7 hobby spaces to pursue your passion

Anyone with a hobby or interest – and that’s many of us – knows the longing for a little extra room in which to do what they love. A space that’s theirs alone. No packing up. No clearing the dining table first. No squeezing into the dark and dingy garage. Just a dedicated place where passions are pursued and ‘me time’ takes priority.

It might be something creative, like pottery, painting or textile art. Perhaps you enjoy working with wood, tinkering with tools and the satisfaction that comes from building things with your hands. Writing or making music might be your jam. Maybe it’s the rush of a sweaty cardio workout or the peace that comes with sunrise yoga and meditation.

Whether getting elbow-deep in clay, dancing your fingers across piano keys, or feeling the burn of a workout, having a place in which to pursue your passion or purpose is a must. It’s how hobbies grow into rituals, talents become skills, and busy minds find a moment of pause.

Let us introduce you to seven popular pursuits…and 14 passionate people who found a place for their purpose right there in their own backyard.

There’s something grounding about working with clay – the texture and weight, the slow rhythm of the wheel, the joy of shaping art from the earth. It can transport you to a peaceful, meditative state of mind and soothe your soul.

But not if you’re squeezed into a dark corner of your garage or working at the kitchen table between meals! 

For years, Canberra-based sculptor Tess worked under challenging and uncomfortable conditions in the garage. Freezing in winter, stifling in summer – working with clay was a constant struggle. As her business grew and commission requests increased, the limitations of her makeshift pottery studio became impossible to ignore. 

“I needed dedicated space for making, drying, glazing and finishing pieces before they were customer-ready,” 

And so she upgraded to a lifestyle-enhancing, life-changing Melwood Workshed in her backyard – and business is booming!

Tess took inspiration from her friend and fellow ceramicist, Leanne, who also wanted to ramp up her creative endeavours.  

“Having a space at home was essential for this. Without a space, it is really difficult to fully immerse yourself in a creative process.”

Now, her personalised petite Melwood Porch pottery studio provides the perfect environment to throw pots and sculpt ceramics.

Not only does pottery need a calm and focused environment, there’s no doubt it’s also beautifully messy. This is a hobby that needs a unique kind of space. And a backyard pottery studio is the perfect place, offering the room, light and peace you need to get in the zone and stay there. No packing up and no distractions. Just you, your tools, and deeply absorbing, glorious clay! 

There’s a unique kind of freedom in gliding a brush over a blank canvas and turning nothing into something.

But creativity can be fragile, and distractions don’t help. Kids playing, the TV humming in the background, a messy table that needs to be cleared before you can even start. And if your easel is wedged in a spare room or constantly being packed away, it’s hard to find your flow. 

Professional artist, Nicola had to pack away her art supplies at the end of every day to regain the dining table, which doubled as a less-than-adequate workspace. And with Australian botanics being her specialist subject, her backyard – which bordered bushland – was bursting with inspiration.  

Her Melwood Mod is now the perfect, light-flooded creative space to translate the inspiration that surrounds her onto canvas.

“I don’t know how I managed to do it before. I can leave it and shut the door…and it’s ready, waiting for me.” 

Another creative confined to the dining table, art teacher, Laura tapped into the potential that beckoned in the backyard. Replacing a drab old shed with a light-filled Melwood Mod art studio, she can now fully immerse herself in her art, surrounded by her beautiful, inspiration-packed gardens.  

“I now have a place to paint where I don’t have to pack everything up each time I finish a painting session. I also have a place to hang out in, to just sit and look at the works I’m creating and think about what I need to do in the next step of a piece I’m in the middle of.”

For painters, natural light is everything. And a garden art studio provides this in spades, while giving your creativity space to breathe. The Melwood Mod, chosen by both Nicola and Laura, is a popular choice for artists. Bright and airy with plenty of glass and natural light, it can be both muse and sanctuary with no need to pack up halfway through a masterpiece! 

