July 26th 2024.
"Hey, do you think we can finally move in?" asked Rachel excitedly. After months of hard work, Graham and Rachel had finally completed their dream garden office shed. They had managed to save a whopping £23,000 by using recycled materials they had collected from a nearby skip. As they gazed at their new workspace, they couldn't help but feel proud of what they had accomplished.
Both Graham, 35, and Rachel, 34, were working from their spare bedroom, but with their two young boys running around, they knew they needed more space. "We realized that our family was growing, with two energetic boys - a one-year-old and a four-year-old - and we needed to free up our bedroom and have a separate workspace," Graham explained.
Being architects themselves, the couple put their skills to the test and designed a beautiful garden office. They transformed an unused patch of land at the bottom of their garden into a sunlit workspace. "It was quite challenging, but we wanted to make the most of our garden and create a sunroom as well," Graham shared.
With the help of his father-in-law, also named Graham, the two Grahams spent every weekend for a year constructing and building their new hub. "The most interesting part was using recycled materials to save money," Graham said. They scoured online ads and even found insulation for the roof in a skip, a front window from an unwanted window reseller, and reclaimed timber with the help of the Southampton Wood Recycling Project.
Their frugal decision-making paid off, as they were able to build their summer cabin for just £12,000, a significant difference from the estimated cost of £35,000 had they hired someone to do it for them. "It was a satisfying and financially essential project," Graham shared. "We wouldn't have been able to afford it otherwise."
Now, the couple uses the space at least three times a week to work from home. Their children also love to play with their Lego in the shed. "We wanted a cosy spot to work in, and this shed ticks all the boxes," Rachel said with a smile.
Graham even entered their shed into the Cuprinol Shed of the Year 2024 competition for fun, but he's thrilled to be shortlisted in the "Cabin/Summerhouse" category. "It's a nice feeling," Graham admitted. "But I'm not getting my hopes up too high."
If you want to support Graham's build, you can vote for it here. Do you have a story to share? Let us know by emailing us at [email]. We'd love to hear from you!
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