Family Garden Room with Hidden Store

As families grow, having enough space for everyone can be a real concern. Older children will naturally desire more privacy and personal space and likewise, adults often need a place to relax and concentrate; the addition of a Garden Room can fulfil all these requirements providing extra, versatile space for everyone. This building is in a garden tucked away in a quiet cul-de-sac in West Sussex. The brief was to create an additional living room that offers versatility to be able to be used as a relaxing space, a workspace, an occasional spare room and a communal area engaging more of the garden to the whole family.

As is often the case, the building was designed to maximise the available space in the garden and as such it follows the contours of the garden rather than being a standard rectangle. Clad in Canadian red cedar with anthracite grey doors and windows it delivers a striking, contemporary statement and focal point that encourages you in. The right hand section of the building is a store room, which you would barely notice as the door has been hand made and runs seamlessly within the front wall. The space inside is substantial and capable of housing garden furniture, tools and bikes with plenty of room for more.

The main room is finished to a very high standard. Fully insulated and comfortable to use year round, it also has fantastic soundproofing qualities so you can be sure not to disturb neighbours or indeed be distracted by noise from outside. It is plastered and decorated throughout with a hardy, bathroom-grade laminate floor. Provision was made when running all electrical cabling to have a television mounted high on one wall and low-energy LED lighting was installed both inside and out.