Garden sheds are 'still preferred over follies'

13:05:20 21st May 2010

Men still prefer to use the garden shed as a retreat and extra space despite the increasing popularity of tree houses and follies.

Demand has grown for follies to be created as a new type of garden building, reports the Independent.

Folly is defined in the Oxford dictionary as a popular name for any costly structure considered to have shown lack of thought in the builder and in recent years people have started to design and create them in their gardens.

Most follies have been constructed in the gardens of the rich and famous, such as former Beatle Ringo Starr, but firms have sprung up that are committed to constructing more affordable garden buildings.

For example Jayne Tarasun, a Cornish furniture maker, constructs follies from cedar, oak, copper and glass.

She told the newspaper: "My follies seem to appeal to women more than men, who still prefer their garden sheds. But the idea is to have an area where people can escape - somewhere they can regard as completely private space whether it's space to think in, or read in, or sleep in."

Most of her creations are ten feet tall with less than ten cubic metres of internal space to meet planning requirements. They can set a person back as much as £10,000.

Find out more information about garden sheds.