Garden Office Week – Garden Affairs

How to design and realise your ideal garden office

Garden Affairs kicks off Garden Office Week with a look at the factors to take into account when planning your new workspace (click on the photo to see the full-size image):

If you’re considering a garden office, you probably don’t need persuading of its benefits. You’ve already got toppling piles of files encroaching on your living space. You’ve had enough of people interrupting you just “because you’re there”, or realising you’re still at work at 10pm “because it’s there”. You know it’s time to create a little separation between work and everything else.

At Garden Affairs we’ve helped many clients design and realise their ideal garden work room. What have their experiences taught us about choosing and using the right outdoor office?

This is a great opportunity to design your perfect workspace, so think carefully about what you need first. Is this a one-person creative nook or somewhere you’ll want to bring staff and visitors? Do you use special equipment dictating needs such as space, power supply or ventilation? Do you need lots of storage? A sink, loo or shower-room? And if you’re going places with your business, do you need to plan for more capacity than you need right away?

Of course, you need to work within the space you have. Don’t panic, clever garden office design means that even the smallest gardens can fit an office, but you need to suit its style and size to your space. An attractive timber garden building finished in your colour choice can enhance your garden, big or small, as well as helping you work.

Once you know what you need and what will fit, there’s no substitute for seeing the range of garden offices on offer. At Garden Affairs we supply every size, shape and look you can think of, many more you won’t have thought of, and we customise garden offices too.

The web is a great resource, but visiting a show site like ours in Wiltshire puts everything into real-life 3D perspective, and we can help refine your plans based on all the options on offer.

And what about the interior? A good supplier can advise on economical space heating and insulation to keep you snug, and it’s also important to get the lighting right. Craft workers often place working areas next to big windows; skylights throw a nice ambient light without screen glare, and doors can also include windows.

Think security too: we fit domestic-standard door and window locks to keep your office valuables safe.

Effective storage will keep you tidy and efficient, so talk through the options with your supplier too. We’ve installed bespoke equipment storage racks, ceiling-hung shelving and built-in computer workstations to maximise usable space. And if you’re sacrificing a shed for your garden office, we can often work in a separate garden storage cupboard too.

All very practical, but don’t forget the fun bit. Once you’ve got the basics right you can create a personal, comfortable, inspiring workspace you’ll want to be in. Whether your taste runs to kitsch vintage or pop art, personalise your domain. And don’t forget the best bit of all: the view. Sit down in your new garden office and enjoy.

Garden Offices from Garden Affairs

Leave a comment on this post and you could win a copy of Shedworking by Alex Johnson, the ‘complete guide to relocating a business to the end of the garden’.

Enjoyed this? Check out more expert Garden Office Week advice on building your own garden office.