Our daughters slept in 'sheds' in the back garden for years and they loved it
When the Wilkinson family were looking to move to Gabalfa in Cardiff for their five daughters' school options they were desperately looking for more space. They thought they'd found a good option at a house that, although needing an update and extending, also came with a static caravan in the garden as the perfect solution as private space for their two eldest daughters Megan and Ashleigh.
But as soon as the family moved in there was a problem that halted the family's plan. Megan said: "The caravan was not fit to live in – it leaked, the electrics weren’t safe, it was crumbling, so we had a party in it and then ripped it down." That left parents Ross and Nicola short on space immediately and although they had a budget and clever ideas on how to transform their new home to make it bigger that didn't include extending the first floor to create more bedrooms.
For more property renovation and interior design stories sent to your inbox twice a week sign up to the property newsletter here.
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE: The luxury mansion saved from ruin after animals took over and water poured in
But Nicola's dad Rob had an idea that was not only out of the box it was out of most people's imagination – how about two detached lodges in the garden? Ross and Nicola researched the options online and then pitched the idea to the two daughters who were instantly captivated by the suggestion of having a 'shed' each to create their own bedrooms – even though some members of their family were sceptical of the idea.
Megan said: "My friends thought it was really cool. That is where the name ‘The shed’ came from – my friends. We have always referred to them as log cabins in the family but when my friends saw it they said: 'You just basically live in a shed' and that’s how it was referred to then – Megan’s Shed.
"I’ve had a couple of friends stay over – mainly when my parents weren’t home and they will only get to know about it now. And when friends weren’t staying over I could fit quite a few people in there so I did have a few shed parties."
But the 'sheds' were not your usual B&Q garden structures that you can pick up for a couple of hundred pounds – these were thousands of pounds' worth of weather-resistant log cabins, made from spruce timber imported from Poland, that came with double-glazing and a locking front door from a company called Dunster House.
The family moved fast to get the girls into their new 'bedrooms' – dismantling the caravan, clearing the garden, ordering the lodges and then building them. When the cabins arrived Ross, aged 43 and originally from Whitchurch, could tackle the foundations, construction, and installation of the underground electricity as he works as a carpenter for company SPD Loft Conversions for boss Gareth Shaw – one half of the design duo whose own Penarth home in 2019 won BBC's Best House in Town. You can find out more about that here.
Nicola, also aged 43, says: "We moved in in the December and by February 5 the first cabin was up – the girls couldn't wait. It was pure excitement, they were over the moon. If they didn’t want to do it there’s no way they would have but they absolutely loved it. They were so excited to get out there and have their own space – they wouldn’t have it any other way. We’re a very busy household with the five girls and I’m a childminder so we’re very busy and also have a big family so when it came to needing quiet time to study the cabins were perfect."
But the first night in the cabins was more memorable than expected. Ross said: "To sleep in the cabins was their choice. It suited their personalities – they couldn’t wait to get out there. But at that time the Beast from the East was just starting and they were carrying their duvets out into the snow. I said: 'You’re not going to stay out there tonight are you?' and they were like: ‘Yeah we are’ – they could not wait. The morning after their first night out there I had to shovel them out of the snow so they could open their front doors."
Megan, now 21 and living in London and working as a social media manager for a company called Agora, said: "It was never cold in there. The oil heaters were fine and when I was younger and I was on the way home from college I would text my mum and ask her to turn on the heating so it was warm when I got home."
As the family are now looking to move to a more rural location so Megan decided to post a house tour video on her Instagram and TikTok accounts @megsiewilkinson that included the sheds. It has now gone viral with more than a million views on just the initial TikTok post.
Nicola said: "The question that’s been thrown out a lot in response to Megan's video is: 'What do you do if you need the toilet?' Megan very rarely wakes up in the night so it wasn’t an issue for her but it was never an issue for either of them actually and they had a key to the back door and they could let themselves in."
The family felt so happy living in the community that they know so well that, back then, they regularly left the rear door open for the girls to come back in although now both of them have moved out that doesn't happen any more. Ross said: "And not once did anyone try to enter this house." Nicola added: "We are lucky – it’s a fully enclosed garden and totally secure and the cabins lock, they’ve got keys, and the garden has a concrete wall. Anyone would have to get through neighbours’ gardens to get to the sheds. And it’s not a massive garden – the house to the cabins is about 15 steps. I could call them from the house for their tea."
