Garden Living Annexe in Matfield by Ark Design Build
Published: 25 April 2026
Reading Time: 2 minutes 50 seconds
Ark Design Build specialise in tailor-made garden rooms and annexes in Kent and the surrounding counties. Their habitable annexes are built with full Householder planning approval as multi-layer, Building Regulations-compliant structures around a traditional insulated core, then erected on site rather than delivered as a flat-pack shell. This recently completed example in Matfield sits at 50sqm and reads as a contemporary one-bedroom home with clear zones for cooking, dining, and relaxing, each with a view of the garden.
Low-Maintenance Exterior Finishes
Externally, vertical Thermowood tongue-and-groove cladding gives a warm envelope that ages predictably to a mellow silvery grey if left untreated. Door and window frames are finished in anthracite grey, so the glazing is a crisp contrast against the timber. A composite deck bridges the annexe and the lawn, giving a durable, easy-care step from the main living space into the garden. Together, those choices keep the outside straightforward to look after over the long term.
Open-Plan Living with Kitchen and Garden Views
The main room is laid out as one generous living space, large enough that kitchen, dining, and lounge areas each have their own breathing room and movement between them is easy. Walls and ceiling are fully plastered and decorated; light laminate flooring runs through the living zones, while the kitchen area picks up slate-coloured tiles that ease into paler wood-effect boards. Rather than a hard partition, that shift in flooring quietly marks where cooking ends and lounging begins.
The kitchen sits on an L-shaped run in the corner, with dark grey cabinetry concealing integrated appliances. There is enough worktop and storage for serious cooking and for having people round, and the grey palette ties the kitchen into the wider contemporary scheme.
Bedroom, En-Suite, and Store
A separate bedroom leads off the main living space, again oriented towards the garden through a casement window. The floorplan includes a store cupboard, a practical extra in a compact home that keeps day-to-day clutter out of the main rooms.
The en-suite shower room is larger than many garden annexes of this size. Marble-effect floor and wall tiles continue the grey tonal range, while a frameless glass shower enclosure and black fittings keep the look sharp and contemporary. Ark Design Build take care of connections to water and foul drainage as part of their turnkey service, so the bathroom is commissioned at handover rather than left for the owner to line up with a separate company.
With kitchen and bathrooms, the Ark Design Build team work with clients to select finishes and fittings to taste. As with other Ark Design Build projects already featured on the Guide, the photographs show the same care at junctions and trims that is easy to promise but harder to deliver consistently.
From Design Conception to Ready-to-Use Handover
For habitable annexes, Ark Design Build handle the project from early design ideas through planning approval and Building Control sign-off to final internal fittings and mains connections, including electrics. The aim is a fully commissioned, ready-to-move-into home at handover.
Learn More
Based in Tunbridge Wells, Ark Design Build focus on bespoke garden rooms and annexes across Kent, Surrey, Essex, Sussex, and South London. To explore more of their work or talk through your own site, visit www.arkdesignbuild.co.uk, call 07896 196 718, or email contact@arkdesignbuild.co.uk.
