Jane's Folly

Shed Features

This fivesided shedfolly in the corner of a London garden is a life-enhancing jewel of a building that multitasks as a cosy coffee-to-cocktails venue a shed for garden cushions and a cabinet of curiosities exhibition space It was designed with two chairs and a table in mind but clever corner seats and flapups on the doors mean that seven can squeeze in for a glass of fizz and some nibbles

All my visitors think I am completely mad and they all love it This was my lockdown folly and kept me going through those difficult months It has heating and lighting and looks magical lit up at night where it can be admired from surrounding gardens

Other Shed info

It is constructed in cedar shiplap, has MDF Gothic doors and windows, decorative castellations, cedar shingles and a glass pyramid with pretend stained glass, plus a weathervane with a portrait of my own cat on top. The inside has a real parquet floor (leftover from another building), mirrored windows to give a sense of space and an eight-sided lantern where I have painted the eight winds from the Temple of the Winds in Athens.

The internal dimensions are numerically ingenious and the whole thing was designed for me by my friend Simon who is an architect. He also kindly helped in the building of it, though it was mostly done by a Polish builder. I couldn’t do much myself, being 77 and not much good up a ladder. Besides, it was my lockdown holiday fund put to better use.

Read about the build here