The cabins were a source of great excitement for many years for the teenagers and Megan has so many happy memories . She saod: "I was never that bothered about sleeping in the garden – I was just so excited about having my own space. The difference I saw was when I had friends stay over and they heard noises outside they would really panic but I have no memory of ever being scared about it.
"I’d sometime hear the foxes and the cats on the roof – I’d hear that quite a bit – and when I had friends stay over they’d hear the cats and they’d be like: 'Oh my God – what’s that noise?' and I'd laugh and say: 'It’s just a cat.' The most memorable time was once there were two cats fighting on top of the shed and they fell down the side but it was in the middle of the night and I woke up to cats screaming and heard them go thud, thud, thud down the side of the wall.
"The best things about my shed were that I could go to bed when I wanted, I could watch films without having to use headphones, I could listen to music at midnight and no-one would have any idea, friends could come round and not have to be too quiet – it was great. It was bliss – no-one bothered me."
Ross added: "Predominantly the girls were in the house most of the time and the cabins were used as and when needed for privacy, study, and sleeping when needed because there were times when a bedroom in the house was vacant but they would say: ‘No thanks – I want to stay in my cabin' and that was the same when they came back from uni too."
In the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic and more people working from home garden structures have become more common as a more cost-effective way of adding versatile space to a home than expensive and time-consuming extension but the couple do have a few words of advice for anyone who is thinking of getting their own log cabin.
Ross said: "It was a fantastic idea for us, it worked for our household, but because of climate change now temperatures are dropping so now I’d say think about insulating your cabin and then plasterboard it to make it warmer. We used oil burners which were phenomenal."
Nicola added: "And they weren’t on for long – just needed a quick blast to heat it up and then turned off. Plus the cabins have double-glazing and we carpeted to make the floor cosier. But when it comes to log cabins you do what’s right for you and what your children are happy with – it worked for us but might not work for everyone. I think you need to think about the age of the children as well – our girls were 14 and 15 moving out there but we wouldn’t have done it any younger."
While two of their five children were happily making use of the duo of sheds Nicola and Ross have spent years totally transforming a drab and dated semi-detached house into a stunning home, extending to the side as a clever place to position a new kitchen as part of a new open-plan rear extension. The result of their hard work is a sociable family home packed with visually appealing interiors and design choices that include a wall of mounted scaffolding planks as a backdrop to display some of the family's treasures and curios, sections of exposed brick in two rooms to add visual warmth and texture, and statement vintage pieces that have been sourced cheaply and upcycled.
With the move to a more rural area to enjoy walking their dog in the countryside more often, but only a few miles outside the capital, the family's next adventure is about to begin so the house is currently on the market with an asking price of £325,000.
"We will miss living in Gabalfa", Nicola said. "We can walk down the Taff Trail into the city centre and the bay and there's a choice of local shops within walking distance including Llandaff North and Whitchurch. The M4 is close too, as well as rail links, but it's the people we will miss the most – it's a friendly community to call home. I'm a childminder and often out in the community with the children and the dog-walking options are great too."
But if anyone thinks that they will still see the Wilkinsons' home still on Rightmove in a month's time they need to think again because Paul Dutton from estate agent Urban Suburban says the house is a very hot property since it launched a few days ago. Paul said: "It's been so busy booking in viewings, up to 27 at the moment, that I now have a waiting list of people desperate to view this amazing property and potentially make it their new home. I've never known anything like this – it's incredible."
One thing is for sure – the Wilkinsons' next home will definitely, without any doubt, have one recognisable feature. Ross said: "It will be up to the new buyer of the house if they want to keep both cabins, or just one, but they are very handy and could be a gym or bar or home office as well as a bedroom.
"If they don't want them we can pack them up and take them with us. But whatever happens we will definitely be having a shed in the garden at our next home." Megan added: "I loved my shed in the garden – it was everything to me. I have so many amazing memories – it was the best decision my parents ever made."
For more property stories join our Amazing Welsh Homes Facebook group here.
Find your own unique property for sale here:
