Shed of the Year 2024 winner unveiled
A vintage-inspired garden shed built using secondhand materials has won the Cuprinol Shed of the Year 2024 competition.
Wayne Dawber, an artist and school art technician from Crewe, created his shed, ‘Wrinkly, Rusty and Retro’, by combining unusual and disregarded materials, such as corrugated metal from a torn-down stable roof and windows from a recently demolished chapel.
The shed – which was voted the winner of the 'Unexpected/Unique' category by the general public and selected as the overall winner by a judging panel – beat 160 other entrants to claim the top spot.
The most striking feature is the colourful handpainted vintage signs that Wayne decorated for the shed's interior and exterior. He used paint to perfect a style he likes to call 'industrial, ghost town chic'.
Many of the mural paintings are from or inspired by 1950s magazine adverts, while the indoor walls are embellished with old product labels and matchbox graphics. The paintings, alongside the weathered effect Wayne has given to the metal, brings texture and an aged-effect to the shed.
'The plan for the shed has always been for it to be a little hideaway for my wife and me. We love spending time in nature and watching the world go by from our garden – this shed gave us the perfect space to do that,' says Wayne. 'As I began constructing the shed, I started to get a bit carried away. The finished product brings together everything I love to work with – from the rusty metal to the old wood, it’s feels very special to give all these old materials a new lease of life with a touch of paint, while still encapsulating that old-fashioned feel.'
As the winner, Wayne receives an overnight nature getaway, £1,000 in cash, and £250 worth of Cuprinol products.
'Wayne's shed pays homage to everything I love about this competition. From such creative use of secondhand materials, to a head-turning use of colour and artistry, "Wrinkly, Rusty and Retro" is a masterclass in how to bring style and creativity to what many would shrug off as mundane or useless,' says Marianne Shillingford, creative director and colour expert at Cuprinol.
'Everywhere you look there is something new to see, and I’m delighted that Wayne’s tireless work on the shed has paid off – just going to show that there are no limits to what can be achieved with scraps, paint and a vision.'
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