Gym, Home Office and Bar in One Garden Room
Published: 9 June 2026
Reading Time: 4 minutes 10 seconds
A garden room can be whatever you need it to be, and this project in Worsley, Greater Manchester is a good example of one building doing three jobs at once. The brief from Lux Garden Rooms' client was for a single space that could work as a gym, a home office and a bar.
There was a constraint to design around. With three active children who need room for football, the family wanted the building to take up as little of the garden as possible while still being big enough for everything it had to hold. The answer was a generous 5.8m x 3.6m room, tucked into the corner return of the garden, completed in three weeks.
One Space, Three Zones
The interior is arranged so each use has its own area without the room feeling divided. The exercise equipment, the desk and the bar each sit in their own zone, positioned so they don't crowd one another, yet the space still reads and works as one room. It's a layout that lets the building shift through the day: focused work, a session on the gym equipment, then somewhere to relax and entertain in the evening.
Sitting in the Corner Return
Slotting the room into the corner return was the move that made the brief work. It keeps the open part of the garden clear for the children's football while still allowing a substantial footprint. As part of the project, the Lux Garden Rooms team removed the existing decking to prepare the site, working alongside the client's landscaper who was laying astroturf and carrying out other improvements at the same time.
It is worth noting the height. A garden room no taller than 2.5m externally can usually be sited close to a boundary under Permitted Development, avoiding the need for full planning permission. From our observation of the photos, and the amount of wall standing above the door head before it meets the ceiling, this building is taller than 2.5m — most likely a deliberate choice to give generous headroom for the gym equipment, with a cross-trainer that lifts the user well off the floor. Sited this close to the boundary and built above that height, a project like this would have required planning approval rather than falling under Permitted Development. It is a reminder that height and boundary position are worth checking together early in a build.
Western Red Cedar Cladding
The cladding is Western Red Cedar, a natural timber with a warm tone and a fine, even grain. It is a premium choice over the standard finish, and it earns its place: cedar is naturally durable, with oils in the timber that resist moisture, rot and insects, so it stands up well to the weather over the long term and the colour settles attractively as it ages. The warmth of the cedar is set off by the dark grey door frames and trims, the dark detailing giving the building a crisp, high-end finish against the natural timber.
Bifolds and a Floor-to-Ceiling Window
A set of 3m aluminium bifold doors forms the garden-facing wall. Fully opened, they connect the interior directly to the garden and give the popular indoor-outdoor flow, so the usable space extends onto the lawn in warmer weather. Alongside the doors, a 600mm floor-to-ceiling window brings in extra light and frames a view of the garden from the desk — a small detail that makes a difference when the room is in use as an office.
A True Extension of the Home
What lifts this above a seasonal outbuilding is the specification behind the finish. Comprehensive insulation, a full electrical installation, double glazing and secure locks mean the building is comfortable and usable year-round, not just in summer. The team also added custom wiring for the client's speakers and decks, which turns the bar zone into a proper space for entertaining when the room isn't being used for fitness or work.
Built to this standard, the room becomes a genuine extension of the home. Like any room in the house, it can evolve as family life changes — a gym today, perhaps something else for a future owner, without the building itself needing to change.
Learn More
Lux Garden Rooms is a Manchester-based company specialising in bespoke garden buildings, handling each project from design and planning through to foundations and final decoration. To find out more about their work or to discuss your own project, visit www.luxgardenrooms.co.uk, call 0161 531 0508, or email info@luxgardenrooms.co.uk.
