Shed Name:Bedouin Tree Shed
This shed is Shed of the year 2020.
Self Build/Off the Shelf:
Self build
Why have you got a shed:
Escape, reading, listening to music, socialising.
Describe your shed:
Bedouin Tree Shed: Developed over the last 9 years, gradually extending an original standard rectangular back garden shed which we inherited with the house.
Initially a front extension (triggered as a result of a bbq for which the weather forecast was terrible and as a result of not wanting to cancel I decided to build a lean-to structure on to the shed to shelter our guests rather than buy a gazebo which would end up as landfill).
This set into train further ‘add-ons’ and as a result it grew organically with no particular master plan. Now we have a shed with no particular cohesive form externally, projecting out at many different angles and sitting at different levels (dictated by the immediate landscape and fauna which surrounds the shed (fauna: mature ash tree, common oak).
Internally it has been decked out with many influences: primarily; African, Indian & Arabic, parts of the world my wife and I have travelled to and lived in over the years before we settled in Blackheath…there is also a touch of Victorian England incorporated into the design …..bits of old pottery for example are incorporated into the fabric of the building (pottery dug up from ground it is built on, now embeded into the concrete wall as an example), also copper plate etchings and butterfly taxidermy adorn the walls.
A chaotic shed from the outside, but serene and calming once you step inside…….almost Bedouin in feel, hence the name.
Such is the extent of the shed the structure now incorporates two living tree trunks, a brick wall (which forms the boarder between our garden and our neighbours garden). Finely carved ancient hardwood Indian columns, some purely decorative but some acting as upright supports for the pitched green roof.
Outside willow saplings follow the contour of the shed on front elevation, which during the summer months when the leaves come out form a green screen around the shed so it is hardly visible, only a delicate arch formed by the twisted willow stems allow a glimpse of the door which opens up to a place of wonder and magic.
A wood burning stove set on layered concrete with a large window forming a backdrop welcomes you and provides comfort during the cold Winter months.
Sitting comfortably within the canopy of the trees which have become part of the living fabric of the shed, befitting the organic nature of the way the shed has gradually evolved over the years.
The floor is oak plank scribed around the root structure of the majestic ash tree it encases, main roots giving direction of the way the floor is designed at differing levels, every now and again popping above the floor boards to remind you this is living tree (worthy of adoration).
The trunk decorated by a mixture of Victorian taxidermy specimens and African carvings.
The shed is bedecked in old furniture either found in skips or reclamation yards, a few items purchased from Deptford market provide a good mishmash of items from different eras ……all no doubt with a storey to tell.
Future Shed plans
I’m considering the addition of a composting toilet at the rear of the shed
How did you find out about our community
I found out about the community via a good friend who has visited my shed on numerous occasions.
What word or words would you use to sum up Sheds
Spaces to escape and reflect
