When space isn’t of abundance, flexibility is our friend and guess what… it has been for centuries…
In a time where our space is so confined to what we have, does it sometimes feel like one minute it’s too much space and the next it just isn’t enough? We hear you and we believe that the balance you crave is in the flexibility of your space.
Since we established in 2011 we have always been inspired by the heritage of the shepherd hut. We’ve even named one of our huts the ‘Retreat Heritage’. We drew our inspiration from the very first documented shepherd huts in the Victorian times, which were built from the very core of our innate need for flexibility. They were built by whatever materials were to hand and designed based on the needs of the individual shepherd, farmer or game keeper. It wasn’t about the amount of space; it was about what the space offered in terms of flexibility and comfort to help the user go about their working day.
The creators of the shepherd hut distinguished what they needed from their huts based on the materials they had and the work that they were doing. They wanted to feel safe, rested and protected from the elements, so they built fires for the comfort that comes with warmth, they added wheels for a productive operation whilst moving about their land, they had a bed for a place to rest after their hard day’s work, and shepherds even had lamb cages under their beds to tend to sickly lambs. We may not all be moving about a farm tending to our flocks, but we do need a space where we can experience just what we need when we need it.
If you’ve been to visit us before you may have taken a trip to the bottom of our display garden at HQ and come across our Retreat Heritage Hut. At a first glance it’s a rustic style office with antique desk and chairs which create an inviting workspace. We wanted to show the full potential of our retreat hut, so, we added a magnificent copper ceiling which provides the perfect luxury office feature without intruding on the space available. We then asked ourselves ‘how can we make this a multi-functional office?’ The answer, a custom-made futon bed meant that this discerning space could transform into a blissful guest room for those we hold dear to come and stay, allowing everyone to enjoy their own space and each other’s. When the futon is folded away the hut transforms once again, this time into the perfect luxury living space for relaxation and reflection whilst escaping to the bottom of the garden with the bird song the only soundtrack.
It turns out that in this modern world, we may not all be needing somewhere to stay whilst working out in the fields, but we are working people in need of a calm and distraction-less workspace. Our Retreat Heritage Hut show cases how this can be achieved along with providing a luxury space for work, family and your own hideaway all in the confines of your home and garden.
