The autumn and winter are ideal times to work on garden design ideas to revamp your outdoor space. We are increasingly seeing outdoor spaces as a potential extension of our homes. The inclusion of bespoke garden buildings has been a growing trend in this year’s garden design shows, along with vertical planting and sustainability, so let’s explore these in further detail.

A Fresh Look at Garden Buildings

outdoor garden hideaways

The days of a small shed to house the lawnmower are long gone. Garden buildings have taken on a new lease of life, encouraging us outside and giving us much needed space to work, relax and socialise. Here are three emerging garden building ideas:

The Garden Studio

With flexible working becoming more widely accepted, more of us are in need of a quiet, well-equipped home office. If there isn’t an ideal room in the house, then a garden studio, insulated for year-round comfort, offers an ideal solution. Built to your requirements and away from the daily distractions, a garden building office can enable you to be highly productive. An outdoor eco pod can serve equally well as a space to fulfil your hobby projects.

The Outdoor Kitchen

All it takes is a great weather report and half the nation is outside preparing a barbeque; it’s become a British tradition! In recent years, pizza ovens have added to the outdoor catering trend, but the upcoming trend is for covered outdoor kitchens. These exterior rooms feature food preparation surfaces and hooks for utensils, along with large wooden tables and benches on decking. It’s time to get prepared for cooking and eating in the garden in 2020.

The Sauna Cabin

Scandinavian design has been a strong influence in recent years and there is no stopping our desire for a taste of the north. When it comes to garden buildings, wooden saunas are gaining popularity. A sauna offers health benefits, as well as a space to relax and unwind. Typically made from cedar or pine wooden garden saunas can be heated via an electrical supply. If you want an off-grid solution, a wood-burning stove is a viable option for heating your sauna cabin.


You may also be interested in

Are Garden Retreats Better than Extensions?

Bespoke Tree Houses with Earning Potential

Bespoke Tree Houses for Families


Sustainable Garden Design

The buzz word of the moment is sustainability and this applies to garden design. Sustainability has taken many forms in the garden design shows. It can include utilising reclaimed wood, windows or features in your new garden building, along with a green roof on top. Equally, it involves selecting native pollinators as our plants of choice and including water butts and ponds in your plans.

Continuing with the Scandi-theme, designs that are in-keeping with nature are popular. This means using natural material, colours and textures in your theme.

The clear message is that sustainable solutions can be stylish, original, functional and lower maintenance. You still benefit from an aesthetically pleasing outdoor space, whilst reducing the environmental impact.

Vertical Planting

The only way is up! From small courtyards to expansive grounds, there has been a noticeable trend of utilising vertical planting solutions. Fences, walls, the side of your garden buildings can now be adorned with hanging planters in all manner of shapes, sizes and designs. Old pallets have been transformed into wonderous walls of succulent plants or scented flowers. Herb pots can hang outside your back door for easy picking.

Garden Buildings Design Company

As a master craftsman and experienced site manager, Evan and the team at Handmade Hideaways offer a complete, high-quality garden building design, construction and finishing service. Every garden building is custom made, in order that we achieve the perfect solution for your garden and your requirements.

Handmade Hideaways enjoys a creative brief and we relish the opportunity to plan and build unique garden buildings. What if you want a dual-purpose studio – a man cave and a lady’s lair? No problem! We’ll be exploring that idea in the next article.

If you wish to include reclaimed materials as part of your eco pod, we will incorporate them. Should you desire the facilities for a green roof or vertical planting for your garden sauna, just let us know!

We can also build custom furniture for the interior of your garden building. Be it a stunning workbench for the garden studio or food preparation surface, table and decking for the outdoor kitchen, we have the expertise to manage the project and to deliver high-quality results.

For further information, or to arrange an initial site visit, please contact Handmade Hideaways on 07786 070318.