Different garden room design routes
This section of the site looks at the different design routes you have when buying a garden room. There are pre-designed ranges that provide a quick path to a well-specified building. If you want more input into positioning doors and windows, then a modular design would work well. If you want even more control over size, materials and features, then the bespoke design route is a good option. Bespoke designer's skills come into their own if you have a tricky site.
For those of you who like the idea of doing some of the work yourself, some companies will install the weathertight shell for you. You then finish the building as you wish.
The sections below offer an introduction to each design route. If you click through to the full guide, you will find far more detail and suggestions of companies to work with.
Pre-designed buildings, the quick route
If you are looking for a well-specified garden room and want it quickly, you will want to take a look at the companies that offer pre-designed ranges. These garden rooms include all the basics - insulation, double glazing and electrics, plus many popular design features. They are all ready for a quick production period and installation phase.
Several of the companies that specialise in bespoke design have created pre-designed ranges, packaging them up as a cost-effective solution.
There are options to personalise a pre-designed garden room, but they are limited compared to their modular and bespoke design counterparts.
Check which garden room companies work in your area
Not all of them do!
Modular designs, the flexible option
With modular garden rooms, you pick a building size and then work with the designer to mix and match solid wall panels with different window and door options to create your ideal layout.
The leading names in modular garden room design offer several different ranges. Each range incorporates popular design features. You then make your mark with the door and window configuration.
Modular design specialists offer many add-on options to personalise your modular room, such as air conditioning, data cabling and blinds.
Modular garden rooms are pre-fabricated in a factory utilising a mix of traditional carpentry methods and precision machinery. The pre-fabrication means that the on-site build stage is short. Small designs can often be installed in a day or two, with larger buildings completed in a week or so.
Weathertight shells - add the finishing details yourself
Not that many companies offer them, but there is the option to buy a garden room shell and then finish it yourself. This is a different path to self-building a garden room where you would buy a kit or construct the structure yourself from scratch. A shell building is more of a hybrid option, sitting somewhere between buying on a full installation basis and self-building.
With a garden room shell, the company will install the core structure for you and depending on the package you choose; they will get it either temporarily weathertight or completely weathertight for you. You are then left to finish the project utilising the materials you wish. This approach can be the best of both worlds. You have the peace of mind that your room has been installed by professionals but the satisfaction of doing some of the work yourself.
