The winner of the hotly-anticipated Shed of the Year contest has been praised for creating an impressive design despite lacking palatial decorations.
Mike Robinson, an engineer from Plumstead, south London, was handed the top prize for ‘The Tiny Workshop’ which doubles up as tool storage and a ‘peaceful retreat’.
The black ash garden shed, which won the ‘Workshop/Studio’ category, was described as ‘ingenious’ and like ‘nothing we’ve seen before in competition history’ by Cuprinol judges.
‘We needed a good bit of storage for the garden necessities,’ Mr Robinson, who won £1,000, said. ‘Off-the-shelf options would have taken up too much room so we went with a DIY design and build. I think The Tiny Workshop has worked a treat.’
But the shed, which boasts dual opening doors that provide rain protection alongside an overhanging green roof that stores garden tools, lacks the ‘eye-catching’ design of previous winners.
Last year’s victorious entry was covered in vintage magazine advertising murals, while the winner in 2023 was a colourful garden building known as Frankenshed because it was brought back from the dead.
But while it lacks a dazzling exterior, Mr Robinson’s creation has been branded ‘seriously impressive’ by a previous contestant and shed expert.
Alex Dodman, an ambulance worker and finalist of Shed of the Year 2023, told the Daily Mail: ‘The colours aren’t eye-catching like some of the other winners but it is seriously impressive he built it himself.
Mike Robinson, an engineer from Plumstead, south London , was handed the top prize for ‘The Tiny Workshop’ which doubles up as tool storage and a ‘peaceful retreat’
‘We needed a good bit of storage for the garden necessities,’ Mr Robinson, who won £1,000, said.
The shed boasts dual opening doors that provide ‘rain protection’ as a key feature alongside an overhanging green roof that stores garden tool
‘I know a lot of people just spray paint on their old sheds, so building it yourself and the uniqueness of the winning design is impressive.’
‘In a small garden where he doesn’t have a lot of space, he has used every bit well.’
Mr Dodman, from Essex, spent months transforming his old garden shed into an Alpine-style mini-ski chalet in his own back garden, and has been frustrated by the previous success of sheds which he claim are not built from scratch.
‘I’ve got a bit of a chip on my shoulder about it as so many people do not actually build their sheds, including a lot of the past winners.
‘Since 2016 a lot of winners haven’t built it themselves. The competition has gone downhill. It’s been about colours and how creative it looks rather than building your own shed. Some are pretty ropey but this looks like real hard work.’
While last year’s victorious shed gained plaudits for its design, judges were keen to emphasise Mr Robinson’s ‘masterclass in space-saving design and craftsmanship’
Cuprinol claimed the use of a 3D printer to design custom brackets for old spanner handles showed Mr Robinson’s ‘personal flair’.
Marianne Shillingford, Creative and Colour Expert at Cuprinol, addded: ‘This year’s winner takes the competition back to its roots of championing the simple yet effective.
Runners-up in this year’s competition include Kate Jenkins, who won the ‘Budget’ contest with her ‘Beach Hut at the Bottom of the Garden’
Ben Davies-Cushty which won the ‘Pub and Entertainment’ category for his shed which was lined with beer matts and complete with draught beer taps
Alex Dodman, a finalist of Shed of the Year 2023, praised the impressive and clever design
Last year’s winner, Wayne Dawber from Crewe, wowed the public with a colorful ‘Wrinkly, Rusty And Retro’ shed
‘Traditionally, sheds have just been seen as somewhere to store your tools, or perhaps somewhere to potter and play – The Tiny Workshop takes this seemingly basic concept and turns into something so inspired but also still very practical, and truly nothing like we’ve seen before in this competition’s history.’
Founder and head judge of Cuprinol Shed of the Year, Andrew Wilcox, says: ‘In a difficult time of paying more and getting less, ‘The Tiny Workshop’ is a shining example of what can be achieved even in the most compact of spaces.
Runners-up in this year’s competition include Kate Jenkins, who won the ‘Budget’ contest with her ‘Beach Hut at the Bottom of the Garden’.
She decorated a second-hand shed, which she received for free, with turquoise and white stripes, a black and white floor and bunting.
While Ben Davies-Cushty which won the ‘Pub and Entertainment’ category for his shed which was lined with beer matts, pub decorations and complete with draught beer taps.
In comparison, last year’s winner, Wayne Dawber from Crewe, wowed the public with a colorful ‘Wrinkly, Rusty And Retro’ shed.
The art technician created the ‘ghost-town chic’ garden building using ‘old junk’, including vintage signs, magazines and old product labels.
Mr Dawber’s shed was made entirely from used and scrap materials, including corrugated steel, and boasts vintage signage and murals.
‘Everything in the build I scavenged from hard-to-come-by skip finds, junk shops, demolition sites I come across, or farms having a clear out,’ he explained.
‘I had been collecting bits and pieces for quite a while. I knew they would come together somehow at some point. I’m addicted to old junk.’
He added that the use of corrugated steel, ‘found objects and the vintage magazine advertising murals’ is what makes his shed unique.
‘It’s not something you would normally see in a garden, I suppose, more on a deserted, desert highway. I like to pretentiously call this style industrial, ghost-town chic,’ he said.
