garden room

Garden Rooms

Greenwich Garden Studio

Garden rooms are becoming more popular than ever. They offer a great opportunity to work from home in a dedicated space separated from your house. They are a great investment, less disruptive than a full house refurbishment, but still opportunity to commission a piece of life enriching architecture of your own.

As garden room architects, our garden rooms are unique buildings that respond to their surroundings and landscape. Unlike ‘off the shelf’ buildings, each of our designs makes the most of the possibilities in the context as well as providing exactly what our clients need internally.

Most are build on solid foundations as we believe that a garden building should provide the same quality of space as the main house. Solid foundations mean we can maximise the internal space by building flush with the external ground. It also allows us to build in brick or other heavy materials which sit well in the context but also provide high levels of fire resistance. This means we often build right up to the boundary on the property integrating the building into garden walls for example.

A solid construction garden building will have a lifespan as long at the host building, they will cost more then timber prefabricated options but will last many times longer, provide better quality space, and bring more joy.

Many garden buildings can be built under permitted development, meaning no planning permission is required.

Here are a few that we have designed over the years. Click the image for more information.

Yoga Dojo

Counselling cabin

South Downs Sitooterie

Maresfield Outbuilding

If you would like to understand the options you may have at your property please get in touch by filling in a few details on this form and we will arrange a call back.

Rackham Library

Garden Rooms That Don't Require Planning Permission.

Here we showcase some of our garden rooms, none of which required planning permission, even in conservation areas!

There are a few parameters and a restrictions, but these featured garden buildings were all covered by the same permitted development as a garden shed! Our largest to date, built in the garden of Mr & Mrs Smith, is 60 sq meters and has a WC, shower, hot tub and enough space for yoga or a gym. Here we see the exterior of this project, the ‘Yoga Dojo’.

the yoga dojo // photography by french + tye

the yoga dojo // photography by french + tye

Intended to be a place for the practice of yoga and meditation it provides a distanced and calm retreat from the busy home.  The building is highly engineered with precision detailing throughout and forms three main spaces connected visually through the building’s design and physically through the continuation of materials.

Yoga dojo // inside //photography french + tye

Yoga dojo // inside //photography french + tye

Garden rooms can be hugely varied in both scope and design. In stark contrast to the above, our Greenwich Garden room has a more rustic feel. Still containing a WC, the room was more focussed on home working than home relaxing, however it created a very relaxing place to work!

greenwich garden room // photography by french + tye

greenwich garden room // photography by french + tye

The compact outhouse transformed a cramped rear garden into a courtyard and provides a garden studio for a writer in South London. Working from home has suddenly become the reality for millions of people around the globe. Walking out of your house into an entirely separate useable space, with protection from the elements yet still in the seclusion of your home boundary, has become an increasingly tempting option for many. As the outbuilding are usually designed and built from scratch, they can be customised entirely for the needs of the family, whether it be homeschooling, a place to work, work-out or relax.

greenwich garden room // inside // photography french + tye

greenwich garden room // inside // photography french + tye

Maresfield Outbuilding is also built under householder permitted development.  This highly engineered structure floats under the tree canopy on a concrete raft only 200mm thick with insitu exposed concrete walls. The copper roof gives the building a refined elegance that is visible from the upper floors of the house, fulfilling the brief that the arial view of the garden had to be beautiful. 

maresfield outbuilding // photography by french + tye

maresfield outbuilding // photography by french + tye

Mainly used as a place to exercise this garden room keeps bulky equipment away from the main home. Music can be played without disturbing others and it saves on the annual gym subscription for years to come!

maresfield gardens // exterior // photography french + tye

maresfield gardens // exterior // photography french + tye

Garden studios are a great way to add useable space to a family home. So much more than a posh shed (but with the same building rules) studios can be thermally efficient ensuring they can be used throughout the year. Studios provide a striking focal point for any garden and can be blended into the landscape using materials that match the style of the exterior and landscaping at your home. Natural or modern finishes and high specification glazing can be sure to add the wow factor. Whether you are looking for a place to entertain guests, a cover for outside dining, or just a retreat from the general buzz of family life a garden studio could be the perfect solution. We can design you a useable, flexible space that fits in with whatever your family needs.

Real Homes - Greenwich Garden Studio

Our garden studio for a writer in South London, has been featured in Real Homes magazine. When space is short in your home, creating the extra room you need outside could be the answer.

REAL HOMES. SARAH WARWICK. PHOTOGRAPHS BY FRENCH + TYE

REAL HOMES. SARAH WARWICK. PHOTOGRAPHS BY FRENCH + TYE

See Projects for full details and before and after photos.

REAL HOMES. SARAH WARWICK. PHOTOGRAPHS BY FRENCH + TYE

REAL HOMES. SARAH WARWICK. PHOTOGRAPHS BY FRENCH + TYE

As space is at a premium the partition separating the two spaces contains a Barbican sink within the stud work on the WC side and a series of shelves and compartments for printers and fold down desks on the reading room side.

REAL HOMES. SARAH WARWICK. PHOTOGRAPHS BY FRENCH + TYE

REAL HOMES. SARAH WARWICK. PHOTOGRAPHS BY FRENCH + TYE