A small, well-specified garden office in Muswell Hill by Vita Modular
A 3m x 2m cedar-clad office with glazing around one corner and air conditioning, delivered turnkey in a newly landscaped North London garden.
In some garden room ranges, the smallest models can seem like poor relations of their bigger siblings, with plainer designs and fewer of the features that make garden rooms popular. This 3m x 2m office in Muswell Hill by Vita Modular is a great example of a well-specified small garden office, and its bespoke design shows that doesn’t have to be the case.
The client wanted a high-quality room to work from home, in a garden that had just been relandscaped in a crisp, modern style. The finished office has glazing that wraps around one corner, air conditioning for heating and cooling, and a finish chosen to complement the new garden rather than compete with it.
At a glance
- Size: 3m x 2m.
- Built for: a home office in a newly landscaped garden in Muswell Hill, North London.
- Construction: Vita Modular’s structural steel sub-frame on ground screw foundations, insulated in the walls, floor and roof, with a flat EPDM roof.
- Finishes: natural cedar cladding laid horizontally, dark grey frames and sliding glazing around one corner; white walls, LVT flooring and air conditioning inside.
- Company: Vita Modular, £31,000 fully finished, built in 10 working days.
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Glazing that wraps the corner
A sliding door fills most of the front, and full-height glass carries on around the corner onto the side. Glazing on two faces like this is usually something you see on larger rooms. On a building this size it matters even more, because the glass is what stops a 6sqm room feeling enclosed.
From the desk, the view runs out across the paving and planting rather than to a blank wall. In warmer weather the door slides back onto the seating area, and the office and garden work as one space. That indoor–outdoor connection is one of the things people most often want from a garden room, and this project shows it doesn’t need a big building.
Dark grey frames and a matching fascia around the flat roof give the office a clean outline.
A garden office that doesn’t take over
The office sits in one corner of the garden, against new slatted cedar fencing. The client chose natural cedar cladding from Vita Modular’s range of finishes, fitted as horizontal boards. It picks up the warm tone and the lines of the slatted fence, so the building reads as part of the garden’s design rather than something added to it.
At 3m x 2m it leaves most of the garden free. Paved paths, planting beds and an outdoor seating area all still have room. In a family garden that has to work for everyone, that balance is as important as the room itself.
Because the landscaping was under way while the office was being planned, Vita Modular worked with the client’s landscapers so that the preparatory works were built to their requirements.
A comfortable room to work in
Inside, the walls and ceiling are painted white and the floor is a wood-effect LVT. There is room for a desk and chair, a bookcase and an armchair.
The air conditioning unit heats the room in winter and cools it in summer. That is worth having in any small office with this much glass, which can warm up quickly on a sunny afternoon. Electrics and lighting were part of the build.
Built through the house
The only way into the garden was through the house. Vita Modular’s method of construction suited that, and the office was built in 10 working days on site. It sits on ground screw foundations and is built around the structural steel sub-frame that all their buildings use, backed by a 10-year structural warranty.
Turnkey, ready to work
The £31,000 price was fixed and covered the whole job: foundations, frame, insulation, cladding, doors and glazing, painted interior, electrics, lighting, flooring and the air conditioning. When the team left, the client could move their equipment in and start work.
The client talks about the project in Vita Modular’s video testimonial.
Learn more about Vita Modular
Vita Modular design, manufacture and install bespoke garden rooms, annexes and house extensions from their Warwickshire base, working nationwide with an all-inclusive service. To explore more of their work or discuss your own project, visit vita-modular.co.uk, call 0330 133 7209, or email sales@vita-modular.co.uk.
