Designing a Garden Room

Whether you have a young family or easing up for retirement, there are many reasons to consider creating a garden room. It can provide a place to escape and relax, an overflow guest bedroom, home office or studio.

Planning your garden room

The beauty of a garden room is it provides a multi-purpose living space. A young family might want it for a playroom that can later be used for teenage sleepovers, a games room or mini-gym. A summer house can be a place to escape and enjoy a peaceful moment to yourself or to entertain all year round. A garden room can be a home office or the painting studio you always craved. Or perhaps it is just a cosy retreat when it’s too chilly to sit outside. Whatever your aims, a garden room provides the opportunity to expand your outdoor-indoor living space and add value to your home.

Best location

First, pick the perfect spot for your garden room. You will want to make the most of views of your garden and surrounding landscape. If you’ll mainly use it first thing in the morning, position it so the main windows face east to let the sun stream in. If you want to use it as a spot to relax with a newspaper and cup of coffee, it’s probably best not to locate it just over the wall from your neighbour’s trampoline or dog kennel. Having windows south-facing lets in sunshine, helping to heat it all year round. Remember to consider what the garden room will look like from your home.

Off-the-peg or bespoke?

Choosing whether to have a modular or bespoke build is a key decision. Garden rooms can be supplied as kits to be bolted together on site. They come in a range of different styles from traditional barn to Swedish log cabin and contemporary glass-encased ‘floating’ summer house. Advantages include lower cost and speed of assembly. The disadvantage is the lack of flexibility in the design and construction as you will be limited to certain sizes and styles. If you’re a DIY enthusiast, you can choose a supply-only deal, but most companies provide a flexible service that can include installation and ground works. If you opt to install it yourself, you will still need to hire a builder to prepare the base as the ground needs to be solid, level and well-drained.

The advantage of employing an architect is the design of your garden room can be tailored to your individual lifestyle, garden and surroundings. You have more freedom over materials used in its construction as well as any fixtures and fittings. For example, you might like a grass roof to help the garden room blend seamlessly into its surroundings. In most cases, you will also need to hire a builder. A bespoke build can be a more expensive option, but you should get a truly individual design. 

Designing a Garden Room
Designing a Garden Room

Do you need planning permission?

Garden rooms are classed as permitted development, so there is no need to apply for planning permission. But you will need to follow strict rules on size, height and distance from the boundary.  For example, the structure must be single-storey with a maximum eaves height of 2.5 metres and overall height of four metres with a dual pitched roof or three metres for any other roof. If the garden room is within two metres of the property boundary the whole building should not be taller than 2.5 metres. Balconies and verandas are banned but decking is allowed up to 300mm. If your home is a listed building, you will need planning permission. For more information see www.planningportal.co.uk

What is the cost?

You can spend a few hundred pounds for a basic garden shed or tens of thousands on a luxury bespoke build. To avoid creating a garden folly, think about how you will use the room and make sure it’s up to the job. You are not going to want to work in your garden room if it’s too cold in winter and too hot in summer. For a home office, you will need insulation to building regulations standards, double glazing, ventilation, good natural lighting, electricity and some form of heating. You will probably need WiFi access too. Speak to your architect or garden room supplier about your practical requirements.

Choosing the right style and size

There is such a wide choice of style and size of garden room it can be difficult to know there to start. A popular size is 5m x 3m. One idea is to mark out the boundaries with string to see how it fits in your plot and live with it for several days. Would it take up the sunniest spot in your garden? Will it throw the patio or flower beds into shade? Will you still have sufficient space for children to run around and for any play equipment, such as trampoline or volleyball net?  Good decisions over the siting and size of garden room can increase its appeal and make the difference between needing planning permission or not.

What about electrics?

Some modular units are fully equipped with cabling and electric sockets, lighting and consumer unit (fuse board) or they can be added in a bespoke build. Electricians can also connect your garden room with your household consumer unit with an armoured cable which often doesn’t need to be buried. Remember to only use properly qualified electricians to do any wiring and connections. All electrical work must comply with building regulations.

External materials, windows and doors

Many garden rooms have tongue and groove cladding which can be painted or stained as required. The quality of external timber cladding varies hugely so it’s always best to check. Western Red Cedar timer has natural resistance to rot and decay. Alicia Miller of Oeco Garden Rooms, says her company only uses Western Red Cedar. “It is not the cheapest, but it lasts longer and needs less treatment.” If you want something that matches your home, you may consider brick and block, but it will be more expensive.  

Architect James Chapman of Strom Architects. “It all comes down to the particularities of the garden, host home and budget. Sometimes we try to contrast with the home so as not to blur the old and new while other times, for example an arts and crafts property, the design may be more sympathetic with similar building materials.

“We treat every project as individual and different, but the aim is always to maximise potential of a house and garden. On windows, he added: Large areas of glazing give a seamless look between the inside and outside.”

Bi-fold doors can be stacked to one side giving a completely open room, but sliding doors reduce the amount of frame and maximise glass sizes, to make the most of a view.

Whatever kind of garden room you want to create, there’s lots to think about from the size and style of structure to its precise location, functionality and building regulations.

If you are thinking of making some improvements to your home or garden, you may find some of these services useful: