How to build a home pottery studio in your back garden - 2) the fixtures and fittings

jenmakespots
Aug 25
4 min read

As I wrote in my previous blog post it's coming up to a year since I had a tiny thought about having a pottery wheel at home... In that blog post I write about choosing the shed for my studio, and in this post I talk about what I used to transform it from shed to studio....

Flooring:

I needed a moppable floor, so looked at various lino off cuts and luxury vinyl flooring tiles. I bought a pack of luxury vinyl tiles from Facebook marketplace for £10, and laid them on the shed floor. They've been durable and cleanable and I am really pleased with them. I had no margin for error as the area of the tiles was almost exactly equal to the area of the floor, so concentrated extra hard while making the necessary cuts!

Walls:

I was keen to insulate my shed, so bought a roll of Ecoquilt expert insulation from Ecohome Insulation - they sent me some free foil tape with the insulation. I attached it to the wall and roof with a staple gun, and then sealed the edges with the foil tape. For a while, being in the shed was like being in a giant crisp packet. I managed to source a sheet of PVC on Facebook marketplace, and the lovely man agreed to drop it off for me. I decided to use this on the lower half of the wall so it would be wipeable and reduce the amount of clay dust in the shed. I actually fixed this using some more foil tape.

I splashed out on 3 Skadis pegboards from Ikea for the top half of the wall and attached these - I'm not sure I would trust the wall or the fixing for anything massively heavy, but these have been brilliant for storing tools and my Hartley and Noble batt system, and I've enjoyed playing around with the different fixings available from Ikea. I'm slightly gutted that Ikea have brought out some pink pegboards this summer, but that is life!

I bought a roll of bath sealant tape to seal round the floor where it met the shed and the PVC sheet. I was keen to minimise the possibility of creepy crawlies getting in, or water getting out to the wooden floor or walls of the shed. This felt like an easy, cheap and neat solution.

Ceiling and lighting:

I thought for a long time about how to approach the ceiling. I wondered about keeping the foil, but decided I wanted to cover it. I discovered the area of the Ikea car park where they put the damaged and broken things, and picked up a piece of board which was practically the right size. It's one of those relatively thin pieces of board that they use for the back of bookcases, so I was able to hold it up while hammering it into place. It was one of the most awkward parts of fitting the shed out, but I was pleased once I'd done it.

Lighting and electrics:

I then used some command hooks so I could attach some outdoor rated fairy lights (I chose ones like this curtain) to provide the main lights for the shed. I absolutely love my lights - I have a rechargeable spotlight for my wheel for the winter, but otherwise these are more than adequate. While I was at it, I got some solar lights for the outside of the shed. I invested in a long cabled outdoor rated extension lead and plugged that into a tapo wifi plug so I can switch the shed (lights, wheel, echo speaker) on and off from my phone. I love listening to audio books while I am throwing, so my Echo Dot is amazing because I can turn it on and off with my voice even if my hands are covered in clay. I was a bit nervous about the electrical set up, but it all seems fine so far!

Wedging table:

I got confident and thought I would try and make a wedging table. I had some table legs already, and had got some lovely chipboard from the free Ikea carpark area. I very quickly realised that this was not going to work, so did some research into alternatives and chose heavy duty click together shelving which looked similar to the wedging table they had at the studio I'd been a member of.

I wanted to maximise how I used the space I had, so chose these shelves from Tufferman. I had a bit of a nightmare with them sending the wrong components but eventually got what I had ordered. While it is compact (I chose the version that is only 30cm deep) it is actually fine to do my reclaim and wedging on. If I chose again I would probably go for the slightly deeper version but it is not worth me replacing them. I got an extra shelf as this was also going to be my main storage area for clay. If you're shorter than me (I'm 5 ft 10) you might want to look for something a bit shorter for more comfortable wedging. As you can see from photo number 2, the shelves have evolved, becoming terribly untidy with reclaim spilling out. It's not always this unruly, but definitely nothing like picture number 1 any more.

Shelving:

I wasn't sure what shelves I wanted, so I ended up bodging some together from wood gathered from the Ikea carpark free wood section! (if you know, you know). They're not beautiful by any stretch of the imagination, but they are pretty functional, and are still standing a year on... I can't imagine I will be in any rush to replace them until they fall apart...

Stool:

I have just replaced my stool. With my wheel, I know that a 50cm high stool is comfortable for me. I had a storage stool from Ikea which was great, but has started falling apart and wobbling - I just don't think it is designed for everyday use. I've just invested in this beauty from Garden Trading (half price in the summer sale) which came assembled and seems to be good quality - we will see!