Out-There Garden Sheds Are Celebrated in the U.K.

dam-images-architecture-2015-07-garden-sheds-garden-shed-year-award-1.jpg

Affectionately known as “sheddies,” members of the U.K.’s surprisingly avid garden-shed-building community came out in full force for Cuprinol’s annual Shed of the Year competition, which saw 2,250 entries in 2015 with the winners announced earlier this week. From the quintessentially British to the bohemian and beachy, the chosen sheds reveal the delightful results of architectural imaginations run wild.

Made exclusively from cob, recycled plywood, and recycled glass bottles, the Owl House (named for its round, owl-eye window frames) won in the Eco Shed category. The rustic space, owned by Tracy Caroline Lewis, overlooks coastal sand dunes in Hightown, Liverpool, and even features a grass roof.

dam-images-architecture-2015-07-garden-sheds-garden-shed-year-award-2.jpg

This once-dilapidated henhouse turned micro distillery in Aviemore in the Scottish Highlands took Shed of the Year. “We were up against some proper craftsmen, brilliant eccentrics, and, most of all, a really nice bunch of people, so it is an absolute honor to have won,” said owner Walter Micklethwait.

dam-images-architecture-2015-07-garden-sheds-garden-shed-year-award-3.jpg

The winner of the Workshop and Studio category, Luke Anthony Wesley’s Cabin of the Green Man in Bedford, Bedfordshire, is used for woodworking. The timber structure is made from ash from local forests, pallets, and reclaimed timber and glass.

dam-images-architecture-2015-07-garden-sheds-garden-shed-year-award-4.jpg

An idyllic hideaway in the woodlands of Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, Rebecca Bunting’s Teasel’s Wood Cabin was inspired by classic American log cabins, and the interiors are outfitted with furniture collected from the States. Used as an extended living space, the larch-and-cedar cabin took home top honors in the __Cabin and Summerhouse__category.

dam-images-architecture-2015-07-garden-sheds-garden-shed-year-award-5.jpg

One of the year’s tiniest entries was Colin Edmondson’s Micro Shed, part of a miniature railroad car set in Leigh, Greater Manchester. Winner of the __Unique Shed__category, the structure stands just four feet tall.

dam-images-architecture-2015-07-garden-sheds-garden-shed-year-award-6.jpg

Winner of the Budget Shed category, the Ty Mynydd Fach (Little Mountain Hut) was crafted entirely from recycled materials by owner Andy Walker, who is an avid mountain climber. The timber-heavy cabin in Bolton, Lancashire, nods to the style used for classic chalets in the Alps.

dam-images-architecture-2015-07-garden-sheds-garden-shed-year-award-7.jpg

This beach-themed retreat sits in owner Chrissy Brown’s St. Neots backyard, bringing a bit of the Bahamas to Cambridgeshire. Used as an extra living space and a workshop for craft projects, the Crafty Monkey at the Beach shed took home the prize in the Garden Office category.