Garden rooms that are better than your house (copy)
Stylish outbuildings with serious wow-factor
Is home sweet home starting to feel like a tight squeeze? If you want to add more space and value to your home without the hassle of an extension, a garden room could be the perfect solution. Whether you fancy a home office hut, an art studio cabin or a stylish guest annexe, these gorgeous outbuildings will have you heading for the garden.
Splash out on a pool house
For those lucky enough to have a swimming pool to cool off in during the summer heat, a pool house is the perfect accompaniment to a luxury backyard. This quaint design features black cladding and sunny light wood doors, while the gabled awning offers a sheltered spot for a Jacuzzi. Grab the sunscreen and you're good to go!
Pitch up a shepherd's hut
Give your garden an instant injection of charm with a quaint shepherd's hut. Built to withstand the elements, this delightful dwelling on wheels can be customised to suit your needs – be it a guest room, home office or even a playroom for little ones. With a timeless design, this whimsical garden retreat is sure to be a hit across the generations.
Create a guest room in the garden
Whether you need an extra bedroom for your growing family or simply a private space to accommodate guests, a modular outdoor annexe like this is ideal, and what's more, it can be delivered as a unit and simply slotted into place. This modern design comes complete with a kitchen, bathroom, living room and bedroom. Talk about slumbering in style!
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Pick out a picture-perfect summerhouse
Channel an English cottage garden and invest in a quaint gazebo summerhouse for a snug space to relax outside. This stylish classic with built-in seating looks picturesque with cornflower blue paintwork and matching upholstery. A slate-effect roof adds a final flourish of vintage charm.
Elevate your ideas with a treehouse
Treetop hideaways aren't just for the kids – this amazing space perched up in the canopy is a cute single-room guest house. Inside, there's just enough space for a bedroom and kitchen, while a tiny balcony outside offers the perfect vantage point to take in the landscape. If your garden is lucky enough to have a few old trees, it might be the ideal opportunity to elevate your outdoor space.
Upcycle a vintage caravan
You don't need a huge budget to get yourself a garden room with real wow-factor. This second-hand mobile home was bought by interior designer Jane Ashton on eBay for £250. With a lot of elbow grease, it's been transformed into a boho caravan, adorned with Sian Zeng's gorgeous Summer Tropical Bloom wallpaper.
Ollie Hammick / Amos Goldreich Architecture
Get creative with corrugated iron
An outbuilding can be a great way to add architectural interest to your outside scheme. This striking studio, designed by Amos Goldreich Architecture, spans the width of the garden and built with timber and corrugated metal which will weather over time. The textured cladding was chosen to mirror the industrial buildings in the surrounding area.
Install an assisted living annexe
Ideal for elderly relatives or those in need of extra care, Bauhu's Smart Care Pods offer specialist support without having to move away from the family home. The living spaces and wet room-style bathroom are completely wheelchair accessible, while an impressive smart home system works with voice activation and includes a carer interface where medical notes can be stored.
Go back in time with a vintage shed
Throwback to 1940s Britain with a practical Anderson-style shed that'll look right at home in traditional gardens. A classic shape with a tin roof that's reminiscent of the iconic air raid shelters, it's the perfect nostalgic outbuilding. You can even attach a water butt to the guttering – very apt for the waste-not-want-not era.
Embrace beach hut vibes
Another way to enhance the humble garden shed is to convert it into a cool coastal retreat. Beach huts are a seaside staple and will give your garden a touch of boardwalk style. Choose a structure with double doors and windows and paint the exterior a breezy oceanic blue. Inside, opt for cool white walls and plenty of natural textures.
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Cut the commute with a home office
Thanks to technology, remote working is becoming every more popular. Relocate your makeshift home office from the kitchen table into your own designated space in the garden. What could be better than a quick morning commute across the lawn into a calming light-filled cabin?
Get inspired by the seven seas
Add a nautical look to your garden with a bespoke outbuilding that takes design cues from a boat's hull. Overlap exposed wooden planks to create a quirky durable structure that's been used in boat building for centuries. Visually stunning, this charming hut is the perfect place to grab some peace and quiet.
Head west with a ranch-style cabin
Give your garden a pioneer theme with a quirky wild-west style shed. Not only does this wooden outbuilding have plenty of space to keep serious garden tools in check, but it also has a quaint covered veranda where you can admire your hard work at the end of the day. A rocking chair will complete the charming look.
Get creative in a garden art studio
Blur the boundaries between inside and out with a beautiful garden studio filled with lush greenery. A white backdrop and soft grey furniture will make the foliage pop and create a calming environment. A practical sink will keep paint brushes clean and a mini stove for tea breaks is a must.
Bring in a bold contrast
A garden shed or outdoor room is a perfect canvas to get creative with colour. From the outside, this shed is a rather sensible shade of black, but open the door and the contrasting orange and white walls create a vibrant and uplifting home office space.
Universal conainer homes via ebay
Repurpose a shipping container
Made of corrugated iron, a shipping container is certainly robust and makes an edgy alternative to traditional garden rooms. By simply replacing a side panel with bifolding glass doors, you can create an industrial-inspired space for kicking back and relaxing, indulging your hobbies or simply working in peace.
