Benefits of a Garden Office
Here are some of the biggest benefits you can expect when you invest in a garden office from Tiger Sheds:
Enjoyable Extra Space
Perhaps the most obvious benefit is the extra indoor space that a garden office provides. While you might use it primarily as a workspace, you can also repurpose the room as a studio where you can work on your hobbies, or a quiet study to read in. You might even transform it into a home gym, or use it as an additional reception room to entertain friends during garden parties.
Better Work-life Balance
Since the widespread transition to hybrid and remote working, many people struggle to separate their home and work lives. A garden office means you don’t have to work in your lounge, the spare room, or at the kitchen table, and as you’re physically leaving the house to work, you won’t begin to associate those spaces with your job either.
Adding Value to Your Home
Our estimates indicate that the addition of log cabin offices can add 5-8% to the value of your property. They’re also likely to up the kerb appeal of your home, if you’re putting it on the market, as the extra space will surely prove a desirable asset to potential buyers – especially bigger families.
Cost-effective Solution
When it comes to adding further space to your property, a garden office building is far cheaper than a conservatory or an extension. With the right thickness of cladding and quality materials, an insulated garden office can be comfortably used all the way through the year, so they’re just as versatile as a ground floor extension too.
Environmentally Friendly Option
Built from high-grade Nordic softwood, our garden office sheds are also a more environmentally friendly choice than extensions or conservatories – which typically involve the use of concrete or a lot of uPVC. We’re proud to be an FSC-certified manufacturer, and source most of our timber directly from sawmills in Scandinavia and across Europe.
Choosing a Garden Office Building
With so many shapes, styles and sizes to choose from, figuring our which garden office best suits your property can be difficult. Depending on your budget, your options vary from compact garden sheds to luxurious summer houses – but the three main categories of garden office are as follows:
Garden Studios
If you’re looking for a generous space you can use as an office year-round, a garden studio is the perfect model. These larger builds tend to have thicker, 44mm cladding to make them more robust, and require proper insulation that’ll help to keep you warm in winter too. You also have more window options with a garden studio, like traditional sash windows or modern full-pane glazing.
Garden Office Pods
Ideal for smaller outdoor areas, small garden office pods still provide a valuable additional room, without dominating the space – and they tend to be more affordable too. While suitable for use as an office or studio, they can also be repurposed as a cosy den for the kids, or just somewhere convenient to keep your garden furniture under cover during the colder months.
Summer House Office
By contrast, our summer house offices provide a more versatile space, that function just as well as an extra living room where you can catch up on your favourite shows, work on a craft or just relax. Available in a handful of different shapes and designs – like our corner builds, or quirky octagonal summer houses – there’s something to suit every home’s aesthetic.
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Garden Building Planning Permission
One of the trickiest things to navigate when you’re purchasing an outdoor office is working out whether you’ll need planning permission to go ahead with your build. The good news is, many garden offices can be built without planning permission – but there are a number of criteria to adhere to. For instance, your build must:
- Not have more than one storey
- Not have eaves higher than 2.5m
- Not have a veranda or a balcony
- Not be on a raised platform over 30cm
- Not have be fitted with a microwave antenna
- Not function as a separate, self-contained living area (e.g. annexe flat)
There are also rules about the exact placement of your garden office; it can’t be in front of the house, and it has to be at least 2 metres away from any boundary if it’s over 2.5m tall, or 1m from any boundary if it’s smaller than that. Check out our guide to outbuilding planning permission to see the full list of criteria and restrictions.
Outdoor Office Considerations
There’s a lot to consider when it comes to setting up your perfect garden office, from décor and insulation to functional elements like lighting. For the latter, you might want to think about how much natural light your office is likely to get, based on where you’re planning to put it, and the windows you choose – then you can opt for additional overhead lighting or make do with lamps. Large windows will also help with the ventilation of your garden office, but if you want to prevent damp and improve airflow, you could also add wall vents, an electric fan or a wind-powered whirligig.
It’s vital that your garden office is equipped with an adequate Wi-Fi connection so you’re free to take calls and use the internet uninterrupted – which you can achieve most easily via a Wi-Fi extender that will boost your signal, or an ethernet cable. If you’re planning to keep your computer or any other valuable devices in your garden office overnight, you’ll also want to invest in proper security, like a reliable lock, and might also consider adding a security light, or even CCTV.
Lastly – if you think you may need a hand with the installation process – Tiger Sheds is pleased to offer an installation service for our log cabins, providing there’s already a firm and level base in place when our team arrives. Get in touch to find out whether this service is available in your area.