Our Annual shed competition sees more entries than ever before

And you thought we had forgotten about National Shed Week >

As Brits celebrate National Shed Week, Uncle Wilco (ME), founder of the annual Shed of the Year competition, sponsored by Cuprinol, has revealed a record breaking 20% increase on entries – just in time to celebrate National Shed Week.

The competition, sponsored by Cuprinol, has received over 2,162 entries in total.

This year the most popular of the eight categories has been the workshop/studio shed category, with 295 entries, compared to 192 last year.

This coincides with the introduction of the government’s new flexi-time legislation, giving workers the right to ask for more flexible working hours and the opportunity to work from home. The surge in workshop and studio shed entries proves the nation is embracing the work from home culture, and utilizing outside space to create office spaces in their own gardens.

In fact, research released by Cuprinol shows that a fifth of men (21%) spend time in their shed thinking about work issues, 21% of Brits feel more creative when they spend time in their shed and 12% feel at their happiest when they spend time in their shed. With over a third of shed owners installing electricity and lighting in their sheds, these traditional outdoor spaces are quickly becoming a useable extension of their office.

The rise of the female ‘sheddie’ is also a trend that looks set to continue with more females entering the Shed of the Year competition than ever before, over 100 female sheddies entered this year, compared with just 30 last year.

A new three-part Shed of the Year TV series, due to air on Channel 4 later this month, will showcase some of the entries and meet the sheddies competing for the coveted ‘Shed of the Year’ crown. The ultimate winner will be chosen by a panel of shed experts including the founder of the competition Uncle Wilco (Andrew Wilcox), last years winner Alex Holland and Amazing Spaces presenter, George Clarke and his expert team.

George Clarke says: “The nation’s love for transforming their garden shed to an extension of the home is really trending right now. The TV series reveals some of the most creative, beautiful and unusual shed spaces, as well as meeting the talented people behind them.

Uncle Wilco says: “

National Shed Week is a time to celebrate your garden shed, be inspired and get creative

. With more shed entries than ever before, the nation’s love of sheds is growing at a fast rate, so deciding on who will be given the title of Shed of the Year 2014 will be no mean feat. Tune into Channel 4 later this month to follow the journey on which shed will be crowned the winner.”

Brand Manager for Cuprinol, Kay Bartlett says: “The trend to work from your garden shed comes as no surprise as our research shows that 12% of Brits feel at their happiest when they spend time in their shed. At Cuprinol, we love the idea that people get creative with their sheds and use them as an extension of their home or as a work space.

The TV series will showcase some of Britain’s best sheds, and amongst them will be sheddies that love their sheds so much, they work and run businesses from them.”

Additional facts released by Cuprinol:

• The average ‘sheddie’ spends almost a year of their life in their shed.
• The garden shed is worth £5billion(2) to the British economy, with over 14million(3) people in the UK now owning a shed.
• Brits now see their sheds as an extension of the home with many featuring the same luxuries, including electricity (35%), heat (11%) and lighting (40%).
• 7% of sheds now have a TV, 5% a sofa and 2% even have a hot tub.
• The average shed now contains over £457 worth of items.
• 12% of Brits feeling at their happiest when they spend time in their shed, 21% feel at their most creative and 23% of men even claim that spending time in their shed makes them feel more masculine.