3 signs a garden room will provide the ideal extra space you need, and the one factor that means it may not be suitable

Garden rooms are a (mostly) fuss-free way of expanding your living spaces, especially in properties where an extension isn't feasible. They surged in popularity a few years ago, and now there is an overwhelming number of companies offering creative garden room designs that can be tailored to almost any garden.

From home offices and gyms to hobby spaces and additional living rooms, adding a garden room often allows homeowners to embrace creativity, productivity and quiet time away from the main house without encroaching on any valuable living space. So, how do you know if a garden room is right (or not!) for you?

I put the question to the experts to find out the signs that you should invest in a garden room.

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1. You need a quiet space away from the existing house

Stepping away from the main house spaces and creating a new retreat is a huge appeal of garden rooms.

'Many people choose a freestanding garden room to create additional living space for relaxing and entertaining, separate from the main house,' explains George Lucas, marketing manager at Vale Garden Houses. 'This might be a dedicated sitting area for appreciating the garden, a home office or a multifunctional space.'

While a garden room’s purpose can be as flexible as you like, people generally use them as a sanctuary to work away from the hustle and bustle of a busy house. As a home office, a garden room can offer privacy and a spot to leave and ‘commute’ into work, even when remote.

‘In the early days, the home office was the dominant driver — often triggered by a new addition to the family and one of the adults being gently evicted from the spare room!’ explains James Home, founder at Okopod.

Garden rooms for an office will typically fall under Permitted Development and you will need to comply with Building Regulations for electricity and heating to create a space that can be used year-round. However, this extra effort and disruption will ensure you can have a dedicated wifi hub, decent lighting, and even a spot for a kettle and mini fridge.

George Lucas

George has worked for Vale Garden Houses for almost a decade. The company specialises in timber-framed garden rooms, orangeries and conservatories.

James Home

In 2019 James Home constructed a bespoke garden room and inspired Okopod, which has since led the delivery of over 350 pods, extensions, homes and garages by utlising factory-built construction techniques to increase quality, precision and speed of installation.

2. You want a dedicated space for a creative hobby

Giving up a spare bedroom to a hobby is a really tricky choice and not one that most of us are willing to make — and that’s only if you have a spare room to begin with! Alternatively, getting all the paraphernalia out and setting it up on a dining table just to immediately have to pack it away again is undeniably frustrating. But given the scope of possible garden room ideas, they could be a great alternative, especially if your hobby is pottery, painting or anything else that requires space-hogging equipment.

'The diversity of what people are building has grown,’ says James Home. ‘We've built everything from Pilates and pottery studios to fully functioning marketing suites and even classrooms. The brief is always different, and that's what keeps it interesting. Garden rooms have moved well beyond the traditional office-at-the-bottom-of-the-garden concept.’

'Freeing up space indoors by moving work, hobbies, or leisure activities into the garden can dramatically improve the flow and functionality of the main house without the need for a full extension or home reconfiguration,' adds George Lucas. 'One of the biggest attractions is the sense of connection to the outdoors. A well designed garden room allows homeowners to enjoy their garden in comfort all year round, with natural light, views, and a feeling of being immersed in the garden.'

3. You need extra space but can’t extend

Building an extension is an expensive business and it can cause all kinds of disruption but sometimes it’s not a feasible option for the house and plot. While you will need specific planning permission to turn your garden room into a full-time annexe with a bedroom, bathroom and kitchenette, this might well be worth it for the comparative cost of a loft conversion or similar extension for an additional bedroom.

‘We now do a huge number of home gyms, wellness spaces, annexes and larger multi-room builds,’ explains James Home. ‘What's really struck us is how multifunctional these spaces are — today's home office is tomorrow's gym, or the year after that, an extra bedroom. People are investing in a space that can evolve with their lives, not just solve one immediate problem.’

Another benefit over extending that often goes underestimated is that you can usually move garden rooms if you need. ‘If your circumstances change, a well-built pod will move with you,’ explains James Home. ‘More importantly, a quality garden room will typically add more value to a property than it costs to build, so even from a purely financial perspective, it's rarely the wrong call.’

When is a garden room not the right choice?

There's one factor that could mean a garden room isn't a feasible option for your home and it all comes down to size.

Garden rooms do suit the majority of houses, but they might not be the right choice if it means sacrificing the entirety of your outdoor space. There are also planning restrictions regarding how much of the land surrounding the house can be taken up by outbuildings, such as garden rooms, and it may mean they aren’t possible for your property. As with most building works in Conservation Areas, Listed Buildings or Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, the planning rules will be slightly different and stricter so it’s always best to check with your local building authority before any construction work begins.

Also, while garden rooms are certainly cheaper than extensions to build, they might still be expensive for the size and quality you are after. Prefabricated off-the-shelf designs will be the cheapest to build, with timber frame or insulated garden rooms costing at least £10,000, and sometimes exceeding £25,000.