Designing The Perfect Garden Room

Garden rooms are gaining traction in Cardiff and the rest of South Wales, as homeowners are looking to expand their living space whilst embracing the beauty of their garden space. A garden room offers an adaptable extra living space right in your back garden, providing a peaceful garden office, additional cosy living room workspace or even an entertaining space with a garden bar.

With just a few steps into your outdoor space, South Wales Garden Rooms in Cardiff provide a fully comprehensive garden room service, from initial garden room ideas and bespoke designs, all the way through to an expert installation, leaving you with a garden studio that you can use and enjoy year round. Whether you envision a cosy garden cabin retreat to retreat you, a contemporary garden office, or even a calming yoga studio, designing your dream garden space involves careful planning and the consideration of a wide range of factors. 

What Is A Garden Room?

Garden rooms are detached outbuildings separate from your main home. In contrast to the more outdated summer houses of the past, garden rooms are single-storey self contained rooms that are fully insulated, and can function as an the perfect space for an additional living areas, garden offices, gyms or even art studios. They have a solid base, watertight roof with doors and windows, possess electrical amenities and can even have central heating systems installed, so that their usage isn’t just limited to the summer months.

Garden studios have become ever more popular in recent times due to being a great alternative to traditional home extensions. The extra space they bring to the home negates the need for the expense and hassle of a standard home extension, and also allow families to remain in their current home instead of uprooting to a larger property – always handy considering the ever increasing property prices across South Wales and the rest of the UK. Insulated garden rooms are also popular for how they usually maximise the natural light of the outdoor space, with vast windows and bifold or French doors, allowing full enjoyment of the garden area whatever the weather outside.

Bespoke garden rooms can also be significantly more affordable than their traditional extension alternatives, needing fewer materials, less labour and, oftentimes, not requiring planning permission. Combined with how they can be fully customised in a way that normal extensions often can’t, garden studios can be expertly designed to suit you and your family’s needs.

South Wales Garden Rooms are the leading provider and installer of modular and bespoke garden rooms in Cardiff and the rest of South Wales. Offering a wide variety of garden room ranges and options, our garden room specialists can design your perfect garden room before installing it with expert craftsmanship, ensuring that you end up with a highly functional and enjoyable space that will last for years to come. To discuss your ideal garden room design ideas in Cardiff, or if you would like to request a free, no-obligation quote, then call our dedicated team at South Wales Garden Rooms on 02920 600 478 or contact us online here.

Designing Your Dream Garden Room

Whilst many people think that designing their perfect garden room lies mainly in the style and finishes it possesses, it is in fact more important to think of how you wish to use the space, and the functionality it needs to have. It is best to take into account your daily routines, activities and hobbies when planning the layout and features of your garden studio, ensuring that you have considered all the elements dedicated to your lifestyle preferences.

Creating your ideal garden room in Cardiff is an exciting project that allows you to tailor unused garden space precisely to your needs and preferences. Depending on the type of room you are looking to create, the main priority lies in considering your lifestyle, where you can incorporate your daily needs and functions into one room.

Location 

Selecting the right location for your garden eoom in Cardiff is important to increase functionality, visual appeal, and overall enjoyment. The location of your garden extension can also either increase or decrease your project costs, as planning permission may be required depending on the location you choose, and site preparation requirements may differ across your outdoor space. 

Other factors that may dictate the location you choose for your perfect garden living area in Cardiff may include:

Sunlight Exposure

It is always best to assess the sun’s path across your garden throughout the day in order to determine the best location for your garden room. Positioning your garden outbuilding so that it receives a large amount of sunlight over the day can enhance warmth and natural lighting, creating a comfortable and airy atmosphere. 

Making the most of the natural light in your new garden room can also mean that you do not require central heating as much in order to keep the space warm, giving you both a beautiful room with lots of light, but also reducing your maintenance costs longer term.

Accessibility

You should consider a location that offers easy access to your garden room from both your home and outdoor spaces. A well-connected pathway with good drainage can improve usability and flow, making it easy to transition between indoor and outdoor areas, especially during the wetter and colder months where you want to minimise your time crossing between your home and garden room.

Privacy and Views

In order to fully enjoy your ideal garden room, it is imperative to consider any neighbouring properties, trees and fences in order to ensure privacy, and result in pleasing views from your garden space. You may wish to consider screening options or strategic layouts to create a private and secluded hideaway for yourselves, and avoid overlooking into your neighbour’s home. 

South Wales Garden Rooms provide free site surveys as part of our free, no-obligation quotes. Our garden room experts will be able to examine your garden space and advise the best location and orientation to ensure that your garden extension has the best light, shelter and privacy. To book your free consultation, get in touch with our dedicated customer service team at South Wales Garden Rooms by calling 02920 600 478 or sending us an enquiry online here.

