Unique Garden Room for UK Homeowners
Recently I came across a BBC Article article which highlighted the topic of homeowners investing in sheds during lockdown. The journalist explored the idea that lockdown instigated a huge trend of people retreating to their garden sheds as a home office working option.
They wrote that “For wealthy home workers looking to put a bit of space between themselves and the office, the garden path has become the new commute.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, garden building suppliers and retailers have seen a surge in demand for insulated, luxury modular timber or steel framed buildings that can be used as home offices and garden studios.
Former prime minister David Cameron was referenced as a prime example (excuse the pun!), when, in 2017, he bought a £25,000 shepherd's hut. The garden hut included a wood-burning stove, sofa bed and sheep's wool insulation.”
I wonder if the journalist has considered that the humble “shed” has evolved over the past decade, driven largely by innovative joinery firms and manufacturers who are designing modular garden buildings to serve as home extensions. Homeowners can find a plethora of unique and unusual garden buildings online. From converted Horseboxes to train carriages, yurts, treehouses and ‘garden pods’ of all shapes and sizes.
A huge trend over the past few years has seen scaled down versions of the local pub, mens’ dens, creative studios, glamping pods, AirBNB rooms and home-gyms installed in the garden.
Garden rooms are here to stay. But what is the intrinsic value to a homeowner investing in a garden room? Well.. for starters, by investing in a garden room, you gain the following benefits:
An increase to your property value (increasing the functional space or living space)
A separation between your home life and your work life
An additional (appropriately distanced!) guest bedroom for when your mother in law comes to visit
A quiet, contemplative space for creative endeavours away from distractions
A home cinema room or bar - you gain a trendy hub for your social events
A retreat for yourself or a hang-out area for your kids, friends or clients when privacy comes at a premium
Alas, we no longer need to retreat to a rickety old potting shed adorned with spidery remnants or broken terracotta pots with a bottle of whiskey and a paper but nowadays we can invest in solidly built structures that are double glazed, insulated, with rainwater harvesting, underfloor heating and handcrafted wooden features.
So many of us are now inspired to create environments in our homes which reflect our interests and hobbies and a room in the garden has now become a must-have bolt on for those of us with growing families and shrinking functional space in the home.
But as the pandemic changed how we live our lives, there is an opportunity here for all of us to expand our horizons and raise our levels of expectation whereby the world of the humble ‘shed’ morphs inexorably into the field of ‘architecture’ with the emerging developments in design and manufacture in the UK.
Garden rooms are one of the most solid investments you’ll make as a home improvement. They’re infinitely more energy efficient than conservatories or canvas strucures and are more economical than a brick and block home extension.
We have been designing a modern interpretation of Buckminster Fullers “Geodesic Dome” for three years now and we are finally, launching it as a Garden Room.
Excitingly, for UK Homeowners, there has never been a GeoDome version of a home office or garden room before and this structure is so aesthetically pleasing that it functions not only as a fully insulated and functional garden room but is a bona fide garden scuplture and piece of art in it’s own right.
My grandfather was a carpenter, and the joy he experienced, even towards the end of his life (he went blind - but continued to perfect his craft, through the gift of touch and intuition) showed me that carpentry is an art. I believe that garden rooms can also be a piece of art. Created intuitively, using traditional bevel edged joinery techniques but utilising modern day materials and finishes.
This month, Ailsa and I celebrate three years of designing and building our Snowdon Domes - so we are celebrating by offering a UNIQUE 3.5m Garden Room building at a discount for the first homeowner to claim a Geodome Garden Room as their contemporary garden office!
If you’re seeking a unique, inspiring, functional space and are a dedicated early adopter please do drop me a line, the first unit will be discounted by 10% knocking a good £1,800.00 off the ticket price. You’ll also be the first, in the UK, to have one! If that’s not appealing, I don’t know what is!
This is the “Geodome” Garden room - never before seen in the UK!
Best wishes to everyone in this wild and blustery January!
Russell Layton - 12th January, 2023