. As soon as we moved to our new house in Oldham in 2018, which has a bigger garden, I ordered a pre-fabricated timber shed, which arrived in February 2019.
A couple of gardeners built it, plus the veranda, in six weeks, after pouring a concrete base to place it on. The total cost was around £2,000 for the shed and its construction.
Although I live in a city, I wanted the shed to evoke the feelings of peace and freedom I get when I’m on a beach. I painted the exterior a calming grey shade and the interior pure white to maximise the light flooding in through the glazed double doors. The main piece of furniture is a rattan corner sofa with cosy throws and cushions, and on the walls, I’ve hung nautical-themed prints. The shed houses my collection of shells, little glass bottles filled with sand, and pieces of driftwood, which I’ve amassed over the years. My partner, JC, jokes that the shed is full of tat, but that’s the beauty of it being my space; I have total autonomy. I may be 40 miles from the coast but, when I’m here, I feel like I’m in a beach hut and I can practically hear the waves. I keep my easel here, as I am learning to paint, and have white storage units for art supplies and board games, for when I allow my family to join me for games nights. They know they have to be invited! Before the pandemic, I used the shed to host cocktail nights and afternoon teas with friends. I can’t wait until I can do that again. There’s nothing like chatting and laughing together as the sun sets, wrapped up in a cosy blanket.
Working for the NHS, the past year has been like no other; I’ve been so grateful for my shed. Coming here is my chance for pure escapism; even if I arrive feeling tired, with my mind racing, I know within moments I’ll feel calm and relaxed.
‘Even if my mind is racing, the shed helps me feel calm’
‘Dreaming of my shed helped me through cancer treatment’
When she was diagnosed with cancer, Juliet Thomas, 47, found a special reason to help her stay strong and hopeful
Waiting in the hospital ward, having my fortnightly dose of chemotherapy, my mind wandered to my plans for a shed. I imagined everything from its colour and furniture, to how I’d feel as I sat in it, as a distraction from my gruelling cancer treatment. My shed, which I call The Curious Cabin, is my reward for making it through the scariest time of my life, after I was diagnosed with cancer in November 2019. Seven months before, I’d felt a small lump near my collarbone but didn’t get it checked. I was caught up with work and family life, looking after
our children Mia, 15, and Jake, 13, and although I mentioned it to Mark and a physio I was seeing for a shoulder injury, who told me to keep an eye on it, I then forgot all about it. By the time I noticed it again in September, it was double the size. After numerous scans and biopsies, I was told I had Stage Two Hodgkin’s lymphoma. My prognosis was good, but I was frightened about having chemotherapy, losing my hair and having to shield myself.
For six months, I had chemotherapy every two weeks, which saw me lose my hair, feel sick and exhausted and, at one point, hospitalised with a potentially life-threatening infection. Once the pandemic began, I had to attend appointments alone, with staff in full PPE.
Mark and I agreed when my chemo finished, we’d build a shed. I’d always yearned for a space purely for myself, where I could work, relax and be inspired.
Chemo finished in May 2020. In August, we bought a 2 x 2.5m pre-fabricated timber kit, costing £2,000. Mark built it in a week, next to our garage at our home in Birdsedge, near Huddersfield.
I’m a creative blogger, artist and photographer, and the decor of the shed represents my creative personality. I smile with satisfaction every time I step inside; it feels so cosy and inspiring.
There are shelves of books and rattan storage for my art materials and an armchair, where I sit to do needle-felt and listen to podcasts. My desk is where I blog, mind map and paint. The shed is a place where I can just be myself, not a wife or a mother being pulled in different directions. With my physical recovery from cancer – thankfully, I’m now in remission – I’ve had to emotionally heal too; the cabin has played a big part in that. • thecuriouscreativeclub.co.uk