‘It’s called Shed of the Year, not faux ski chalet of the year!’ Triumphant  winner slams his defeated competitor for sour grapes after he complained that his elaborate garden buildingwas overlooked

• Artist Archie Proudfoot beat a 26-strong shortlist to scoop the top £1,000 prize
• Judges were particularly impressed by Mr Proudfoot’s aesthic details 
• Alex Dodman claimed there were more worthy winners of the title 

The winner of the prestigious Shed of the Year competition has slammed sour grapes from rivals who criticised his ‘basic’ budget DIY shed – and told them to ‘dry your eyes’.

Artist Archie Proudfoot beat a 26-strong shortlist to scoop the top £1,000 prize with his ‘Frankenshed’, a small colourful workspace made from recycled timber and old fence posts.

Judges were particularly impressed by Mr Proudfoot’s aesthic details, noting that the structure showcased ‘the highest levels of technicolour transformation’. 

But one of his rivals lashed out at the decision, calling Archie’s attempts bog standard when they had spent hours of blood, sweat and tears on far more extravagant garden creations.

Alex Dodman claimed there were more worthy winners of the title after he spent £2,000 turning a disused gym in his garden into an impressive Alps-style ski chalet complete with outside swimming pool – and said Mr Proudfoot’s is ‘just a basic shed’ that ‘looks underwhelming from the outside.’

The winner of the prestigious Shed of the Year competition has slammed sour grapes from rivals who criticised his ‘basic’ budget DIY shed – and told them to ‘dry your eyes’. Above: Archie Proudfoot outside his shed

Artist Archie Proudfoot beat a 26-strong shortlist to scoop the top £1,000 prize with his ‘Frankenshed’, a small colourful workspace made from recycled timber and old fence posts 

However, Mr Proudfoot, 34, from London, today hit back at his rivals and their ‘pathetic little hit’ on his build.

He wrote on Instagram: ‘Inject it! Salty tears of defeat from fellow Shed of the Year finalists filling up column inches.

‘Dry, your eyes mate, it’s called Shed of the Year, not faux ski chalet of the year or garden building of the year. 

‘Thanks for making the next cup of tea in my shed taste, even sweeter.’

Judges recognised Mr Proudfoot or bringing his rotting shed back to life using recycled material while giving the interior a burst of colour with bright yellow and blue paint on the roof and walls and gold detailing on the window featuring garden gloves, forks and troughs.

Mr Proudfoot said the Frankenshed had become his ‘most elaborate and enjoyable’ artwork to date.

One of his rivals lashed out at the decision, calling Archie’s attempts bog standard. Alex Dodman (above) claimed there were more worthy winners of the title after he spent £2,000 turning a disused gym in his garden into an impressive Alps-style ski chalet

What began as a disused gym in his garden soon became an impressive Alps-style ski chalet

The incredible structure looks out over Alex’s swimming pool which he also constructed himself

However, his beaten rival, 37-year-old Mr Dodman from Essex said: ‘I was gutted to have lost, especially because I put blood, sweat and tears into building my shed.

‘In my opinion, the winning shed was just a shed. I had built mine from scratch.

‘The winner, Archie Proudfoot, is a really talented artist and the art inside is great, but it is just a basic shed and looks underwhelming from the outside.

‘I don’t know what it is used for, but I guess if it is an art studio then it’s perfect for him.

‘The judges must have loved it.’

Not one to shy away from extreme projects, Alex also built his own swimming pool in his garden last summer, which his ski chalet now overlooks.

He added: ‘As the pool is there, I wanted the garden to look nice. There are big fir trees around and having a big, ugly shed down there looked horrible.

‘The ski chalet idea came from Scandinavian countries with A-frame buildings and trees all around. I thought it would look so nice, and I had quite a lot of space up there with the decking so we could have lots of room and sit out by the pool.

Mr Proudfoot said the Frankenshed had become his ‘most elaborate and enjoyable’ artwork to date. Above: Archie Proudfoot – pictured with Marianne Shillingford, Cuprinol’s creative director – drew plaudits from the judges for his basic shed 

Before being renovated, Mr Proudfoot’s shed had been a shell of rotting timber

Judges recognised Mr Proudfoot or bringing his rotting shed back to life using recycled material while giving the interior a burst of colour

‘It’s a much better use of the space than a big, ugly shed.

‘It is kitted it out inside to make it the ultimate summer house with a television, a chiminea and sofas so we can enjoy summers and winters in the chalet.’

Another beaten finalist, Tim Griffiths, 68, from Sutton Coldfield in the West Midlands, built a pub shed in his back garden over lockdown.

His creation, which he has called ‘The Smuggler’s Notch’ won the public vote but was not crowned the overall winner by Cuprinol, the organisers of the awards.

Mr Griffiths said: ‘The Smuggler’s Notch was the winning public vote this year for the pub shed category but the final winner was decided by the organiser and the sponsor so that was like a jury decision.

‘I think The Frankenshed possibly won because it looked like a basic shed.

‘What they are interested in is something that is obviously a shed and that one [the Frankenshed] is obviously a shed.

‘The Smuggler’s Notch is a shed but it doesn’t look like a traditional shed.

Another beaten finalist, Tim Griffiths, 68, from Sutton Coldfield in the West Midlands, built a pub shed in his back garden over lockdown 

The interior resembles a traditional pub setting with bar stools and beams on the ceiling

‘Let’s put it this way, I wouldn’t want to be the one making the decision.’

Mr Griffiths spent around £5,000 creating his garden pub and said a local ukulele group and book club use the space for their meetings.

He said: ‘It’s a difficult number to come to but I guess it must have come to about five grand.

‘Most of the timber work in it was reclaimed wood and most of the lining was reclaimed from something else and all the insulation was reclaimed too.

‘The only materials that were bought was some cement from the foundations, the rubber roof and the artificial grass roof and then the structural timbers for it.

‘The only parts [of the interior] that were bought in were the upholstery which was done by an outsider and the making of the stained glass window which cost about £300.

‘The aquarium is actually a TV but it fools people who have sat in there. It runs on a loop.’

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