The best home additions are those that intentionally support your lifestyle, creating a space that becomes the highlight of your everyday routine and an escape within your own home. To me, nothing encapsulates this more than a garden room.
Unlike other spaces in the home, the garden room is entirely free from expectations, allowing you the opportunity to move beyond convention and design a space that is uniquely your own. The scope for garden room ideas is endless. For some, this may look like a yoga studio or a pottery shed, while for others, it could be a home office, somewhere you can clock in away from the chaos within the home.
Perhaps the only deterrent from the allure of the garden room is the idea of having to build and design one, not to mention the high costs associated with the entire process. All valid fears and complaints, until you know about all the brilliant pre-made options available. Unlike a custom-built garden room, with a prefabricated garden room, all the hard work has been done for you, so all you have to do is sit back and enjoy it. Whether you like a sleek, boxy, contemporary design or a garden room full of traditional charm, there's an option out there for you, and these are all the best places to find them.
Noah Garden Rooms
For a garden room that feels undeniably luxurious, without breaking the bank, Noah Garden Rooms is the place to go. This family business, based in Shropshire, supplies timber buildings and a fully bespoke service.
These models aren't cheap by any means, but when you consider the quality of the materials used and the level of craftsmanship involved in designing each of these structures, you'll understand why I describe them as a good value option.
While its range is large enough to accommodate something suitable for every outdoor space, the brand also offers full customization on all its products, ensuring you receive a garden room specifically designed for your home.
They only work with the highest quality timber, a famously durable material, and one of the best woods for outdoor use. But they don't just leave it there, Noah Garden Rooms puts all their wood through a process known as tanalisation, further enhancing its resistance to decay and rot, so that their structures can last through years of exposure to the elements.
Size: 12 x 8 ft
This deluxe model from Noah Garden Rooms is constructed from their signature tanalised timber, offering supreme durability as well as a sleek, attractive look.
The building is fully insulated, so you can enjoy your outdoor room no matter the season, and the 6ft sliding doors and matching window offer a visual connection with the garden, allowing you to create that indoor-outdoor living feel.
As part of Noah Garden Rooms' deluxe range, this building comes with free delivery and fitting, so long as you live within a 150-mile radius of their showroom.
Shire Garden Buildings
Originally trained in yacht construction, in 1981, Shire GB pivoted to building garden buildings, applying its same expertise to durable outdoor buildings. used before, these buildings were a cut above the rest then, and still are over 40 years later.
Shire's outbuildings are manufactured in the UK, using high-quality Scandinavian timber, which is funnily enough the same wood the brand once used for building boats.
You can find these garden rooms stocked at several of the UK's major retailers, including Argos, B&Q, Robert Dyas, and Wayfair, making them one of the most accessible options on the market.
Size: 12 x 8 ft
The light, warm tone of this slow-grown pine summerhouse has a sunny, inviting feel, perfect for brightening up an urban garden design. The glass-fronted exterior, complete with double doors, only adds to this feeling, making this structure the ideal place to spend your days.
Plus, the thorough instructions make assembling this room an absolute breeze, even for DIY novices.
Dunster House
This family-run business is all about cutting out the middleman, so you'll find its garden room designs are cheaper than some comparative products, in spite of their luxury, modern styles.
Established by Christopher and Pamela Murphy in 1994, and now run by their two sons, Dunster House, even though the brand's products are off-the-shelf, they're unique to the company, so you won't end up with the same garden room as your neighbors by accident.
Size: 11 x 8 ft
The garden rooms from Dunster House have an undeniably elevated feel. With luxurious-looking pressure-treated timber cladding and a sleek design, this is the kind of structure you'd expect to find in only the most chic, contemporary gardens.
Every product by Dunster House is customizable, with six different size options, two colors, and control over the configuration of your panels, so you can design a room perfectly suited to your space.
The brand promises it's an all-weather garden room too, with its polyisocyanurate insulation in the roof and floor, and multifoil insulation in the walls. Using provenly effective thermal insulators, this garden room is built with the British weather in mind.
Crane Garden Buildings
If you've got some money burning a hole in your pocket, then Crane Garden Buildings should be a stop on your list of where to buy a garden room.
This premium, British heritage garden brand can be found at retailers such as John Lewis, but while the prices may be high, these garden rooms have a reputation that matches the price point. Crane Garden Buildings is FSC certified, and its products are made from high-grade northern Scandinavian redwood for a look that will last for years to come.
It's been making luxury garden buildings for some fifty years at this point, but even in its more modern designs, you can see there's a respect for traditional craftsmanship which helps to assure on the quality.
Size: 10 x 12 ft
With floor-to-ceiling glass panels covering two of the walls, this garden room is exceptionally light and inviting. Made as a collaboration between Crane Garden Buildings and John Lewis, this is one of the most luxurious garden rooms you'll find on the market.
Crane Gardens Buildings takes control of the delivery and construction, so all you have to do is sit back and enjoy the finished product.
With double-glazed glass and fully insulated walls, floor, and ceiling, this room should be just as comfortable in the dead of winter as it is on a summer's day.
Wickes
Being on a budget does not mean you have to miss out on the fun of having a garden room. Wickes, for example, has a pretty good offering of garden rooms with prices starting at around £384.
Its range includes a variety of sizes and designs, from petite bars perfect for hosting summer garden parties to larger structures suitable for housing the whole family. Offering products from well-established brands such as Power Sheds and Mercia, you're not going to get the most original, bespoke-looking designs.
There is a pared-back simplicity to the product range from Wickes — it's minimalist wooden designs have an unpretentious feel.
Size: 8 x 6 ft
This sleek summerhouse is constructed out of high-grade Scandinavian timber, making it an impressively durable option for the low price point. The wood has undergone a dip treatment process, reinforcing the material's structure and providing it with additional protection against the elements.
It comes unconstructed, allowing you to position the windows and door in the best location for your garden space.
FAQs
Does a Garden Room Add Value to My House?
According to the experts, yes, a garden room can help to add more value to your home.
Peter Mortin, from Crane Garden Buildings, says, "Investing in an attractive, well-made garden room that complements your surroundings can have a substantial impact on the overall value and appeal of your property. A quality garden room not only extends the living space of the home, but makes it visually more compelling and acts as a major selling point if you decide to relocate in the future."
Not only will a garden room eventually add appeal to prospective buyers, but in the meantime, it can be the perfect spot for you to sit back and relax.
Hopefully, by now, you're as convinced of the idea of a pre-made garden room as I've been for months now. This way, you get to receive all the benefits of having an additional room in your backyard, without any of the questions and headaches.
No time lost wondering if you need planning permission for your garden room, or money spent on hiring an architect — it can be as simple as pressing 'add to basket'.
