Shed of the year 2015 shortlist revealed – Public voting opens to decide the category winners

SHED OF THE YEAR FINALISTS REVEALED

• Annual competition sponsored by Cuprinol showcases Britain’s most wacky and wonderful sheds
• Finalists to appear on hit TV series ‘Amazing Spaces Shed of the Year’, airing on Channel 4
• Public voting opens to decide the category winners
• Category winners and overall winner revealed on TV show
  
  Following a record breaking 2,520 entries into the annual Shed of the Year competition sponsored by Cuprinol, the finalists can now be revealed.

A competition to celebrate the best of Britain’s most wacky and wonderful sheds showcases extraordinary creations vying to be crowned Shed of the Year 2015.  The finalists comprise of the top four sheds in each of the eight categories, and for the second year running will feature on hit TV series ‘Amazing Spaces Shed of the Year’, produced by Plum Pictures, airing on Channel 4 this summer.

Voting to determine the category winners, and who goes through to the next round opens today (18th May) via www.Readersheds.co.uk.

The great British public will have until midday on 29th May to cast their vote on who they think deserves the title of best Eco, Normal, Pub, Workshop & Studio, Unique, Cabin & Summerhouse, Garden Office,Historical and Budget shed.

The category winners will be revealed on the show and will then go head-to-head in a battle to become the overall winner selected by a panel of shed experts including the founder of the competition Uncle Wilco (Andrew Wilcox), last year’s overall winner Joel Bird, and George Clarke and his expert team; craftsman William Hardie, architect Laura Clark and industrial designer Max McMurdo. The winner will receive £1,000 courtesy of sponsors Cuprinol along with a wooden plaque, £100 worth of Cuprinol products and a giant crown for their shed.

The Shed of the Year competition is the brainchild of shed-fanatic and Head sheddie, Uncle Wilco (Andrew Wilcox) from South Wales, who launched the nationwide competition in 2007.

George Clarke says: “The excitement around this year’s show is electric as myself and the Amazing Spaces team are back for a second time with an even bigger series as it extends by an extra episode. Once again we’ll be travelling the length and breadth of the British Isles visiting the mind-blowing sheds, and the extraordinary talent behind them, all vying to be crowned Shed of the Year 2015.”

Uncle Wilco, Head sheddie of Readersheds says: “Following a record breaking number of entries of over 2,500, the competition is getting bigger and better each year proving that the nation is totally fanatical about garden sheds. This year’s competition also introduces two new categories, ‘Historical’ and ‘Budget’, the latter proving that you don’t have to spend a lot to create something beautiful or wacky. With the competition even fiercer, deciding who will be crowned Shed of the Year 2015 will be no mean feat. Tune in to Channel 4 this summer to follow the journey.”

Brand Manager for Cuprinol, Katie Taylor says: “At Cuprinol, we’re so proud to be the sponsors of Shed of the Year for the fifth year running. We’re absolutely amazed at the creativity of the sheds entered into the competition, and it’s clear that the humble garden shed is no longer just a space to store garden tools. More and more, people are using it as an extra living space in which they can spend more time outdoors. We hope the TV show will inspire the nation to cheer up their own garden sheds.”

THE FINALISTS

PUB SHED FINALISTS

Simon’s Night Club: Owned by Simon Steele from Chobham in Surrey.

Simon’s Night Club sits over a pond and has floor to glass windows that look out onto the garden. The interior contains a bar and chill out area and is filled with a haven of collectables gathered from car boot sales over the years.

The Bikers: Owned by Michael Jelley from Chichester in West Sussex.

Hand built over several years, The Bikers shed consists of six rooms filled with pub and motorcycle memorabilia. There’s a large workshop for building and repairing bikes, a room for home brewery, a bar, a smoking room and an eating room.

Pirate Retreat: Owned by Keith Brown from Croydon in Surrey.

The Pirate Retreat is home to pirate themed parties and gatherings of up to 50 people. It’s filled to the brim with pirate themed objects and trinkets from Keith’s holidays to the Caribbean. It also contains a fully stocked bar, a dining area which seats up to 10 people, a dance area, 1000w sound system, disco lighting and an electric drawbridge and moat.

Inshriach Distillery: Owned by Walter Micklethwait from Aviemore in Scotland.

Once a dilapidated hen house, the Inshriach Distillery has now become a farm shop which sells carved items, eggs and produce, a saloon bar which is a Wild West themed gin joint and a velour upholstered piano bar. Made out of mostly recycled items including parts of an old dismantled railway station, the Inshriach Distillery has a unique charm and is home to regular parties.

ECO SHED FINALISTS

Owl House: Owned by Tracy Caroline Lewis from Hightown in Liverpool.

