From Wendy House to luxury office pod, a WFH transformation project

Over the past few months many of us have re thought our places of work; some lucky enough to have a dedicated space in their homes already, some sharing the kitchen table and hot desking, and others adapting what they already had to suit new requirements and re purposing.

J4’s Dave was no stranger to working from home, there was never a company office, and his working week (pre covid) was a blend of some days alongside clients in their offices, and some WFH. His plan was always to purpose build his own home office, and he had already started this project prior to the pandemic – how fantastic was his timing?!

In this article he tells us about the transformation process. Building an office in the garden is something many are now toying with; remote working is clearly here to stay well beyond 2020.

It’s refreshing to see a project manager getting so much pleasure from rolling up his sleeves and working with wood.

Dave’s taken alot of ribbing from the team over his “it’s not a” shed. Clearly much care and hard work have gone into this project and it’s a bespoke hand crafted office pod. The photos show the original Wendy House, then de construction and the rebuild and then the finished article. Nice one Dave we really are impressed.

“I went to town building a Wendy House for my daughter a few years ago.  Made from scratch, bespoke timber frame, cedar shingle roof, veranda, little oak door, it had everything a 3 year could want.  For a week or so Layla loved it, then she moved on.

A few years of vacant possession later, and after a period of negotiation, I was given permission to ‘modify’ it for both our benefit.  With twin brothers now added for Layla, I needed that space to escape during the working day.  It needed to be usable all year around, energy efficient and last the test of time.

I probably should have knocked it down and started again, but I couldn’t let that cedar roof go to waste.  Apart from the roof, only the frame survived.

After quite a few lost weekends of construction, it was ready, just before the 1st Covid lockdown.  Now it is my luxury office pod during the week, (not a shed!!), and Layla’s party pad at the weekend”.