Selby Shed Office

The project began with a simple aim: to create a calm place apart from the house, quieter than daily family life yet naturally part of the garden. Set in the rear yard of a property in Milton Keynes, it was conceived as a small retreat where work and leisure could comfortably coexist.

The client, a retired writer, spends long hours reading and writing and values uninterrupted concentration. At the same time, the garden is a social setting shared with children, grandchildren and friends, often into relaxed evenings. The space therefore needed to support both solitude and togetherness.

A restrained architectural language keeps the building calm and unobtrusive. A simple volume paired with generous glazing brings soft daylight deep inside. The north-facing façade provides consistent, glare-free light, ideal for writing throughout the day.

Outside, a terrace with seating and a small fireplace extends the room into the garden. By day it functions as a quiet workspace; by evening it becomes a gentle social anchor, connecting with planting and open areas as a continuous indoor-outdoor sequence.

The result is a modest yet expressive space that neither dominates nor disappears in the garden, but quietly completes it.