A new tool from SMART Garden Rooms, Offices & Studios allows you to design your ideal garden room and then see what it will look like in your garden before buying.
We have made a 3-minute video that shows us using the configurator and then seeing what the garden room we designed would look like in our garden:
The SMART configurator allows you to pick from one of their seven popular ranges, and then tailor the building to your needs and tastes. You will find both contemporary and traditional designs in the SMART portfolio.
As you select a range, the sidebar updates with a list of the range's key features. Once you have chosen a style of building, you click the green button to start the design process.
Choose a size for your building and select the type of roofline.
Your building then loads. We have to say this configurator has the sleekest interface we have seen, and we have played with a lot of them!
As you spin the building around, you will see little circles with minus and plus signs. These are what you use to design your perfect room. It is quite intuitive; the minus sign removes a module that you might want to replace. It changes to a plus sign, which, when you click it, brings up a list of possible options.
You will see you have lots of choices when it comes to doors and windows. There are single doors, French doors and bi-fold doors to choose from. There are all types of windows too, from opening casements to fixed pane full-height windows.
The great thing is you can see how your choices are affecting the overall price as you make each selection.
Virtually every module of your Smart garden room can be swapped so that you can create your ideal layout. For instance, if you want glazing on each elevation, this would be possible.
Once you are happy with your choices, click the green confirm selection button.
You then are presented with a list of options for the interior of your garden room. You have the option of upgrading to a flush interior, adding partition walls to divide the building into different spaces, and choosing lighting options.
You can then choose to add blinds to the doors and windows and decide what type of heating you require. You can pick from a wall-mounted heater, underfloor heating or a climate control system.
The next set of choices concern the electrics. You can add exterior lighting and external sockets, which can be very handy. You can also choose to upgrade to power sockets with USB charging points. It would undoubtedly be helpful to have one or two of these if you have lots of devices!
Finally, you can select if you want the SMART team to install the foundation for your building, and if you would like them to connect the garden rooms electrics to the mains supply in your house. There is also an option for CAT6 data cabling - this is the most reliable way to bring an internet connection into a garden room, so it is worth considering.
At the end of this process, you will see a screen with a QR code. This will allow you to see what the building you have designed will look like in your garden. Download the Smart app on your phone and scan the code.
Once the app loads, press the view in AR button, then walk to the area in your garden where you want your garden room to sit. You will see the footprint of your building appear. When you are happy with the position, your building will load.
Move around so that you can look at different details of the building, close up, and then move back to see the whole of the building.
It really is clever stuff! Try it out yourself.
