16 cosy, weird and cool sheds: Send us your photos of unusual sheds

As if it could have escaped your notice, it’s National Shed Week.

This year’s Cuprinol-sponsored Shed of the Year contest has revealed it has had a record number of entries, with a 20 per cent increase compared to last year.

More than 2,000 proud sheddies entered their garden structures across eight categories, with a sharp rise in workshop and studio sheds and female shed owners.

A three part Shed of the Year TV series, fronted by George Clarke, will air on Channel 4 this month.

Founder of the Shed of the Year contest, Uncle Wilco (real name Andrew Wilcox), said: “National Shed Week is a time to celebrate your garden shed, be inspired and get creative.

“With more shed entries than ever before, the nation’s love of sheds is growing at a fast rate, so deciding on who will be given the title of Shed of the Year 2014 will be no mean feat.”

SHED FACTS

Research by Cuprinol revealed:

• The average ‘sheddie’ spends almost a year of their life in their shed.
• The garden shed is worth £5billion to the British economy.
• Over 14million people in the UK now owning a shed.
• Brits now see their sheds as an extension of the home with many featuring the same luxuries, including electricity (35 per cent), heat (11 per cent) and lighting (40 per cent).
• 7 per cent of sheds now have a TV, 5 per cent a sofa and 2 per cent even have a hot tub.
• The average shed now contains over £457 worth of items.
• 12 per cent of Brits feeling at their happiest when they spend time in their shed.
• 21 per cent feel at their most creative
• 23 per cent of men even claim that spending time in their shed makes them feel more masculine.
• 21 per cent of men spend time in their shed thinking about work issues

Send pictures of your unusual sheds to jim.palmer@london.newsquest.co.uk

Below are some of the coolest sheds and local ones taken from readersheds.co.uk:

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