Bespoke garden office & gym for a city centre home
A pitched-roof garden office and gym in central Cambridge, with a hidden bin store, a secure bike store and a sedum roof, built where an old brick outbuilding stood.
Smaller gardens and challenging access often present unique obstacles for homeowners in city centres. However, these challenges do not rule out the opportunity to create a fully functional garden room that extends your living space. While off-the-shelf garden room designs may struggle to optimise such spaces or accommodate difficult access, working with a bespoke design team like AMC Garden Rooms opens a world of possibilities.
This project in the centre of Cambridge is a perfect example of bespoke design at its finest. The clients sought to create a dual-purpose garden room for a home office and gym, with additional discreet bike and garden storage. Their small garden posed limitations, and the project required demolishing an existing brick outbuilding to make way for a modern, energy-efficient building. With these specific needs, a standard design would not suffice.
At a glance
- Size: Internal dimensions of 4.4m × 3.17m, under an asymmetrical roof with an angled porch and built-in bench seating.
- Built for: Clients with a small city-centre garden who wanted a home office and gym, with discreet storage for bikes and garden tools.
- Storage: A split hidden door at the front opens to the wheelie bins below and garden tools above, with a secure bike store behind it, reached from the footpath through colour-matched bi-fold doors.
- Exterior: Charcoal Thermowood in a triple shadow gap profile, carried onto the adjoining fence panels, with anthracite HardiePlank® on the less visible walls.
- Company: AMC Garden Rooms, who demolished the old outbuilding and garden walls, and handled the groundworks, fencing, gates and electrical connection to the house.
Thoughtful design and tailored solutions
AMC Garden Rooms began the project with design consultations and a site visit to fully understand the client’s vision. The result was a beautifully crafted, pitched roof garden room with internal dimensions of 4.4m (w) x 3.17m (d) x 3.5m (h). The asymmetrical roofline softens the building’s appearance and adds architectural interest, including an angled porch with built-in bench seating.
The building’s exterior is clad in charcoal-coloured Thermowood with a distinctive triple shadow gap profile, creating a sleek, modern look. To ensure a cohesive design, adjoining fence panels were clad in the same material. Less visible elevations are finished with anthracite HardiePlank® – a durable, low-maintenance cement fibre board.
A clever use of space
Inside, the main area is dedicated to the client’s home office and gym. The right-hand side of the building houses a tailor-made storage solution. At the front, a split hidden door discreetly conceals wheelie bin storage in the lower section and garden tool storage above.
Behind this, a secure bike store is accessible via a footpath running alongside the garden. Custom bi-fold doors with solid panels, colour-matched to the cladding, make this area highly functional. The bi-fold doors include a multi-point locking system for enhanced security. This clever layout allows easy access to stored items while maximising the building’s functionality.
See how AMC Garden Rooms’ has transformed other outdoor spaces by checking out our collection of articles on their projects.
Design features for year-round comfort
AMC Garden Rooms incorporated soundproofing into the multi-layer insulated timber frame, ensuring the building is comfortable and quiet. The eco-friendly sedum roof helps the structure blend into its surroundings, promotes biodiversity, and aids water control.
The interior is flooded with natural light thanks to an electric Velux roof light with an integrated blind, adding further convenience to this modern design.
A complete turnkey service
AMC Garden Rooms provided a comprehensive turnkey service, managing the project from start to finish. This included the demolition of the original brick outbuilding and garden walls, groundworks, the supply and fitting of new fencing and gates, and the final electrical connection to the house.
Learn more about AMC Garden Rooms
This Cambridge project highlights the potential of bespoke garden room designs to maximise the use of even the smallest, most challenging gardens, creating practical and stylish spaces tailored to individual needs.
Contact AMC Garden Rooms for more information about their bespoke design services. Call 01480 277 441 to chat with their team, or email hello@amcgardenrooms.co.uk. Visit www.amcgardenrooms.co.uk to explore more of their innovative work.
