Friday Fun: Escaping to your writing shed

I am lucky enough to have a room of my own, a study, in my house. Yet I never stop dreaming of a little dream cabin or writing shed hidden somewhere in a (beautifully tended) garden, out of earshot of the house.

This might be the mansion of garden sheds, from Southern Living.

This looks lovely with climbing plants, but might be a bit too dark for actual writing, from Colorado Nest.

This is more suitable for reading rather than writing, but a treehouse is always lovely. From Bored Panda.

This looks more run-down and probably closer to how my garden might look, from Next Luxury.

Sheds were simply more beautiful in previous centuries, weren’t they? From itinyhouses.com

It’s the colour that makes this shed stand out – plus the little porch for reading (or if you are feeling more sociable). From Life in Sugar Hollow.

Friday Fun: Sheds of Famous Writers

It seems that you don’t have to have an all-singing, all-dancing, all-mod-cons shepherd’s hut to write a book. Who’d have thunk that? Here are some garden sheds where magic happens.

Roald Dahl’s well-known writing shed in Buckinghamshire.

Philip Pullman seems to be working in your average garden shed from B&Q.

Cressida Cowell’s writing shed seems a little more romantic and airy. From Booktrust.

The interior of Neil Gaiman’s treetop shed, complete with dog.

Unnamed writer’s retreat from bobvila.com

Charles Dickens started the trend, with his Swiss chalet themed shed. (In spite of having an enormous library/study in the house as well).

Mark Twain’s octogonal shed was designed to resemble the pilot house of a Mississippi steam boat.

Joanne Harris often mentions her shed on Twitter, although it’s the imaginative rather than the physical one. Here it is on the Shedworking site.

 

Friday Fun: Hiding in the Forest

For those days when you just need to go off-grid and get away from it all, here are some dream-like cabins in the woods. (Appropriately enough, following my review of Do You Hear Me yesterday, which also takes place in a forest, although under less pleasant circumstances.)

Winter cabin, with heating (one assumes), from Bookends and Daisies on Tumblr.

Rather grander modernist interpretation of isolated cabin, from Cuded Art Design. Not off grid.

A place inspired by native huts, to dream away your worries, from Bridge and Burn on Tumblr.

I can never say no to Japanese tea houses, even if they are not all that remote. From houzz.com

Cabin for a romantic rendezvous, from Cabanes de Salagnac in France.

Sculptural cabin designed by Sergio Gomez.

Tree houses or houses on stilts will never cease to appeal, from Sky with lemon website.

Friday Fun: Garden Sheds

The cold may have descended over our part of France. But with all the beautiful autumnal colours to inspire you, what better place to spend your day than in your very own garden shed, far away from the hubble-bubble of life in the main house? (No, I don’t have one. Yes, I would like one. With heating, preferably.)

The Rolls Royce of garden sheds, from Gardenista.com

The achingly cool. Serge Schoemaker Architects.

The Hyggelig (Danish for ‘cosy’), from boligmagasinet.dk

The Ecological Pod. From TinyHouseTalk.com

The unbearably cute, from tinyhousedesign.com

The spiritual retreat. From Salvagejetsongreen.com

The Californian extravaganza, from Architectural Digest.

Friday Fun: Writer’s Rooms

So busy writing at the moment, that all I can think about are the most comfortable writing rooms or sheds possible, anything that will add to your ability to stick that bum on the chair and keep those fingers or pens moving (or that brain thinking).

First up, two American beauties:

Siri Hustvedt’s desk, from The Guardian.

Laura Silverman’s writing terrace, from An Afternoon With.

The British contingent prefers history and a lived-in look:

Ian Rankin’s study, from The Guardian. I like the handcuffs!

You can keep any mess far away from the house, of course, with a shed. Luxury version first.

HIgh spec garden shed, from Garden Room Studio.

And the version that might actually fit into your garden:

More modest version, also from Garden Room Studio.

And, finally, below is one that I came across on a walk through the forest yesterday. Adorable caravan conversion, wouldn’t you agree?

For more peeks into writers’ rooms, I can recommend the website http://www.whereiwrite.tv. I try not to indulge too frequently, but writers I’ve ‘stalked’ there include: Joanne Harris, Jenny Eclaire, Val McDermid, Clare Mackintosh, Jodi Picault, Linwood Barclay, Mark Billingham and – yes – Ian Rankin again.