Booths Garden Studios: garden rooms and annexes to buy or rent
No timber anywhere on the outside, a 25-year guarantee on the shell, and the unusual option of renting the building rather than buying it.
Booths Garden Studios have launched a new website, and it is a good moment to look again at a company The Garden Room & Annexe Guide has known since the early days. Established in 1999 and manufacturing in Corby, Northamptonshire, Booths build garden offices, studios, gyms and self-contained annexes with one defining idea running through the whole range: a zero-maintenance exterior. Their buildings are made from galvanised steel, UPVC and glass rather than timber, so there is nothing to paint or stain, and each comes with a 25-year structural guarantee.
At a glance
- Where and since when: established 1999, manufacturing in Corby, Northamptonshire.
- What they build: garden offices, studios, gyms and self-contained annexes.
- The exterior: no timber at all — 75mm steel-clad panels in a leather-effect coating, with UPVC and glass. The 25-year guarantee covers that exterior structure for the full term.
- The specification: 90mm insulation in floor and roof, A-rated glazing rated thermally equivalent to triple.
- The base: adjustable feet rather than a concrete slab, which keeps the groundworks out of it.
- Planning: studios and offices are designed to stay under 2.5 metres so they sit within Permitted Development; the annexes take the Caravan Act route instead.
- Buy or rent: either, on both a garden room and an annexe — offices from £190 a month on an 18-month term, annexes from £795, maintained and insured throughout, with finance across the range for buyers.
Nothing to paint or stain
The thing that sets Booths apart is what their buildings are not made of. There is no timber in the exterior. Walls are 75mm steel-clad panels finished in a tough, leather-effect coating, with UPVC and glass making up the rest, and the 25-year guarantee covers that exterior structure for the full term. With no timber outside, there is no painting or staining to keep on top of, and only light annual upkeep, such as a roof check and clearing leaves, to think about.
Underneath that finish is a specification built for comfortable year-round use, with 90mm insulation in the floor and roof and A-rated glazing rated as thermally equivalent to triple. The buildings sit on adjustable feet rather than a concrete base, which keeps extensive groundworks out of the picture and means a garden office is usually installed in a single day. Pricing for every size is published openly on the Pricing & Sizes page, with VAT, delivery and installation in England included in the figure.
Within Permitted Development
Like most garden rooms, Booths’ studios and offices are designed to stand no more than 2.5 metres tall. That height is not arbitrary: it is the threshold that lets a building sit close to a boundary under Permitted Development, in most cases without a full planning application. Confirming your own plot against the rules is always worth doing, but the standard buildings are shaped to keep that route open.
The annexes follow a different path. Because they provide self-contained living, with a bedroom, kitchen and bathroom, they would normally count as a separate dwelling and need planning permission. Instead, Booths design them to comply with the Caravan Act, which treats a mobile structure used by a family member as ancillary to the main house. Met properly, that route generally avoids a planning application, though it is one to check carefully with Booths and your local authority, as councils can interpret it differently.
Buy or rent
The option most worth knowing about is that Booths let you do either, on both a garden room and an annexe, which is still uncommon in this market. A garden office to rent starts from £190 a month on an 18-month term, maintained and insured throughout, with the choice at the end to keep renting, buy the unit, or have it collected at no cost.
An annexe to rent works the same way from £795 a month, giving a family room for an elderly parent or a grown-up child, with a bedroom, kitchen and bathroom, but without the full cost up front. For buyers who would rather own and spread the payments instead, finance runs across the range.
Learn more about Booths Garden Studios
Booths Garden Studios have been designing and manufacturing zero-maintenance garden rooms and annexes from Corby since 1999. To compare sizes and specifications, or to weigh up buying against renting, visit boothsgardenstudios.co.uk or call 07746 665 560. Studio visits at the Corby showroom can be booked in advance through the website’s contact page.