The satisfying aroma of fresh-cut timber. The therapeutic rhythm of tools. The pride of creating something functional and beautiful from raw materials. We totally get it! Woodworking connects us to time-honoured skills in a way few other hobbies can – but it demands space, proper ventilation, and organisation. This is one that, without question, needs a special space! 

Patrick knew this and in planning his dream backyard woodwork shop, he had some other non-negotiables. Aesthetic appeal, space and size, climate-controlled and ventilated, built for purpose and built to last.  

“I wanted something that was wooden and more than just a tin shed, I wanted it to be a warm and temperature-controlled workshop, I didn’t want cheap junk designed to store gardening tools.”

Enter his perfect Melwood Mod. We’re a little bit jealous of this one!

Then there’s Patricia and Heather. Equally passionate about woodworking, these two former teachers created their own timber workshop from a cedar-clad Melwood Verandah…almost 25 years ago! 

“It’s fantastic; I wouldn’t be without it. I go around the back; I disappear, I come back for meals”.

We can see how Heather loses herself and her sense of time. Surrounded by the aroma of cedar and handcrafted woods, this well-organised timber garden studio is an inspirational workshop to rival our own!

A dedicated woodworking shop does more than house your tools – it nurtures your craft. With proper ventilation for dust control, ample space for those larger projects, and the ability to keep works-in-progress set up, a garden workshop is the perfect environment for woodworkers to create, craft, and lose track of time in the best possible way! 

Music needs space to evolve – and so do musicians. Sound-proofing, acoustics and privacy are environmental essentials, and the families of even the most accomplished musicians need some peace and quiet from the endless practice. 

In the three years since installing his eSpace, Chanop and his three children have been able to learn cello from scratch…while saving mum’s sanity!

This music studio already boasts natural soundproofing qualities, thanks to its premium timber cladding. However, internal soundproofing panels ensure music can be made at any hour without disturbing the neighbours or household. It’s also a safe, secure, weatherproof space to neatly store the bulky musical instruments. 

“The garden shed has been an excellent addition for our whole family.” 

It’s the same story for Chris and Lora, who needed more room but didn’t have the means or desire to move house. Installing a garden room allowed them to expand their living space but not their mortgage. 

Primarily Chris’s domain, it has also brought a new harmony to the home. As a separate space for his musical pursuits, Lora can watch TV, read a book, or simply relax in the main house without disturbance. Plus, the bulky piano and Chris’s collection of guitars now no longer cramp their small heritage property. 

Creating a music room in the garden solves multiple challenges. It provides the acoustic environment musicians need to truly hear themselves, ensures peace for the rest of the household, and creates storage for bulky instruments. Harmony for the family while musical passions flourish! 

Fabric, thread, cotton and cord – textile art encompasses everything from sewing and weaving to fabric printing and design. And these pursuits often claim significant space with the likes of looms, sewing machines, cutting tables and material storage a necessity. 

Jamie, the talented creative behind the sensational Macramé arts and supplies of @jac.home.heart, was acutely aware of this. 

“I was working inside the home. I was taking up the whole house, so I was getting on my family’s nerves a bit.”

With business booming, she invested in not one, but two Melwood Verandahs – one for storing her supplies and another for use as her creative Macramé workshop.

On the other hand, The Happenstore owner and talented textile artist, Cath, already had rented workshop space. But finding permanent premises in a turbulent market was proving frustrating and impossible.

“For years, I had rented studios and warehouse spaces that inevitably were bought by property developers. I was tired of moving and being at their mercy,”  

After years of studio-hopping and uncertainty, Cath found a permanent home in her backyard with a Melwood Workshed. For someone deeply inspired by nature, the transition from premises on a busy inner-city arterial road to the peace and tranquillity of her own garden was life-changing. Now she designs, creates and runs workshops surrounded by the calming presence of greenery, birdsong, and the gentle rustle of leaves…not bitumen, concrete and traffic noise. 

