Garden room nursery school buildings
Two classrooms and a toilet block for Fawood Children's Centre in North London, built in Cosy Garden Rooms' insulated construction and set within the centre's covered courtyard.
Alongside the domestic garden rooms it is better known for, Cosy Garden Rooms also undertakes commercial projects. This three-building commission for Fawood Children’s Centre in North London is a fine example of what the company’s bespoke design service can achieve when the brief moves beyond a private garden.
Fawood, in Stonebridge, is not a conventional nursery school setting. The award-winning centre is known for its brightly painted recycled shipping containers, stacked over three levels beneath a large steel canopy and enclosed within a colourful mesh shell. Much of the children’s play and learning takes place in sheltered outdoor space, so any new buildings had to sit comfortably within an already distinctive environment.
The requirement was for additional flexible accommodation that could support a wider range of activities, including smaller group sessions such as mother and baby groups, while also giving the nursery extra day-to-day usable space for children. Cosy Garden Rooms responded with two bespoke buildings and a separate toilet block, all designed to work practically within the existing covered setting.
At a glance
- Sizes: Buildings of 8.5m × 3.5m and 6m × 3m, and a 2.1m × 1.9m toilet block.
- Built for: Nursery use by day and smaller sessions such as mother and baby groups.
- Outside: Sail Cloth Hardie® VL Plank with an anthracite footer, black uPVC windows and low-threshold doors.
- Heating: Ceiling-mounted far infrared panels, keeping hot surfaces away from children.
- Company: Cosy Garden Rooms, who take on commercial work as well as gardens.
Three buildings for a busy setting
The larger of the two main buildings measures 8.5m x 3.5m and sits on a concrete base. The second is 6m x 3m, while the separate toilet block measures 2.1m x 1.9m. Together, they add three distinct elements to the site without trying to mimic the original container architecture too literally.
That matters here. Rather than trying to mimic Fawood’s bold existing design too closely, the new buildings sit comfortably within the wider setting. They complement the nursery’s quirky character while providing the extra accommodation it needed.
A practical exterior specification
All three buildings share the same external finish: Hardie® VL Plank cladding in Sail Cloth with an anthracite footer, black uPVC windows, and low-threshold doors for straightforward access. With no step up and over a raised threshold, they are a sensible detail in a nursery setting where minimising trip hazards matters. It is a simple, robust palette, but one that suits this type of project well. In a nursery and community setting, durable, low-maintenance materials matter just as much as appearance.
The low-threshold door detail is particularly sensible in a building that will see regular daily use by staff, parents, and young children. It supports easy movement in and out of the rooms and reinforces the feeling that these are practical, hard-working spaces rather than occasional overflow buildings.
Bright interiors with everyday flexibility
Inside, both buildings have a clean, contemporary feel. Cosy Garden Rooms used grooved wall panelling and a plain ceiling, all finished in brilliant white, paired with light grey vinyl flooring. The finish is crisp without feeling stark, and the light colour palette makes good sense for rooms that may need to support different activities over the course of a week.
This kind of simple interior is often what makes a flexible building work well in practice. It can serve nursery children during the day, then adapt easily for smaller community sessions and family-focused activities without feeling overdesigned for one single purpose.
Built for year-round nursery use
Garden room construction can be a particularly good solution for this kind of project when the specification supports daily use. Cosy Garden Rooms’ multi-layer insulated structure, together with quality double-glazed doors and windows, means these buildings are designed to be used comfortably throughout the year rather than only in milder weather.
Heating comes from ceiling-mounted far infrared panels: three 600W panels in the larger building and two 600W panels in the second. In a nursery setting, that is a thoughtful choice. Because the panels are mounted overhead, the rooms can be kept warm without introducing hot surfaces at child height.
Taken together, the three new buildings show that Cosy Garden Rooms’ bespoke approach is not limited to domestic garden projects. With the right layout, finishes, and specification, the same construction principles translate well to education and community use.
Learn more about Cosy Garden Rooms
Cosy Garden Rooms design and build bespoke garden rooms across a wide area of England, with a turnkey service that includes the concrete slab foundation and final electrical connection to the house. To learn more about their work, visit www.cosygardenrooms.co.uk, call 0115 77 22 715, or email info@cosygardenrooms.co.uk.
