A Contemporary ‘Shed’ Brings a Little Luxury to a London Garden
This unique and beautiful outdoor building serves as a shed, library, cinema, summer house and more...
Most sheds are small, timber-clad structures tucked away at the end of the garden and filled with bikes, lawnmowers and garden tools. This one in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames might be timber-clad, but that’s where the similarities end. Supersized and super-designed, it’s a multi-functional outdoor room that’s as smart as it is beautiful. Take the tour to find out more.
Positioned at the end of a relatively slim garden, and facing back to the house, this contemporary shed/summer house/cinema is a room of many functions.
But how did Moreno Masey come up with the striking structure? “The volumetric shape is a proper shed,” says the architect. “It’s a child’s drawing of a house; a Monopoly house – four walls and a pitched roof,” he says.
“Set within a Victorian terrace, the form is contextual, but it’s supersized – it frames the outside space both visually and functionally.”
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But how did Moreno Masey come up with the striking structure? “The volumetric shape is a proper shed,” says the architect. “It’s a child’s drawing of a house; a Monopoly house – four walls and a pitched roof,” he says.
“Set within a Victorian terrace, the form is contextual, but it’s supersized – it frames the outside space both visually and functionally.”
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The form of the building draws on many sources, collected by Moreno Masey on his travels. “It’s a collection of ‘stolen ideas’ from things I’ve seen: the cladding from a barn in Austria; the door from a brewery in Oregon; the physical form so ingrained in our cultural language as ‘house’.”
The building is clad in recycled timber that gives it a lovely, weathered look and softens the geometric, boxy outline of the contemporary form. “The oak boards are old and silvered,” says Moreno Masey, “and they’re laid with dark gaps to create a stark, geometric pattern.”
Internally, the space is decorated simply, with floor-to-ceiling bookshelves, a grey-painted wall onto which a film can be projected, a plywood wall framing a wooden desk and chair, and a bright yellow sofa that can be taken outside on sunny days.
The building is clad in recycled timber that gives it a lovely, weathered look and softens the geometric, boxy outline of the contemporary form. “The oak boards are old and silvered,” says Moreno Masey, “and they’re laid with dark gaps to create a stark, geometric pattern.”
Internally, the space is decorated simply, with floor-to-ceiling bookshelves, a grey-painted wall onto which a film can be projected, a plywood wall framing a wooden desk and chair, and a bright yellow sofa that can be taken outside on sunny days.
A practical path of pavers runs from the interior to the terrace outside, and the door is a glazed garage model that rolls up and across the ceiling to leave a clear opening. “Inside is outside,” says Moreno Masey of the design.
Tucked away behind timber-clad doors is a storage area to take care of assorted outdoor items and keep them neatly out of sight.
The shape remains streamlined thanks to the lack of guttering. “Guttering would interrupt the almost monolithic form of the eaves,” says Moreno Masey. “By removing the gutter, you take away any sense of ‘domesticity’ and the building becomes a pure form.”
Tucked away behind timber-clad doors is a storage area to take care of assorted outdoor items and keep them neatly out of sight.
The shape remains streamlined thanks to the lack of guttering. “Guttering would interrupt the almost monolithic form of the eaves,” says Moreno Masey. “By removing the gutter, you take away any sense of ‘domesticity’ and the building becomes a pure form.”
The cladding actually negates the need for traditional guttering.
“This is a small building and, as such, the water we are talking about is limited,” says Moreno Masey. “Because the roof and walls are all made in exactly the same way, the water runs through the gaps in the cladding and down the membrane behind to the floor. There’s a lip over the doors to help push the water away from the openings in the rain.”
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“This is a small building and, as such, the water we are talking about is limited,” says Moreno Masey. “Because the roof and walls are all made in exactly the same way, the water runs through the gaps in the cladding and down the membrane behind to the floor. There’s a lip over the doors to help push the water away from the openings in the rain.”
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In the UK, a ‘summer room’ might only be used for a short few months, but Rodrigo has designed this space to be enjoyed all year round. “The room is heated and insulated to better than Building Regulations [requirements],” he says, “so it stays very warm.”
On the flip side, during the summer months the space stays cool, thanks to the fact it faces east. “It’s a true multi-functional space,” says Moreno Masey. “It’s an office and study primarily, but it’s also a cinema and a garden room on a sunny day. When we have big family parties, it also doubles as a bar!”
On the flip side, during the summer months the space stays cool, thanks to the fact it faces east. “It’s a true multi-functional space,” says Moreno Masey. “It’s an office and study primarily, but it’s also a cinema and a garden room on a sunny day. When we have big family parties, it also doubles as a bar!”
So what do the neighbours make of this unique structure? “It’s quite unusual in its setting,” says Moreno Masey, “and not a very conventional approach to the ‘garden room question’. I think the neighbours saw it mid-construction and were terrified of this black Monopoly hotel being erected in the garden, but once the cladding was fitted, it blended quite effortlessly into the space.
“We had to be very sensitive to the rear neighbours to ensure we didn’t impact on their house,” he adds. “This created an asymmetrical section that we then made symmetrical again internally.”
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“We had to be very sensitive to the rear neighbours to ensure we didn’t impact on their house,” he adds. “This created an asymmetrical section that we then made symmetrical again internally.”
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Is there anything else the architect has learnt from this project and can Moreno Masey offer any advice for those wanting to build something similar? “When you build a shed, it needs to look amazing,” says Moreno Masey, “because from now on, that’s your view [from the house]!”
But he admits the building has greatly improved the way the family use the outdoor space. “With the area bookended by living spaces, the garden itself has been transformed into an outdoor living room,” says Moreno Masey.
“We now have two terraces to sit at and two internal spaces that each face the garden. They offer different things, not only [in terms of] sunlight and views, but also functions – the shed is not a kitchen and it’s not a TV room; it’s a cinema and a study. When we get the paddling pool out, it’s even a pool house…”
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But he admits the building has greatly improved the way the family use the outdoor space. “With the area bookended by living spaces, the garden itself has been transformed into an outdoor living room,” says Moreno Masey.
“We now have two terraces to sit at and two internal spaces that each face the garden. They offer different things, not only [in terms of] sunlight and views, but also functions – the shed is not a kitchen and it’s not a TV room; it’s a cinema and a study. When we get the paddling pool out, it’s even a pool house…”
Tell us
Has a converted shed helped you gain precious extra space? Share your thoughts in the Comments below, like this story, save the images, and join the conversation.
More
Find a building designer near you
Who uses this room: Rodrigo Moreno Masey, founder of architecture practice MorenoMasey, and his wife, three daughters, and dog, Bodie
Location: London, UK
Room purpose: An outdoor garden room
Cost: AU$54,000
Architect: Rodrigo Moreno Masey of MorenoMasey
“It’s a ‘decorated shed’,” says Rodrigo Moreno Masey of the timber-clad structure at the end of the garden in his Victorian terraced home. But this deceptively simple description underplays what is actually a clever, multi-functional space, designed with much care and thought.