Working from Your Shed
A staggering 1.5million people are now working from home. It does make sense to avoid unnecessary travelling time – a hop, skip and a jump into your garden office and, in a few clicks, you are up and running.
What do I need to think about?
Whether you choose to retro-fit your existing shed or buy a brand new shed or log cabin, there are a few things you need to think about.
Staying Connected
Electricity is an essential ingredient to a successful garden office (laptops have batteries that do run out, coffee machines need plugging in and, for late night working, you need lights!). A qualified electrician is essential to ensure everything is safe and sound.
Don’t forget you will probably need a wifi connection. Boosters are available depending on how far the office is from your home router. Check before constructing the office.
Staying Warm
Heating is important, as is ventilation. And of course, natural light. Choose a garden office with plenty of opening windows and consider fitting blinds for shading. Always think of safety when installing heating. A lovely wood burner is a terrific idea but always contract a qualified installer to do the hard work.
Furnishings
Home comforts are essential to allow you to work to your full potential. Just because the garden office is in the garden doesn't mean a rickety old piece of garden furniture will do as a chair. Kit out the office with everything you need to work efficiently. And that includes any shelving to save you the need to nip back into the house to pick something up. Once in the garden office, you need to be happy there – just as you have everything to hand in a company office.
Legalities
You know what you want, you know how to kit it up and you know a qualified electrician to do the work. You may need permission from the council. It's always a good idea to involve the planning department in your thoughts. Chances are many people don’t, but if you ignore it, you may be in for a nasty surprise later down the line. A simple phone call will find the answer. And consider your neighbours when constructing a garden office. After all, you would want them to tell you if they were planning the same.
So, you've sorted the planning, design, furnishings, ordered the garden office and its delivered and constructed. All amenities are plugged in. All you need now is the discipline to work in it as opposed to wandering around the garden looking at the flowers and wildlife. You certainly don't get to do that in a company office
A converted shed
You could easily retro-fit your existing or new shed, garden building or other outhouse. You will need to consider what to do with your garden equipment, if any, that is stored in your shed. You will also need to think about installing suitable insulation and heating – to create a comfortable working environment. You may also need to consider inserting sky-light to improve the levels of light within the shed. Here, Stephen Waddington describes how he converted his pig shed into a fully functional office.
Here at Shedstore, we have an extesive range of large sheds which are big enough and suitable for use as a garden office
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Log cabins
Log cabins are extremely versatile garden building which can easily be used as a garden office. If you're run a home business, by using a log cabin you will have ample space to store your stock. Some of these even feature a handy built in shed-area for extra storage – so if your replacing a shed, you won't need to re-house your gardening equipment.