Sheddie Deborah Carr has written this guest post about her introduction to shedism for International Women’s Week, many thanks to her and Grumpy.

Until a couple of years ago I assumed that the only people who could possibly be interested in the inside of a shed would for some reason be male. When I announced to my husband that I needed my own space to write, but we couldn’t agree which room in the house I should have, he suggested the shed.

Now, although I can remove tiles from a bathroom wall as fast as the next person, or even wield a paintbrush, in fact I’ve also had a go at plastering, although I don’t think I want to admit to that disastrous attempt at DIY. However, apart from walking past the shed to the greenhouse, and even that was a rare occurrence, the thought of actually spending time in that spider-infested place really was not something I could see myself doing, willingly at least.

Rob asked me to give him a few days and in no time, the shed had been cleared out, painted and an old 1950s table and two chairs put inside. My paperwork – mountains of the stuff – soon followed, together with a laptop and then me.

So, almost every day, you’ll find me sitting at my desk tapping away on my laptop, with my Miniature Schnauzer snoring on his chair and the walls covered with photos, notes, old cards or pictures, each one meaning someone thing to me, or there to inspire me.

The windowsill holds, an old inkbottle, pieces of driftwood and shells collected from many walks on the beach with the dog, together with a fossil and colourful wasp catchers.

The shed was even a category winner in the Shed of the Year 2009 Competition, which was great fun, although it’s had a new coat of paint since then. Thankfully there’s a heater for when it’s cold and with the continuous low temperatures we’ve experienced this winter I’ve a feeling it’s going to be worn out very soon.

To view more images of the shed clicky here.