The Owl House resembles an owl due to the unique curved wooden window frames. It’s made entirely from cob, recycled plywood and collected recycled glass bottles and even has a grass living roof. Used for relaxing in, the Owl House contains a bed and comfy chairs and overlooks coastal sand dunes.

Eco Dome: Owned by Paul Robinson from Brampton in Cumbria.

The spectacular seven meter domed roof is made from aluminium and is used as a woodworking workshop on the ground floor with an office and gym upstairs. The Eco Dome has been used for numerous things from a duck shed to an art studio, to a plant house and a chill out zone for social gatherings.

Rammed Earth: Owned by Michael Thompson from Potter Heigham in Norfolk.

Made using raw materials, mainly earth, the sustainable Rammed Earth shed took 2,700 hours to build and is used as a joinery workshop in which to make wooden bicycles. Having had no previous building experience, owner Michael Thompson now runs practical courses on rammed earth and people from around the world visit the Rammed Earth shed.

Cormacs Bothy: Owned by Cormac Seekings from Fort William in Scotland.

Situated within a forest, Cormacs Bothy is inspired by vernacular architecture of the Carpathians and is built using low grade forest timber, windblown oak and traditional natural preservatives. Used as a work shelter space and retreat for friends, the shed contains a bed and a tin bath.

WORKSHOP & STUDIO SHED FINALISTS

Darkroom No1: Owned by Shener Hathaway from South London

Darkroom No1 was built over five years and is used as a retreat from the owner’s everyday building and decorating life, to escape into a world of photography and design. A studio and dark room for producing photography, it houses photography equipment and portraits and has a comfy seating area.

My Lady’s Retreat: Owned by Alban and Angela Bunting from Bath in Somerset.

Overlooking the Mendip Hills, My Lady’s Retreat is a Victorian style working potting shed and greenhouse complete with a porcelain sink and pitch pine stairs that lead up to a little sleeping area. The interior wall is emulsioned with a scumble glaze to give it a Victorian look and contains 1920s electric wall lights and a Victorian cast iron range.

Cabin of the Green Man: Owned by Luke Anthony Wesley from Bedford in Bedfordshire.

Cabin of the Green Man is a workshop from which owner Luke Anthony Wesley creates beautifully intricate chainsaw carvings of Green Man faces. Freestanding, the Cabin of the Green Man is made from ash from local woodland, pallets, reclaimed timber and reclaimed glass. The inside walls are made from old pallets, furniture and wooden units.

Eccentrica: Owned by Lyndon Yorke from Booker Common in Buckinghamshire.

Eccentrica is used as a creative space in which owner Lyndon Yorke makes eccentric creations such as a 1922 Wickerwork Citroen. The quirky shack most notably has WW2 aircraft gun turrets on the roof.

CABIN & SUMMERHOUSE SHED FINALISTS

Teasel’s Wood Cabin: Owned by Rebecca Bunting from Mansfield in Nottinghamshire.

Inspired by American log cabins, the cosy Teasel’s Wood Cabin is a mixture of different American style cabins including Adirondack, Western, New England and Mid-West. The exterior walls are made with larch cladding to achieve an authentic rustic look with cedar shakes on the roof. Used as an extra living space, the interior décor and furniture has been collected from America.

Pixie Cabin: Owned by Mark Burton from Surrey.

Built without a spirit level or tape measure, the Pixie Cabin is designed to look like an old falling down house. It’s uniquely mobile and is used as a tea room, an office, a place to store tools and to keep dry when it rains. It even contains a log burner to keep warm.

Shedible: Owned by Bill Roberts from Newcastle.

Once a 14ft redundant burger van, Shedible is now a cosy space containing seating that converts into two large sleeping areas. All items have been handcrafted including an upcycled wood burner made from a gas bottle. The fire place is decorated with hand cut stained glass and mirror mosaic tiles.

Garden Cottage: Owned by Tim Clark from Hastings in East Sussex.

The Garden Cottage is based on the traditional medieval hall houses which were famous throughout Kent and East Sussex. The oak frame is carved out of solid oak beams and the front is made to look like a cottage with the inside as a normal functional shed. The shed is insulated and is used as a studio for painting and storing pottery.

UNIQUE SHED FINALISTS

Goring Folly: Owned by Timothy Blewitt from Goring-by-Sea in West Sussex.

A beautifully constructed building utilising locally reclaimed materials, Goring Folly contains two rooms with lofts above, as well as a tower with spiral steps leading down to a natural well.

Micro shed: Owned by Colin Edmonson from Leigh in Greater Manchester.

The Micro Shed is just 4′ x 2′ by 4′ tall, is mobile and is built on a miniature railway wagon. There’s just enough room for a comfy deep buttoned seat, a stove, a model railway and a shelf for a whisky glass.

