Practical Guide to Building and Designing Your Own Garden Office Space

More and more people are working from home than ever! With the spread of coronavirus that has impacted workers on a global scale, there are many reasons for this change over the past couple of years. 

As a result, many people are choosing to build a designated office space to comfortably work from

If you don’t have any spare room or are craving a separate space for work, constructing an outbuilding in your garden is a great idea!

Here’s what you need to consider when building and designing your personal garden office space.

Plan Carefully

You can build your office in any flat area in your garden, but it's important to do so carefully and to think about the different factors before settling on a position.

Generally speaking, most home spaces provided by expert home office suppliers are exempt from the need to comply with planning permission.

Therefore, an outbuilding of this type won’t need planning permission from your local council, as long as you will only use less than 160 square feet of floor area and don't use it for sleeping! 

Another thing to think about, is how the office will look from your house. It's important that it's going to be in a position that is attractive to look at.

We also recommend avoiding placing the office in a location where it gets hit directly by sunlight. This is because it will be prone to getting very warm in the summer, which can certainly be distracting from work. 

Build It Using the Right Materials

Be careful when deciding and buying the materials you require to build your garden office as they affect the overall expense of the construction and if you're not using the space often, it could be considered a waste of money.

If you plan to use the garden office throughout the year, you'll need to consider installing insulation and thicker walls, thin walls will be regretted when it comes to the winter months. 

One of the most common options for this kind of outbuilding is to use timber along with cedar and pine. All of these types of wood are well-known choices thanks to their natural or effortlessly-treatable resistance to weather, rot, and UV damage.

Design Ideas

Below, we've provided some guidance to help you along with the designing of your office space and what to consider. 

The Interior of the Office

Of course, you want to design your office interior in a style that aligns with productivity. We're not encouraging you to paint motivational quotes everywhere, but it's always useful to think about the colours you're using and how they impact your mood, for example. 

We recommend keeping the space quite neutral with some splashes of yellow or red which are known to improve focus and be energy boosting. 

Lighting is another crucial aspect of interior office designing to consider. Where possible, have as many windows as possible in your garden office. Natural light flooding into the space will certainly help when it comes to work. 

Where windows can't be used, be sure to compensate with bright lighting fixtures. One of the worst things to do is end up with a dingy office and the only source of light being your screen! 

The Exterior of the Office

Now you have your interior office space planned, you'll want to think about the exterior and what to include! You're one step closer to having a beautiful space to work from home. 

We advise again taking the time to plan for the exterior design to be as attractive as possible.

Many people choose to highlight their office spaces as features of the garden itself. You can do this by adding a decked area with spotlights for example, or by painting the exterior of the building a lovely bold colour.

For those with larger gardens, providing an outdoor seating area with a bell tent outside the garden office can create a wonderful feature. 

And, the best part is - you can use the space for socialising and parties too!