Versatile garden room for all the family
A 7.8m x 4.5m garden room in a Conservation Area, zoned by a half-height wall into TV, work and sleeping areas — with a shower room and a 125-litre pressurised cylinder.
Building a garden room is a fantastic way to extend your living space and create a flexible area that can evolve with your family’s changing needs. Whether you’re looking to add a family room, a home office, a playroom for the children, or even a space for entertaining guests, a well-designed garden room offers a versatile and adaptable solution.
This recent project by Executive Garden Rooms illustrates how a garden room can be tailored to create a functional space that meets the needs of the entire family. The building, measuring 7.8m x 4.5m, provides ample space for a variety of uses. It includes a well-specified shower room and kitchenette, making it ideal for guests. The thoughtful design ensures the room can be adapted easily, whether for work during the day or family entertainment in the evening.
At a glance
- Size: 7.8m x 4.5m — one room zoned by a half-height wall, plus a shower room and a kitchenette.
- Built for: a family wanting a room that could be a family room, office, playroom and guest space at once.
- The trick: the half-height wall divides without closing the space in, and fitted furniture defines each zone — a desk here, shelving there.
- Services: a shower room with a separate airing cupboard housing a 125-litre pressurised cylinder, so the pressure holds when the main house is running water; reinforced concrete foundations.
- Planning: in a Conservation Area, so Executive Garden Rooms ran the application, negotiated with the planners and organised the arboricultural survey; signed off by Building Control.
A half-height wall zones the space
A key design feature of this garden room is the inclusion of a half-height wall, which acts as a subtle room divider. This divides the space into different zones without sacrificing the open-plan, spacious feel. By creating distinct areas for watching TV, working, and sleeping, the half-height wall maximises the room’s functionality. This design also allows furniture to be arranged on both sides, enhancing the room’s flexibility.
In addition to the half-height wall, fitted furniture has been used to further define different areas and maximise functionality. As part of their turnkey service, Executive Garden Rooms can install your choice of fitted furniture. This allows you to customise the space to suit your needs, whether that’s adding a desk for a home office or installing shelving and storage cupboards. In this garden room, discreet storage has been seamlessly incorporated into the design, helping to keep the space clutter-free and organised.
Pressurised shower system
The garden room is equipped with a well-specified shower room that includes a spacious shower cubicle, toilet, and basin with a vanity unit, providing all the necessary amenities for both family members and guests. A separate airing cupboard houses a 125-litre pressurised water cylinder, ensuring consistent water pressure even when the main house is using water. This high-pressure system guarantees a reliable supply of hot water, making the space comfortable and convenient for guests or family members.
Executive Garden Rooms offers a comprehensive turnkey solution, handling all the necessary electrical work, drainage, and water connections, as well as installing reinforced concrete foundations. They oversee every aspect of the project from start to finish, providing a seamless, hassle-free experience for their clients. In this particular project, the groundwork was extensive, including the installation of a pumping station to connect the foul water to the mains and the laying of trenches for the water supply, armoured cable, foul pipes, and Cat6 data cable.
The entire project was signed off by Building Control, and all Executive Garden Rooms buildings comply with Schedule 2 of the Building Regulations 2010.
Built in a conservation area
As mentioned, the project was signed off by the Building Control department at completion. At the start, Executive Garden Rooms also managed the planning application process on behalf of their client.
This property was located in a Conservation Area, which required additional considerations during the planning stage. Executive Garden Rooms liaised with the Planning Department, navigating the complexities of planning permission for their client.
As part of the process, an arboricultural survey was required to assess the impact of the construction on surrounding trees. The Executive Garden Rooms team handled the organisation of this survey, further easing the planning process for their client.
Customer comments
We have just had a beautiful family garden room built by Executive Garden Rooms, John and his team have done a great job and finished with attention to detail to our exact specifications; nothing was too much trouble, keeping us informed every step of the way during construction.
From her first site visit, Alison put us at ease and was really great at bringing all the elements together on site from the office and answering any questions we had before, during and after construction, also being in a conservation area, she had lengthy negotiations with the planning department and organised a tree survey to obtain great results.
We have had so many compliments from family, friends and neighbours. It’s really difficult to put into words how good our garden room is for us and what great people EGR are!
Learn more about Executive Garden Rooms
Executive Garden Rooms is based in Dorset and focuses on projects in the surrounding areas. To learn more about their multi-functional garden room designs, visit their website or contact the team on 01202 874 766. Alternatively, you can email them at info@executivegardenrooms.co.uk.
