Crème De Menthe and Zarb-Cousin completely upended things when she emerged as overall winner of the popular UK and Ireland Shed Of The Year Awards in 2021.
It marked a big turning point in the 18-year-old competition. In what has long been a testosterone-soaked and dart board-decorated end-of-garden world. While women had entered before, their creations were, like the men’s, pretty functional. But Zarb-Cousin’s smart summer cocktail and music creation swept the field with something you’d more likely find in a glossy interiors mag.
Shed of the Year, which is organised annually by the UK-based Readersheds website in association with Cuprinol wood stain products, was launched by self-confessed British “sheddie” Andrew ‘Wilco’ Wilcox, also the creator and long-time curator of the Readersheds website.
The competition was launched by the site in 2008 and was soon opened to entries across Ireland. From early on, the hundreds of entries tended to be a selection of jerry-built and modified mancaves, workshops, tool sheds and home bars. Beer pumps, sports regalia and work benches dominated the interiors.
Andrew Wilcox
But a combination of factors have transformed the entry profile of late. An increasing interest in the tiny homes movement saw a spin off into the “she shed”, with glossy interiors magazines, websites and design Instagrammers getting on board to cover stylish conversions for innovative garden rooms. A landmark was Erika Kotite’s acclaimed book She Sheds: A Room Of Your Own, published in 2017.
As girls began exploring the potential of sheds for outdoor relaxation and entertainment rooms, The Shed of the Year began gaining traction in the glossies and interiors online media. Covid appears to have provided a tipping point with a splurge of lockdown projects in turn spurring a tsunami of she-sheddies entering the competition.
Wilcox adds: “To the degree that this year women will likely account for at least 50pc of our 2024 entries.”
Of Crème De Menthe, Zarb-Cousin adds: “The shed was unused and empty and was going to be knocked down until I decided to turn it into a bar during lockdown. I painted everything myself inside and outside including the orange beams and bar. Everything in the shed was sourced from charity shops and second-hand vintage furniture shops.
“My shed is a garden bar and place to relax with a drink or cocktail. It is full of vintage and 70s touches with an orange, cream and green colour theme. Almost everything in the shed is second-hand including vintage vases, glasses and old records.”
The 2022 competition saw another gong for the girls when Kelly Haworth’s Lancashire allotment potting shed beat hundreds of entries from Ireland and the UK and took the grand prize with an example built entirely out of old recycled doors and at a cost of less than €300.
Kelly Haworth, winner of Shed of The Year 2022
She says: “Built over a one to two-month period by me and my husband, we incorporated a small kitchen area, private loo, tool store and potting area. All in a 2x 3 metre floor space. I shared the build on my Instagram (ohhomelygirl) and received some wonderful support and feedback. It has been so lovely to see other gardeners now building their own sheds by recycling old doors.”
Last year, however, the boys bounced back with London-based artist Archie Proudfoot taking the top prize for ‘Frankenshed’ – an old standard timber garden shed that was literally rotting from the ground up before he got going on it.
He says: “This shed is called The Frankenshed because it was brought back from the dead. It was a standard 8′ x 4′ timber shed that had been left to rot at the bottom of a neglected garden. When I began renovating it, the floor was 80pc rotten, so was the roof and the windowsill. By all rights it should have been torn down and replaced. But I saw the potential for something special.
“Once all the rot had been cut away, it was still standing somehow. I rebuilt the floor with recycled timber from old fence posts and the windowsill was remade using a single bed frame that was set for the skip. The roof was replaced with corrugated Onduline to mimic the steel roof of Derek Jarman’s Prospect Cottage, which I was modelling my build on.
“A large new window replaced the three old cracked ones. On it, I decided to celebrate all the tools I had used to bring the shed back to life by reverse-glass gilding them in 23-carat gold leaf, a process that you may recognise from old pub mirrors. The panels incorporated the 12 signs of the zodiac, the major planets of astrology, Greek gods and mythical figures. I spent over a month designing and painting these plywood panels alone.”
Archie Proudfoot, the 2023 winner of Shed of the Year with ‘Frankenshed’
Wilcox is now calling for more Irish entries, especially from women.
“Particularly those that don’t involve pubs,” he laughs.
It seems Covid’s pub closures also produced a steady stream of home bar ‘shebeen’ entries from both islands in the last few years.
It has been noticed that Irish she sheddies are well ahead of the curve. As far back as 2017, Boyne Garden Sheds asserted that women were accounting for 75pc of shed purchases.
An article that year on “She Shedders” talked to Karin Morrow of Bellewstown, Co Meath, ex-Aer Lingus cabin crew member who transformed a shed she inherited from her in-laws into a charmingly rustic, Norwegian summerhouse-inspired retreat complete with decking and pretty fencing. The Cabin, as Karin lovingly calls it, is nestled at the back of the garden, surrounded by plants and wildlife.
“This humble little cabin is a place of solace and sanctuary where I can retreat to my own personal haven and forget about what’s going on outside,” she told The Independent.
She also uses it for crafting, painting and drawing, playing her guitar, and to make ‘granny videos’ to send to her grandkids.
Karin Morrow at her shed. Photo: Bryan Meade
The Readersheds site, which has gallery after gallery of creative interpretations of the humble garden shed, has listed over 36,000 versions from all over Britain and Ireland through its history. Among the prominent Irish sheds featured are Limerick’s Hooting Owl, a Grimm fairytale-type construction by Derek McCarthy which was built entirely of wood product materials imported from the Zakopane area of Poland, which is renowned for its ornate woodland cabin culture.
He adds: “All of the materials used to build this were shipped to Ireland all the way from the Tatra mountains at the heart of Zakopane in Poland. I was taken aback by the simplicity and craft of cabins like this in the heart of Zakopane, and ever since it has been my wish to build one at home in Ireland. It has housed many a card game, party and evening of serene contemplation.”
The Lodge in Bray, Co Wicklow, by Mark Baker
Another popular Irish shed featured is The Lodge in Bray, Co Wicklow, by Mark Baker.
He says: “The lodge was born out of lockdown in winter 2021 as I wanted a project….and a space to go to for social reasons. We were locked out of pubs and restaurants, so I wanted somewhere to go.
“We are on the edge of Bray Head and have some spectacular views of the Dublin mountains as well as the sea/coastline. Everything inside was hand-built from leftover shed packaging (pallet wood) where possible including the bar and sofa.”
So, whether it’s a cocktail bar or a repair shop, if you think your shed has what it takes, get your entries in before May 31.