Terry’s Treehouse: Owned by Terry Meredith from Dursley in Gloucestershire.

Terry’s Treehouse is 4.5 metres off the ground supported by four oak trees and has panoramic views of the Cotswold Escarpment, Malvern Hills and Welsh Mountains. Inside, the shed seats 10 people, houses two beds and has a central barbecue for social occasions.

Japanese Tea House: Owned by Derek Verlander from Chelmsford in Essex.

The outside is based on a westernised version of a Japanese Tea House, and inside the shed features Japanese ornaments, a tropical fish tank as well as a small bar, tea making facilities, a fridge, a television and sound system.

NORMAL SHED FINALISTS

Dream City Railway: Owned by Roy James from Eastchurch in Kent.

Built over a period of 20 years, Dream City Railway contains one of the largest and most complex standard gauge 0 model railway layouts in the UK. 30 trains run simultaneously through 17 stations automatically controlled from a central control room with the aid of closed circuit televisions. The layout covers 2,000 square feet and contains more than a 100 locomotives and 400 coaches and wagons.

Shedservatory: Owned by Ben Fillmore from Amersham in Buckinghamshire.

By night, the Shedservatory is an observatory in which the roof rolls off and opens up to reveal the sky. It houses owner Ben Fillmore’s telescopes for star gazing. By day it’s used as a garden office decorated with colourful rugs.

Maid of Dekkin: Owned by Cormac Hawkins from Egham in Surrey.

Maid of Dekkin is a floating beach hut on a river. Siutated on a decked pontoon, the shed contains an engine and steering wheel and can be driven on water.  Used for relaxing in, the shed is complete with a fold out bed, tables, chairs, a parasol and a drinks trolley.

The Art Zarb Cabin Cinema: Owned by Art Zarb from Oadby in Leicestershire.

The Art Zarb Cabin Cinema is a tailor made 1960s style cinema. It has three tiered rows of four original cinema seats, a ten foot screen, motorised curtains, variable footlights, overhead colour controlled pelmet lighting, projectors and a surround sound system.

HISTORICAL SHED FINALISTS

Starliner Diner: Owned by Chris Galley from Chichester in West Sussex.

Starliner Diner is an Art Deco style, retro diner. Inside it contains a diner booth made from old boat seats, as well as homemade furniture and restored vintage jukeboxes. Complete with air conditioning, a 1950s heating system, lighting effects and internet, the Starliner Diner is home to parties and relaxation.

 

Garden House: Owned by Tim Concannon from Buriton in Hampshire.

Semi underground, the Garden House is a copy of a seventh century Anglo-Saxon House with a green roof. Inside it’s furnished with seats and a stove and is used as an art studio as well as a venue for ancient poetry speaking and traditional seventh century dinners.

 

Corrugated Cottage: Owned by Michael Chapman from Glastonbury in Somerset.

Originally used in WW2 to house land girls, Corrugated Cottage is made of corrugated iron and has been renovated with 1940s and 1950s furniture and collectables including a seating area, kitchen and bathroom.

 

Bernard Shaw’s Writing Hut: Owned by Sue Morgan from Welwyn in Hertfordshire.

Once home to Irish playwright Bernard Shaw, the shed is where Shaw wrote many of his masterpieces including Superman. The shed revolves to catch the sun and is fitted with Vitaglass, a special kind of healthy glass that lets the suns ultraviolet rays through.

BUDGET SHED FINALISTS

The Shed! Owned by Sue Wilson from Cosby in Leicestershire.

The Shed! is built from fire wood and off cut oak from a local wood yard. Complete with a veranda overlooking a large pond, The Shed! is used as a place to relax in and for owner Sue Wilson to knit from.

Cliffhanger: Owned by Karen Scott from Cromer in Norfolk.

Situated 50 feet from the cliff edge, Cliffhanger is made from beach hut debris following a tidal surge. As a result the shed cost just £250 to build.

Hillbilly Shed: Owned by Dave Bell from Bedale in North Yorkshire.  

Hillbilly Shed is an American themed tiny wood cabin on the back of a Chevrolet truck. lnside is a bed, cooker, toilet, stereo system and cupboards. It’s used as a place to sleep when owner Dave Bell travels to events and festivals.

Ty Mynydd Fach (Little Mountain Hut): Owned by Andy Walker from Bolton in Lancashire.

Inspired by owner Andy Walker’s love of mountain climbing, Ty Mynydd Fach is in the style of an alpine hut and is entirely hand built using a wealth of recycled materials. Timber beams, pine panelling, marquetry, quirky accessories, carvings and beautiful lighting brings a touch of the peaks to Andy’s garden.

 

Update 22May  :We have added the Garden Office category back in

Many thanks to all the sheddies who have given so much of their time and effort building their amazing and perfect spaces

– I salute you.