The Philosophy of Sheds

Because It's Never Just a Shed.

What is it about a shed?

Perhaps it's the peace and quiet. Perhaps it's having somewhere to disappear to with your tools, books and half-finished projects. Or perhaps there's simply something rather wonderful about a small wooden building that is entirely your own.

In The Philosophy of Sheds, author Alex Johnson explores our enduring fascination with these wonderfully simple little structures — and discovers that the humble shed has played a surprisingly important role in our creative lives.

From rotating sheds and sheds on wheels to holy sheds and wonderfully eccentric hideaways, this fascinating book travels across generations and around the world to uncover just how much can happen inside four very modest walls.

Big Ideas. Little Buildings.

Sheds have been workshops, writing rooms, studios, laboratories, retreats and places to simply shut the door on everyone else for a while.

Along the way, The Philosophy of Sheds explores some of the inventions, philosophies, literature and art that have emerged from these tiny spaces, alongside increasingly imaginative answers to one important question:

What exactly can a shed be?

The book also includes a gazetteer of famous and unusual sheds from around the world, accompanied by fascinating archival imagery from the British Library collections.

Why You'll Love It

• Written by Alex Johnson

• A fascinating celebration of sheds and the people who love them

• Explores famous, unusual and wonderfully eccentric sheds

• Stories of ideas, inventions, literature and art born in small spaces

• Includes a gazetteer of remarkable sheds around the world

• Illustrated with archival imagery from the British Library collections

• Brilliant for gardeners, makers, creatives and design lovers

• A particularly good gift for the person who is happiest pottering in their shed

A Rather Good Gift for a Shed Dweller

Funny, thoughtful and unexpectedly fascinating, this is a brilliant present for gardeners, dads, grandads, makers, tinkerers and anyone fiercely protective of their shed.

Pair it with Work from Shed for someone whose modest garden outbuilding ambitions are beginning to get slightly out of hand.

Small building. Surprisingly big subject.