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Create a contemporary hideaway
Elevate modern garden schemes with a contemporary outdoor pavilion that embraces sleek modernist lines. Heavy-duty cladding combined with distinctive slatted panels allows plenty of light and air into the cosy hideaway, whilst offering a welcome shelter from the sun's rays in the heat of the summer.
Breathe new life into an old shed
Typically used as spaces to store garden tools, that dusty, weathered shed at the bottom of the garden has a whole lot more potential than you think. A coat of bright white paint can instantly transform a small space, while natural textures will create an appropriately organic feel. Add a flip-down table and upcyle an old wooden chair and you'll have yourself a restful, multipurpose hang out.
Warm up a white summerhouse
Paint the wooden cladding of your outbuilding a brilliant white to evoke Hamptons-style coastal charm. A wood-burning stove will create a cosy and inviting room that you can enjoy all year round, while potted trees in galvanised pots complete the sleek and sophisticated style.
Create a cosy country escape
For an outbuilding that oozes traditional charm, channel a modern country palette. The soft blue exterior, floral wallpaper and rustic wooden furnishings bring in a cottage-style feel with bags of character. A few hanging baskets will complete the idyllic look.
Enhance with sleek Scandi style
Add some personality to a lacklustre cabin by bringing in a calming Scandi scheme. Pair tonal shades of light grey with a few bold pops of colour and plenty of cosy textures. To avoid overwhelming the space, restrict bright shades to cushions and artwork.
Pop in a garden pod
Inject some futuristic fun into your garden with a contemporary garden pod. This eye-catching sphere turns 360 degrees so you can admire your outside space from all angles and soak up the best of the sun throughout the day. With a round table in the centre of the interior, you can even dine alfresco in this unique outbuilding.
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Get edgy with a glass corner cabin
Create a space where you can really appreciate your garden by fitting swathes of windows across adjacent walls of an outbuilding. This restful spot features sage green walls, a mid-century modern mahogany sideboard and a discreet wall-mounted TV.
Chill out in a perspex igloo
Offering 360-degree views, this transparent dome makes a super-cool outdoor spot to take in the scenery on a sunny day. The dome cleverly retains heat if the temperature takes a tumble or self-ventilates if the space gets too warm, so you're guaranteed a comfortable hangout all year round.
Join your own garden gym
Instead of splashing out cash on a costly gym pass every month, why not create your own work out space in the comfort of your own home? Install floor-to-ceiling mirrors along the back wall of your garden room and fit interlocking rubber tiles on the floor, then simply add your equipment of choice!
Instagram / @debbies_house
Channel coastal charm
If you are lucky enough to own a pool house, keep the interior classic with a white scheme that conjures up coastal landscapes. Here, the pool table and seating snug are cleverly tied together with petrol blue accents. A white vaulted ceiling makes the room feel surprisingly spacious and airy.
Host happy hour at home
Perfect for a summer soiree, this alfresco bar is sure to be a big hit at garden gatherings. This design has a pull-down hatch so when the party season is over it can become a handy storage shed for the colder months.
Go green with an eco retreat
Embrace the great outdoors with a garden room made from natural recycled materials. Designed by architects Surman Weston, this ingenious study and craft space is clad in cork, which cleverly weatherproofs the structure, as well as providing acoustic and thermal insulation. Plus the textured effect of the facade looks pretty cool too!
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Create the ultimate playroom
Separate from the rest of your property, yet close enough to keep a watchful eye, a garden playroom offers the best of both worlds for young families. Simply decorate with a few colourful wall stickers and you'll have the perfect space for your little one's imagination to run wild.
Cuprinol Shed of the Year
Bring the bar outside
For those who love nothing more than a cold beer at the end of a long day, you don't get much more convenient than this – a pub in the garden. Built in a period of heavy rain by David Morris in Caerphilly, Wales, you'll never have to worry about bad weather ruining your drinks plans again!
Go rogue with a roundhouse
Ideal as a snug garden hideaway or even self-contained accommodation for visitors, this roundhouse offers a generous circular living space, plus a covered deck for soaking up the sun. If you're feeling brave or your home is in a particularly isolated spot, you could even set up an outdoor bathtub for the ultimate au naturel experience.
Cuprinol Shed of the Year
Set up a secluded garden getaway
Shrowded in vines and lush greenery, this garden oasis in the heart of London offers a peaceful place to relax and unwind away from the hustle and bustle. Named The Limes, the structure is built entirely from reclaimed wood and features a cosy wood-burning stove to brave the cold winter months.
Build a year-round barbecue hut
Manufactured by Arctic Cabins, these handy huts will weatherproof your barbeque plans for good! With space for up to 15 people inside, the ventilated cabin features a clever barbeque grill in the centre, surrounded by bench-style seating. Offering welcome shade in the summer, they're the perfect place for a cosy dinner party come winter too.
Create a modern concrete cabin
This next space is one for the architecture enthusiasts. Brutalist in style, this high-design outbuilding, created by architects Besonias Almeida, stretches 484 square feet and includes a stylish living room and adjoining bathroom. The raw exposed concrete adds a rustic, industrial edge, while swathes of glass wrap around the front of the uber-modern garden room, bathing the space in light.
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