[imagesource: Joe Melton]

If like me, you came here thinking it’s near impossible to have a favourite shed, I get it.

Who cares about sheds, which are usually just a place to store things that you don’t want in the house, and are unlikely to ever really use?

Then the COVID-19 pandemic hit, and people had a great deal of time to spend at home, and the humble shed became an artform, as well as a place to hide from the rest of the family.

The ‘Cuprinol Shed of the Year’ competition is actually in its 14th year, so shed appreciation is nothing new in the United Kingdom, but aficionados say this year the entrants are of a particularly high standard.

There are even two new categories – Lockdown Repurpose and Lockdown Build – to make the 2020 competition unique.

Lockdown Repurpose focuses on those who have transformed their sheds in order to help the community over lockdown, whereas Lockdown Build focuses on those who started construction after cancellations or loss of work.

The image up top is of RK2, a shed by Joe Melton, which is one of the finalists in the ‘Lockdown Build’ category:

Here’s the Telegraph with more from this riveting story:

Many entrants share stories of hope, frustration and kindness: Pat Crook recreated a beach hut to provide her father (who suffers from dementia) with much-needed peace; Patrick Seaman and his son Finn teamed up to create a family hideaway after loss of work allowed the pair more time together.

A winner from each category will be decided by public vote, then an overall winner will be crowned by a panel of shed experts with a golden crown for the winning shed.

The overall winner will also receive £1,000, a plaque and £100 of Cuprinol products.

Voting closes August 9, so you still have time to cast your vote here.

Let’s start with a shed from the ‘Pubs and Entertainment’ category:

The Pizza Folly by Colin Naylor 

Colin Naylor spent one year building Braziers End, a bijou party space made from recycled pallets, scaffold boards and salvaged ocean liner parts.

Though the lodge may be rustic on the outside, inside the space is dolled up to the nines with the latest tech – an Italian woodfired oven, TV entertainment system and a Japanese plunge bath.

Not to get overly pedantic, but that seems like more of a cottage to me. What is the dividing line between cottage and shed?

But hey, if it’s good enough for Cuprinol, who am I to argue?

Next is the ‘Nature’s Haven’ category:

Bedouin Tree Shed By Daniel Holloway

“A peaceful sanctuary to escape our urban surroundings, ideal for occasional tree hugging and entertaining,” says Daniel Holloway of his tree shed in Greater London.

Featuring two mature trees, African carvings and fabric, Indian pillars, a wood burning stove, taxidermy skulls and other curiosities, the space has taken more than seven years to develop and draws inspiration from Holloway’s travels with his wife.

Tree shed, or treehouse?

At least with the ‘Cabin’ category, they’re upfront about the fine divide:

Jane’s She-Shed by Jane Moyle 

Originally built as a Japanese summer house by the former owners of the house, Moyle’s She-Shed is a work of architectural art, transformed with a lick of pastel-hued paint and clapperboard lining.

There are sunbeds, working sinks and a fridge for garden parties, leaving lucky friends and family “in awe.”

One more the road? Cool – this from the ‘Unusual’ category:

Old Bill by A M Backshall 

Built to look like the Wickham trolleys (a railway engineering personnel carrier) of the 1940s, A M Backshall’s Old Bill, with its crackling wood fire and cosy folding bed, is everything a cosy weekend away should be.

Engineered to roll both forwards and backwards on a sloping track, the trolley has seating, a wood burner and 12 volt power running throughout.

Stunning.

If you find yourself strangely aroused by sheds, we also recommend you check out Fifty Sheds of Grey, a parody of that other book focused on shed-based erotica.

Hey, whatever floats your boat.

[source:telegraph]