Materials and Construction

When designing and installing your ideal garden room, choosing the right materials is essential in order to ensure functionality, durability and visual appeal. Ensuring the correct and best materials are not just imperative for your ideal garden room build, but for it to be compliant with building regulations and planning permission, should it be required. Some things to consider when planning your new garden studio include: 

Weather Resistance

Given the climate in South Wales, it is important to select building materials that can withstand various weather conditions, including strong wind, heavy rain, and significant temperature fluctuations. Choosing durable, weather-resistant materials such as double glazed windows and doors with uPVC frames will help to maximise longevity whilst requiring minimal maintenance, ensuring that they remain fit for everyday life, whilst also continuing to look stylish and contemporary. 

Insulation and Energy Efficiency

Installing the correct insulation for your garden room is imperative in ensuring that it is a comfortable and energy efficient space. A well-insulated garden room will allow you and your family to use the space year-round – even during the coldest winter months. Factoring in high-quality insulating materials for your garden extension’s walls, floors and roofing into your garden room ideas and plans will aid in regulating the internal temperature of your new space, reduce heating and cooling costs throughout the year and overall provide the space with comfortability and increased functionality. 

Sustainable Options

With eco-friendly construction on the rise, you may wish to select sustainable materials when building and installing your new garden space. At South Wales Garden Rooms, we strive to be an environmentally-friendly garden room company, providing sustainable and eco-friendly material options for all our type of garden rooms. Sustainable options such as recycled or recyclable materials, rather than standard composite materials, can lower your household’s environmental footprint, promote sustainability and reduce carbon emissions. 

We appreciate that it can be a minefield navigating the best building materials for your new garden room, as most people aren’t well versed in the options available. This is why we pride ourselves on our extensive design process where our garden room specialists can advise you on which construction materials are sustainable, will suit your needs, and bring your eco-friendly vision to life. Give our team of garden room installers in Cardiff a call on 02920 600 478 in order to request a free consultation and site survey in order to get the ball rolling on your perfect garden room.

 

Designing Your Garden Room Interior

In your garden room, comfort and functionality play important roles in creating a welcoming and usable space for both you and your family. By introducing and prioritising comfort, you can transform your garden room into a cosy hideaway where you can relax and unwind, whereas installing the right utilities can ensure practicality and convenience for various activities. From comfortable seating to essential amenities like Wi-Fi and central heating, comfort and utility elements can enhance your overall enjoyment and ensure that you use your new garden room year-round.

Internal Structure

The internal design of your garden room could greatly impact your new space’s usability, so it is important to consider how you would like to use your additional garden living area when you’re still at the design stage. Some people prefer for their new garden room to have only one function, such as a garden office, and wish for their garden extension to be one large space, however, this doesn’t have to be the case.

In recent years, many families prefer for their garden outbuilding to be dual purpose, or even multi-purpose. Partition walls can be erected in order to create distinctly separate rooms within the garden outbuilding itself, for example having a gym studio in one room, and a cosy living room in the other. Partition walls are particularly useful in creating privacy, especially if your family has people of many different ages, who will use the space differently.

It is important to remember, however, that should the garden studio be used as a self-contained living space, or an additional bedroom, that planning permission will need to be sought from your local planning authority.

Electrical Amenities

The addition of electrics to your garden room would be considered by most to be essential, both in terms of lighting and electrical sockets. At South Wales Garden Rooms, all of our modular and bespoke garden rooms come with overhead 4-bar LED spotlights and two electrical sockets as standard, as we understand that these are a basic necessity. 

Additional electrics such as electric heating systems or electric radiators should also be considered when considering your perfect garden room design, especially if you intend on using your garden extension throughout the year, as even the most well-insulated garden room can become chilly in the winter months.

Plumbing Options

A more unusual inclusion in garden room designs, albeit a useful one, is the addition of plumbing and a water supply. By installing a water supply and the appropriate drainage, it is possible to include a bathroom in your ideal garden room design, which would be useful if you intend to spend most of your time in the new space, such as using it as a garden office, or if you are looking to use it as a garden living accommodation (subject to planning permission approval).

Whilst plumbing is definitely not necessary in creating a functional and usable garden room, it may be worth considering when planning your ideal garden room. Our garden room experts at South Wales Garden Rooms can advise you on whether the installation of water and drainage is a possibility for your garden room design, and include it in your quote if so.

South Wales Garden Rooms is the leading provider of garden rooms in South Wales, offering modular and bespoke garden rooms in Cardiff and further afield. Our garden extension specialists are experts in the design and installation of garden buildings, and can work with you to ensure that your resulting garden space is perfect for you and your family. From initial site surveys and design consultations right through to expert installation, our team are on hand to advise you on your best options, and execute your ideas in order to provide you with your perfect garden room. To discuss your garden room ideas, or to book a free consultation, get in touch with our customer service team by calling 02920 600 478 or sending us an enquiry with your ideas here today.