WORKSPACE TOUR

Resident: Caroline Drury, owner of Blackdown Sherpherd Hut

Location: Monbulk, Yarra Ranges, Victoria

Workspace: Shepherd hut in the garden

The Shepherd’s hut was once a common sight around the English countryside and was originally conceived as a temporary, mobile home to enable Shepherds to stay close to their flocks of sheep whilst providing a place to store medicines and tools.

English born Caroline Drury has brought a little piece of history from home in the form of this romantically nostalgic garden outbuilding.

“They are an architectural antique and they’ve definitely come into vogue particularly as the Shepherd Huts that are built these days are equipped with all the modern conveniences”, says Caroline who uses her bespoke Shepherd Hut as her home office.

“I love seeing my hut nestled at the bottom of my garden and when I am in there, I imagine a life more simple and that immediately brings about the sense of calm and clarity that I need to enable me to work effectively. I furnished my hut simply and was inspired by the practical ‘Shaker’ style whereby each piece of furniture is functional.”

The mobility of the modern day Shepherd Hut also has it’s uses today as not only can you tow it around your property but the fact that the hut sits on cast iron wheels generally exempts the building from needing council permits. “As we run a B&B from home, we wanted an outbuilding that looked attractive. We also needed something quickly and didn’t want the hassle of wading through red tape so we decided to look into Shepherd Huts”. The hut is fully insulated so is perfect for year round use, an electric heater fashioned to look like a real stove sits in the corner and heats the room perfectly in winter whilst the windows and stable door invites the breeze in during summer.

The hut has proven to be the perfect garden hideaway in which to work for Caroline as she can bolt the door and escape from the rest of the family. The hut is nestled in our garden away from the main house so there are no distracting noises and the best thing is that nobody can find me!”

The stable door has it’s uses and serves as the perfect way to allow the outside in whilst still maintaining some privacy. “I love leaning out of the stable door for a breath of fresh air and a break from work- it’s a marvelous way to recharge without actually having to go outside.”

Caroline believes in keeping a minimalist style and works from her laptop. Her advice to maintaining an uncluttered workspace is to “scan any paperwork you receive and then recycle it. Just remember to keep your computer backed up!

Caroline is not alone in her endeavours to retreat to a garden hut for the solitude required for concentrating on her home business. Evidently Roald Dahl used to write in a Gypsy Wagon which sat at the bottom of his garden.