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Work or a hobby can take up a lot of space in the home, so a garden shed can prove an ideal space to practice these. Children’s author Roald Dahl chose to write his books from his garden shed. Rapper Snoop Dogg wrote many of his hit singles from his shed, and the sculptor Henry Moore was known to love working from his shed. So can it be affordable to transform your shed into a working space?

The biggest cost is the shed itself, so if you already have one that’s half the cost gone. A small penthouse shed can cost from 380 and upwards depending on size. For 1,400 you can have something bigger like a summerhouse, suitable for a home office. If you’re intending to spend a large amount of time in your shed, you may require a few luxuries. A ready made home studio or office, with power sockets, roof windows and proper flooring can set you back between 10 and 25,000.

If that’s out of your budget then it is possible to do the work yourself. One of the first things to do is to make sure your shed is water tight, to ensure the safety of any working materials you might choose to store there. You’ll also have to seal the windows and insulate the walls against bad weather. Adding flooring is also something you could probably do yourself.

If you require electricity but aren’t a trained professional, you will need an electrician. Electricity can be directed from your home source, or you can add solar panels to the roof of your shed to make things more environmentally friendly. These will give you the bonus of never having to pay power bills, although they cost slightly more to set up.

For a small shed, with modern conveniences you’re going to be looking at least 600 to set up. Something larger will cost upwards of 3,000. The more creature comforts you add the higher the cost. However, a home studio or office can still prove cheaper than renting office space or a professional studio.

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Traditionally an after dinner escape for dads and granddads. Or the resting place of long forgotten garden tools alongside spiders and moths. The garden shed is about to see a resurgence thanks to the 2010 winner of Shed of the Year.

One man has in Southend-on-sea in Essex has turned his humble garden shed into The Lady Sarah out of Worthing, a pirate’s paradise. After years of work and against 1,250 other UK sheds, The Lady Sarah won the competition judged by Sarah Beeny and the founder of readersheds.co.uk. Decorated with rum bottles, skulls, and anchors, The Lady Sarah also features its own Koi Carp pond, surrounded by decking, barrel shaped bar stools and its own parrot.

However, The Lady Sarah isn’t the only shed to be attracting attention at the moment. Ian Johnstone of London found his garden shed pub The White Witch, so popular with the neighbours he’s had to extend it twice, so it now boasts a full bar as well as karaoke, plasma television, pool table and fruit machine.

UK shed fanatics are also using their garden sheds as tributes to their favourite books and TV shows, with one man transforming his shed into Dr Who’s tardis as a gift to his wife, and Chris Almond of Derbyshire building his shed into the side of a hillside to resemble a Hobbit hole from J.R. Tolkiens Lord of the Rings trilogy.

However, if you want to see the true success of a whimsical shed, look no further than the disco shed. A regular at Latitude festival, as well as numerous London pubs and private events, the disco shed boasts a rooftop screen, DJ sets and a full light show, alongside the regular garden gnomes. So far disco shed has been featured on BBC 6 music, as well as in the Guardian. Not bad for a humble 8×6 garden shed.

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Garden sheds have long been the refuge for soiled garden tools, to spare the cleanliness of the house. But the imagination of shed owners has changed all that, and people are now using sheds for a host of means. Garden sheds are being re-imagined as extra living rooms, studios for arts and crafts, or professional offices.

Rather than creating a mess in the home, a garden shed can prove the perfect place to practice a hobby which requires a lot of space. Shavings and dust are often the by products of wood working for example, which would be better practiced in a shed studio. One shed of the year contender transformed her shed into a sewing room to house her sewing machine and various tools on custom designed shelving.

Making a garden studio can prove a great way to work from home. A resourceful shed owner turned her shed into the perfect base for her book restoration company, complete with library and reading loft. Another shed owner with her own graphic design company created her own home studio to run her business from.

Adding simple heating and insulation to your shed can allow you to transform it into an extra room or even guest accommodation. One crafty shed owner built his shed atop an elevated platform, with a glass wall for guests to enjoy the country views. Sky TV, bunk beds and a compost toilet room, provide all the creature comforts.

There are no boundaries to what the imaginative shed owner can do. From replica train carriages, to Dr Who’s tardis, or even a mini pub. Perhaps a small nightclub? For those with dedication and imaginative flair there really is nothing stopping you from turning your humble garden shed into something very special.

Find out more about garden studios.