For avid gardeners, the ultimate luxury is a designated garden shed for corralling tools and accessories; preferably with a utility sink for tidying up. Here's a roundup of a few outbuildings spotted in the portfolios of architects we admire.

Above: This cedar-clad workshop building in the English countryside by James Gorst Architects shelters a vegetable garden and chicken enclosure.

Above: UK architects Ullmayer Sylvester designed this plywood-and-pine Summerhouse at the rear of an elongated Victorian garden in North London; the budget was £35,000. The light-filled structure functions as an garden shed, artist's studio, and kids' hangout. Photos by Kilian O'Sullivan.

Above: For this "posh potting shed," Edinburgh architect Helen Lucas used a simple palette of materials: cedar boarding (for the external cladding), aluminum (roof and roof structure), and glass (double-glazed timber-framed windows and doors).