Cuprinol Shed of the Year finalists announced and three are from Yorkshire

The chosen “Sheddies” are now officially in the running to win the competition’s best prize yet: £1,000 in cash and £250 worth of Cuprinol products.

The Yorkshire trio selected includes Lotte Shaw from Leeds with her allotment shed. It is in the Budget category and is made of wooden frame windows, which she has been collecting for the last decade. The shed cost between £150 and £249 to build.

She says: “I've always loved old wooden framed windows and have been collecting discarded ones from building sites/streets for the best part of a decade. When I took on my allotment a couple of years ago I decided I wanted more covered growing space and the windows came into their own. It doubles up as a potting shed and tool storage space.”

Next from God’s Own County is the Tikki Shed by Andrea Kenworthy and her daughter Millie in the Pub/Entertainment category. She says: “Our shed is a labour of love. It's been created using reclaimed and recycled materials found by our whole family. It is a social space where we all congregate to forget our worries and spend time together as a family.”

Last but by no means least is an entry in the Unexpected/Unique category is “I Am Reusable’” put forward by John McGall. This is a shed that serves as a community foodbank in York.

John says: “The shed is very special as it is run as a community food bank. Open 7 days a week 365 days of the year, it feeds a 100 plus people a day who are in need of food. The food is collected across York from businesses at the end of day. We are combating food waste and in turn we can feed people plus adding public donations of tins, toiletries, cleaning products, cereals, juice, etc. It is run by over 60 volunteers and we also send food parcels out.”

Marianne Shillingford, creative director at Cuprinol, says: “We are thrilled to see so many sheds taking inspiration from last year’s winner, Kelly Haworth’s Potting Shed. It’s incredible to see such masterpieces made from reclaimed materials. Making small garden improvements really can make such a huge difference regardless of budget.

“Equally, we have seen a lot of people go all out with the creation of gorgeous garden escapes for them and their family. I will always advocate for bringing more colour into both indoor and outdoor living spaces and I am constantly in awe of how these sheddies harness their creativity in so many unique ways to design the perfect garden retreats.”

Head judge and founder of the competition Andrew Wilcox says of the innovation shown in this year’s submissions: “We are now in the 17th year of the competition, and each year I am always surprised and delighted by the level of creativity shown by our entrants. It’s incredible what can be done to create a beautiful shed for as little as £150. The new categories have also opened the door to some of the competition’s most colourful creations. It really is too close to call this year: I’d be happy to see any of them win.”

Entrants had the opportunity to enter two new categories this year – Simple but Effective and Colourful – as well as the usual Budget, Cabin/Summerhouse, Nature’s Haven, Pub/Entertainment, Unexpected/Unique and Workshop/Studio classifications.

Each year, three submissions are chosen from each category for the shortlist, but with particularly strong entries in the Simple but Effective, Unexpected/Unique and Workshop/Studio categories this year, four sheds have been selected from each.

Public voting for this year’s competition is open now and will run until July13, 2023. To find out more about each finalist, and cast a vote, visit: https://www.readersheds.co.uk.