7 reasons why a garden room is better than a house extension

Ah, the garden building…… or is it, garden room?

To many, the image of a garden room conjures up childhood images of a simple shed: functional, practical and full of all that garden equipment that quite simply has nowhere else to go. A space for wasps to nest and barbecues to hide.   But thank heavens (!), for that is no longer the case! In recent years, garden rooms have evolved into an extension of the home, a new place to work, play, relax and embrace nature.   A beautiful and functional environment to call your own.

In today’s blog post we’re  going to outline the 7 reasons why, you should lean towards the garden room rather than an extension.

1 – Your own space

Unlike an extension, it’s a completely separate space, a home away from home.    Psychologically, you can separate yourself from your day-to-day stressful and busy household.   This is a room to escape into, to pick up a book and settle down with a cup of tea, practice yoga, write, create or dream.    With no interruptions and the garden surrounding you, it’s your space; so you can utilise it as a stress-free zone!

2 – A work space

There are now over 4.2 million people working from home in the UK.  Research has shown that it’s important to have a separate space to work in, it encourages better sleep, better health and overall improved efficiency.  By making the most of a garden room ensures that you are able to separate your home life from your work life.

3 – For entertaining

Now, working and relaxing are important, but let’s not forget that play is super important too! A garden room can be an amazing place to entertain friends, away from the house.  You can roll out the barbecue and in the summer rain, still hold an amazing event (of course, a BBQ isn’t British if we’re not sheltering from the rain!).  It’s also a great place to spend a relaxed evening (and, a well insulated garden room is practically soundproof – so, a bonus for the neighbours too!).

4 – Being outdoors

An extension is just that, an extension of your home, more bricks, cement and concrete = less garden. A garden room however is an element of your garden; you can enjoy being outside whilst spending time inside a functional and contemporary environment. Just being able to walk down the garden path to access your beautiful garden room is an enjoyable way to reach your building. 

5 – Avoidance of Planning 

Nobody likes the hassle and stress of obtaining full planning approval, it’s costly and timely. Fortunately, most garden rooms fall under the guidelines of permitted development (Unless you require plumbing), meaning that you can build without requiring planning permission and can be built more efficiently than a traditional brick and block extension! A garden room is a straightforward alternative to what can be an otherwise complicated affair. 

6 – Aesthetics

The unobtrusive, circular footprint of these garden rooms sit beautifully within the natural environment.   The inescapable prevalence of curves, spirals, twists and turns of the trees and vegetation in your garden is a beauty of nature.   Natural form is complimentary and a garden room should of course work within the laws of nature to sit sympathetically within this scene.  In simple terms, a round garden building looks nothing short of amazing.  (And, we all want amazing.)

7 – Sustainablity

Timber framed Garden rooms are more sustainable than a traditional brick and block structure.     When buying a garden room from a reputable garden building manufacturer you can be assured that they will work with sawmills and timber suppliers who are committed to sustainable ethics and clearly display that their timber is FSC and PEFC certified (FSC and PEFC, the two organisations together accounting for some 98% of the world’s certified forests and chain of custody certificates).