Shedworking: Commuting Down the Garden Path

If you don’t have enough space in your home for an office, how about building one in your garden? You’ll also get some privacy, separation of home and work life, and the freedom to configure your office exactly as you like. That’s what “shedworking” is all about. Over the past year, we’ve featured a couple of posts looking at innovative shedworking solutions, while Alex Johnson has a daily blog, Shedworking, devoted to the topic. It seems that the movement is growing in popularity — at least here in the UK — as Johnson has written a book about it, which should be out in June.

There are solutions to suit almost any garden size and budget. They don’t have to look very, well, “sheddy,” either, and can incorporate conveniences like underfloor heating and air conditioning. The photo above is of an Atelier garden building, while the one on the right is a Garden Room Company-designed office. Unfortunately, the nicer offices like these don’t come cheap — even a smaller (10 sq. meter) Garden Room Company office will cost more than £10,000 ($15,000).

I’m wondering if shedworking is primarily a British or European thing — we tend have smaller houses with less room to devote to home offices than our American cousins, and it’s not something I’ve heard mentioned by friends in the States. Is it something that could spread across the pond as more people work from home, though? Even though I have my own comfortable office set up in my house, the thought of a separate distraction-free “work zone,” away from my living space, but with a (very!) short commute, is appealing.

If you’re a shedworker, please share links to photos of your workspace in the comments.

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