Man's tropical steampunk shed up for national award

Yahoo

16-07-2025

A man who built his own "steampunk shed" is hoping his labour of love will win him a national award.
Ash Robertson from Ipswich was in need of somewhere to work from home when he and his wife welcomed their second child.
He decided to build his own shed, made of almost entirely of second hand items from Facebook Marketplace.
His cabin meets tiki beach bar with steampunk vibe, blending Victorian and modern elments - has been nominated as a finalist in the Shed of the Year awards.
Inspiration for the shed's exterior came when Mr Robertson found a wooden window for sale on social media.
This dictated the rest of the build and Mr Robertson made use of cheap cuts of logs from a sawmill.
The shed's wooden door originally had a square top, but when Mr Robertson opened the door it would hit the ceiling because he had not accounted for the thickness of the plasterboard.
He explained: "I thought what am I going to do?
"I went inside... [and thought] let's have a beer and watch some tele and The Hobbit was on.
"I thought that's it, I'll cut the top into a curved shape like a hobbit house, so that just happened as a result of watching the film."
Inside Mr Robertson has tiki elements including multi-coloured lamps, fish nets across the roof and more, mixed with Victorian styles of furniture and items.
He said he was most proud of the immersive interior which he described as "tropical steampunk".
"People can walk through the threshold and I say, first of all do you still feel like you're in Ipswich?
"Do you feel like it's 2025? No I feel like it's 1880, something like that. Where in the world do you think you are? What's happening? Who are you?
"It triggers this creative part of the mind that we all have... that perhaps some of us, certainly adults, as we get older you don't write stories like you do when you were a kid. It's such a shame."
The shed has been named Redondo Trading, inspired by Redondo Beach in California in the United States where Mr Robertson and his wife went on their honeymoon and where the tiki style bar originated from.
The shed is a finalist in the cabin/summerhouse category of the Shed of the Year awards and people can vote online for their favourite.
Follow Suffolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
Junk addict wins Shed of the Year with scrap design
South East sheds vie to become UK Shed of the Year
Shed of the Year was 'brought back from the dead'
Redondo Trading
Shed of the Year