Taking your work with textiles to the backyard gives you the freedom to create without taking over the house. It’s a place to stitch, sew, weave, print, quilt or dye – and leave your work in progress right where you left it. It’s space to store all the tools, materials, and inspiration that make it possible. And it’s room to grow your ideas right at home – whether it’s your passion or your profession. 

Physical and spiritual wellness are two of life’s necessities. But making time for these can be challenging, especially with long work days, heavy traffic and family commitments. But what if it was easy to work in a workout or a moment of meditation because you had a home gym, yoga or pilates studio, right at your back door?

No travel time, no membership, no queues and no timetable to work around. 

Jade and James had already seen the benefits of a home workout. But they were growing tired of their bulky gym equipment taking up valuable space inside the house.

They were also tiring of a dilapidated outbuilding perched into the side of their sloping tiered garden. Elevated and accessed by a timber staircase, replacing it appeared to be quite the logistical and engineering challenge. But problems are possibilities at Greenspan and a Melwood Workshed was installed in its place with ease. With a beautiful home gym, complete with a million-dollar view, conveniently located right at the end of their garden, Jade and James now never have an excuse to miss leg day! 

In contrast to James and Jade’s high-energy workouts, Diane has created a peaceful zone to relax and unwind. Installing a poolside Melwood Mod, she has achieved a private wellness retreat in her own backyard for pilates, yoga, stretching, meditation…or simply reading a book in the sun.

“It’s a beautiful space for me to de-stress and decompress.”

A garden fitness space transforms exercise from a chore into a joy. Whether you prefer high-intensity workouts or mindful movement, with your workout routine just steps away from your back door, consistency becomes effortless, and wellness becomes a natural part of daily life! 

Whether you’re creating them or consuming them, words need focus and quiet. There’s nowhere more peaceful than a beautiful backyard, where the only sounds are the rustling of leaves and the chirping of birds. Away from household distractions, a retreat in the garden for reading and writing provides the perfect sanctuary to lose yourself in another world – one of words, written and read.

Magnolia Cottage is nestled into Louis and Jacqui’s rural property in the Southern Highlands of NSW, where the pace is relaxed and the rhythm of life unhurried. This Melwood Verandah is a serene sanctuary set amongst beautifully tended gardens – the perfect environment to allow for moments of quiet contemplation and nurture Jacqui’s passion for writing. 

“Having a Melwood has positively impacted our lifestyle significantly. It’s created a sanctuary for us that is truly remarkable. It serves as a serene retreat for my creative pursuits, like writing and provides a peaceful environment to foster inspiration.” 

Angela has a similarly special spot in her garden.

“A space to write, relax, read and hang out with indoor access to the northern sun and shadows in our garden.”

Nestled under the vibrant leaves of a mature Golden Robinia tree, her Melwood Mod is a quiet, peaceful place where her days are spent “writing and hanging out in the afternoon light and shadows”. Here, light, leaves, and words – both written and read – intertwine. It’s the ultimate peaceful writer’s retreat, where the only distraction is the beauty of the golden canopy it sits beneath.

A retreat in your garden offers the one thing writers need most. Whether you’re crafting your own stories or escaping into others’, having a dedicated space separate from household distractions allows for deeper focus, greater enjoyment and inspiration as abundant as the peace and quiet it brings.  

Personalised potential 

If you have passion or purpose, you need a place. 

Your garden holds the potential for that perfect space – whether it’s a pottery studio, art retreat, woodworking shop, music room, textile studio, fitness centre, or literary haven. A Melwood garden building can be personalised to create the ideal environment for your particular passion, complete with the light, space, and features you need…just steps away from your back door.

Whatever your hobby or interests, a Melwood is an investment in your passion and space for your purpose. A place where you can allow your creativity, wellness, and satisfaction to flourish. A space that is designed for you, for what matters most to you.