After a year of living, working and relaxing at home, are you ready to branch out? If so, garden buildings could be the solution. Compared with a loft conversion or extension, garden buildings are a relatively inexpensive way to extend the available space.
Separated from the house, these self-contained garden rooms can take on a style of their own. They needn’t blend with the interior décor or be restricted by existing layouts. With this freedom of choice, almost anything goes (as long as it is structurally sound!)
Handmade Hideaways champions the concept of bespoke eco-cabins. We encourage clients to consider ways in which they can lower the environmental impact of their garden room. With a growing interest in sustainability and energy efficiency, we have convinced clients to be a little experimental. They have been open to the idea of renewable energy and self-sufficiency.
5 Ways to Use your Garden Building
1. A Social Games Room
As temperatures rise and the days get longer, we start imagining those summer gatherings with friends and family. After such a long wait, a garden building that serves as a bar or games room could be the perfect solution. Get ready to entertain!
- A Creative Space
Restrictions on travel may have ignited your interest in a new hobby. Imagine a garden studio or workshop, designed for your specific requirements. This could be a quiet space, separate from the busy family home, to paint or write your debut novel. It might be a place to make noise without disturbing others; a music rehearsal studio or joinery workshop. Are you keen to get creative?
- Child’s Play
Keeping the children entertained can be a challenge, but not if they have a dedicated play space. Would your children’s imagination be sparked by a treehouse design or a fort with bridges and slides? Could you create a soft play space or a room where older children can hang out with friends? What would your children love?
- A Fitness Zone
The closure of leisure centres and sports facilities pushed lots of fitness classes online. Do you dream of a place to step away from the usual daily routine to focus on your gym workout or yoga practice? Your bespoke garden building could contain your equipment, ready to go whenever feel motivated.
- A Home Office
Bespoke-built garden rooms offer a self-contained space for work. Even with the children back at school, it is not easy to work from the kitchen table. With greater flexibility around remote working, more of us will now spend at least part of the week working from home. Are you equipped to make this work?
If you are yearning for a private retreat, a social space or a home office, you can bet others are too. Separate offices or studios are becoming a popular feature on homebuyer wish lists. As such, this addition to your home could be a real advantage as and when you sell.
How to Create an Eco Pod
Handmade Hideaways actively promote the use of reclaimed materials when designing and constructing bespoke garden buildings. Incorporating features such as pre-loved sash windows or roof tiles gives them a second life. It saves using raw materials and often adds character that can not be achieved when everything is new. This is a great way to reduce the environmental impact of your garden pod.
A garden room that can be used all-year-round needs power. From lights to plug sockets for equipment, it is possible to connect to the mains supply in the main property. However, there is another way. The green credentials of the pod can be enhanced with off-grid solutions for power and water supplies, including solar and rain harvesting.
You may like a striking focal point, but if you prefer to blend your garden building into its surroundings, adding a green roof or vertical planting will do the trick. A green roof can offer added insulation and either option will increase biodiversity.
The Shabby Shack Garden Building
The Shabby Shack is a prime example of an eco-cabin. The client brief was to construct a bespoke, dual-purpose building to accommodate both a man-cave tool shed and a lady-lair art studio. Environmental solutions were important to this client.
The Shabby Shack is crafted from timber and light floods through reclaimed sash windows and a glazed door. The garden sanctuary is topped by a reclaimed tin roof. For this garden building, Handmade Hideaways installed solar power and a rain harvesting system. The finishing touch was the shingle-effect cladding. This was created by carefully cutting old palettes to size.
Wiggington Park Play Equipment
A public project that used reclaimed wood is Wiggington Park, Hertfordshire. The village committee requested bright, fun play equipment that would appeal to children. The main wooden structure includes a unique reclaimed wood hut. From this point, bridges, beams, slides and cargo nets encourage movement, balance and imaginative play.
We have received plenty of positive feedback about Wiggington Park, including this review shared on The Family Ticket.
Garden Buildings Design and Build Service
As a Master Craftsman with experience in both design and site management, Evan Hamilton-Pike can oversee every stage of an eco-pod construction. He visits your site to discuss your requirements. He’ll assess the garden, advising on ways to maximise space, light and views. He’ll talk through sustainable means of construction and ways of generating power and answer questions you may have.
Following the site visit, Evan will work with you on design, considering both functional and aesthetic needs. With your approval the project management of your Handmade Hideaways build will begin.
The Handmade Hideaways team are considerate builders. They work efficiently and aim to minimise disruption. With an eye for detail, your structurally sound building will be completed to the highest levels of craftsmanship.
What are you waiting for? Tailored design and build services are just an email away, so contact [email protected] to arrange a site visit.
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