Image courtesy of Channel4
What do you think of when you think the perfect British garden? Flowers, bushes, a pond, gnomes? Don’t forget the shed; not only can itbe the perfect place to keep your tools and weedkillers, it can be an area of beauty in its own right with the right architecture. It doesn’t even need to before storage; it can be a place for a spot of tea with a friend or for privacy (there’s even sheds used as pubs). Amazing Spaces Shed of the Year makes this fact truly apparent.
Amazing Spaces Shed of the Year is an annual competition to find the most beautiful, unique sheds in the United Kingdom, with this years finalists being shown via a Channel 4 programme hosted by George Clarke. The competing sheds are sorted into different categories; the first episodes looked at finalists in the ‘Eco’ and ‘Unique’ categories, looking at environmentally-friendly sheds and sheds used for an interesting purpose, and the second episode looked at Cabins/SummerHouses and Workshops. There is a ‘Normal’ category for sheds with more orthodox purposes, and even a ‘Tardis’ category for Doctor Who tributes.
The winner of the ‘Unique’ category was a shed used as a home cinema, complete with big screen, surround sound, and movie paraphernalia but just about every shed featured in the programme was unique in some way, showing unlimited dedication and imagination. The second episode,for example, showcased the White Field Lodge, which is pretty much Abraham Lincoln meets Red Riding Hood with its architecture and amusing decorations like a yeti and a singing deer head. The Gothic Retreat,which features intricate seashell designs on its walls, and the winner of the category, the beautiful Caribbean Retreat.The joy of the series is exploring these sheds and meeting the architects as they explain their circumstances and inspiration.
However, one of these finalists has gotten into a bit of trouble. Jonathan Melville Smiths Tolkien-esque shed, a finalist in the ‘Unique’ category, has been used as a let out to holidaymakers without the councils permission, and he has now been forced to apply for planning permission or the shed will be torn down.
Still, even with that in mind, Shed of the Year is still worth following and watching for the endless amount of imagination on display where else are you going to see a shed with eyes and a mouth housing graffiti art? It may even inspire you to give a new coat of paint to that rickety old thing in the back garden.
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