What is a Garden Room?
A garden room is a detached structure that extends living spaces into your garden without the need for major renovations or extensions. These versatile outdoor buildings bring the comforts of home into your garden’s green and rejuvenating landscape year-round. They can adapt into a gym, relaxation spot, or home office, where you can work or relax away from the distractions and noise of your home. Their robust structural integrity and quality design features make a protected and secure space with an abundance of natural light and easy access to the outdoors.
Creating your Office Space
Working from the kitchen table or spare room often means navigating distractions, limited space, and the general chaos of home life. A garden room offers a practical solution; a peaceful, purpose-built retreat nestled in your own back garden. Surrounded by nature, a home office garden room not only supports better concentration but also contributes to your overall wellbeing.
Following the shift to remote working after COVID-19, demand for garden rooms soared. According to The Guardian, sales of garden buildings increased by a staggering 500% between January and May 2021 alone. It’s clear that people value the physical and mental separation a garden room office provides.
A well-designed garden room provides an essential boundary between your professional and personal life, something that’s key to maintaining a healthy work-life balance. With the right approach, it becomes more than just an insulated garden office room; it’s a space developed to boost creativity, focus, and comfort. Here are some points to consider when planning…
Designing an Ergonomic and Productive Layout
Garden office rooms are often compact due to the planning regulations they must follow. To make the most of your space, focus on smart design choices that enhance flow and help the room feel more spacious and efficient. Invest in a comfortable desk and chair set that is proportional to your office space and consider ergonomic storage solutions, such as shelves, cabinets, and multi-functional furniture like ottomans. For complete independence, ensure your office has all the amenities; a reliable WI-FI signal and plenty of power outlets for your computer, monitor, printer, and other devices are essential for productivity.
Indoor-Outdoor Connection
A garden office effortlessly connects indoor and outdoor living, creating a peaceful work setting with stunning views. Work with the doors open on tranquil summer days and feel cosy and secure during winter tempests as nature becomes a part of your everyday life.
Strategically position this room to take advantage of your garden’s views and maximise natural light with structural design features. Our range of quality garden room products, including bifold doors and French doors, as well as fixed windows and casement windows, are expertly crafted to complement the aesthetic of your office. Their large glass panes improve sightlines into the surrounding landscape, providing clear views of nature and an abundance of natural light that make this space a bright, functional, and stylish space for year-round productivity.
The practicality of these design features makes physically accessing the outdoors simple and easy. Open casement windows allow an abundance of air to circulate throughout the office, keeping the air cool and fresh in summer. Bifold doors and French doors can be partially opened for ventilation or easily separated to enjoy a quick break outside.
Temperature and Energy Efficiency
For a cosy office with a consistent year-round temperature, line your garden room with rigid foam insulation to prevent heat from escaping. Our pre-made aluminium casement windows, bifold doors, and French doors and are excellent design features that will bolster the thermal performance of an insulated garden room. Thermally broken frames and double-glazed panels stop the unwanted transfer of heat between interior and exterior spaces, improving the energy efficiency of your office. By staying warm in the winter and cool in the summer, your office will also contribute to your productivity as you won’t be distracted by discomfort.
Interior Design
Design an inspiring, constructive and aesthetically pleasing garden room that presents an air of professionalism during video calls and meetings.
For a contemporary aesthetic, prioritise clean lines, minimalist decoration, and neutral colours, such as crisp whites, cool greys and muted charcoals within your office. Aluminium structures achieve a sleek look, and expanding mirrors harness the natural light they let through, making this space feel brighter, larger, and more welcoming.
A biophilic interior design will strengthen your office’s connection to the outdoors, complementing the views of nature from your aluminium doors and windows. Earth tones, botanical motifs, and nature-inspired art reflect the outside world, while indoor plants improve air quality and create a calming atmosphere. Integrating materials such as wood, stone and natural textiles into your garden office’s furniture and surfaces reinforces this organic feel.
Other Key Considerations
Installation
Garden rooms have a more time-efficient and affordable construction process than traditional brick-and-mortar home extensions, demanding less labour and fewer materials. They don’t disrupt your main home, require extensive foundations, or have stricter building regulations, all of which drive the price of extensions up.
Garden room features here at Express Direct are ready in as little as 5 days, reducing the construction time of your office by streamlining their installation. These pre-made structures come with a detailed fitting instruction manual; we recommend hiring a qualified tradesperson to ensure doors and windows are fitted securely and without any gaps. If they are unfamiliar with terms like “toe and heel”, we advise reaching out to our sister company, Express Bi-Folding Doors, which provides a full surveying and fitting service.
Planning Permission
Although most garden rooms don’t require planning permission, it’s essential that you consult your local regulations to guarantee compliance. As a common rule, garden structures fall under Permitted Development Rights, meaning they can be constructed without planning permission as long as the criterion is met. To build a garden room hassle-free:
- It must be positioned less than 2.0 meters away from the property boundary.
- It cannot exceed a height of 2.5 meters from the existing ground level.
- No more than 50% of your garden area around the original house should be covered by additions or other buildings.
- It must not be in a designated area such as a national park, an area of outstanding beauty, a conservation area, or a world heritage site.
(This is not an exhaustive list, and you should still consult your local regulations to ensure compliance).
If you’ve chosen a garden room over a home extension, and everything’s clear with local regulations, you’re ready to start work on your dream office space. To understand how pre-made aluminium bifold and French doors, as well as fixed & casement windows, fit into your vision, check out our range online or come down to the showroom for a chat with our friendly team of advisors.