Work, Rest & Play Garden Rooms
Published: 2 August 2023
Reading Time: 3 minutes 10 seconds
Executive Garden Rooms' clients in Poole, Dorset, presented them with a unique brief: to create two garden room buildings situated about 25m apart in a woodland setting. The larger of the two buildings was to be divided into two rooms, each with its own external access. These buildings were to serve as a home office, gym, and a quiet space for reading and relaxing.
Although two separate buildings were requested, they share an aesthetic style chosen to blend with the woodland setting. When designing a garden room for such a setting, extra preparations and considerations are necessary to protect the trees during the construction process. Fortunately, Executive Garden Rooms has extensive experience incorporating such measures into the turnkey service they offer their clients.
The team at Executive Garden Rooms completed the two buildings within an impressive five-week on-site timeframe.
Home Gym and Office Space
The larger of the two buildings occupies a footprint of 7.4m x 4.4m. A partition wall divides this space into two rooms. The larger room is designed as a home gym, installed on a reinforced, insulated concrete slab built by Executive Garden Rooms. This slab is the perfect base for a gym as it evenly distributes the weight of the gym equipment.
As evident from the photos, specialist rubber gym flooring has been installed. These rubber mats are ideal for a garden gym due to their resistance to impact and non-slip surface.
Both the office and the gym have their own external access through doors within corner glazing configurations. In the gym, this configuration includes opening windows, allowing the owners to ventilate the gym as they work out.
Adjacent to this, a professional workspace has been set up. Thanks to a hard-wired internet connection from the main house, the owner can connect with anywhere in the world from this tranquil setting.
In addition to the corner door and window configuration, the office also features a section of floor-to-ceiling glazing that frames a woodland view.
Both rooms mirror the finish of a room in a house, with plastered and decorated walls and ceilings, as well as flush electrical fittings. As the photos show, this finish, combined with the corner glazing, creates two light-filled, modern spaces.
A Cosy Garden Room Retreat
The second garden room, with a footprint of 3.4m x 2.9m, is designed as a quiet retreat for reading and relaxing. Thanks to Executive Garden Rooms' highly insulated, multi-layer structures, the owners can enjoy spending time in this sitting room year-round, watching the woodland change with the seasons.
Arboricultural Assessment
As is the case with all projects built within a woodland area, an arboricultural assessment was required to provide an Arboricultural Method Statement. Executive Garden Rooms provided step-by-step instructions in this document, outlining the necessary tree works and tree protection measures to be implemented during construction.
Executive Garden Rooms efficiently handle tasks like this as part of their turnkey service.
Black Exterior Finishes
The clients opted for black finishes for the exterior of their garden rooms. As can be seen, this was a smart choice as it helps the buildings blend into the woodland landscape.
Black Cedral cladding was selected for the walls. Cedral is a cement fibre board cladding that is resistant to rot and fungal attack. It is dimensionally stable and fireproof. The colour is applied during the manufacturing process, eliminating the need for repainting to maintain its appearance.
The Cedral has been paired with black uPVC door and window frames, ensuring long-term, maintenance-free use of the garden rooms.
Well-Specified Electrical Package
Executive Garden Rooms offer a well-specified electrical package as standard, which can be tailored to fit the intended use of the building. In this case, the package includes plenty of double power sockets, an external power socket, external security lights, LED downlights, Cat6 data points, a security alarm, a TV point, and heating and smoke alarms.
As part of their turnkey service, Executive Garden Rooms completed the electrical connection between the garden rooms and the main house, leaving their clients with three ready-to-use rooms.
Customer comments
Our two garden rooms in our woodlands are now finished and they have surpassed our high expectations. There was no slippage in start and finish date even with adding a smaller garden room into the equation by us at the last minute. The quality of the materials and workmanship are faultless. The thought and attention to detail are superb. We really are pleased and have no hesitation in recommending to the highest level.
J Martin, Poole, Dorset
Learn More
Executive Garden Rooms are based in Dorset and focus their work in the southern part of England. To learn more about their work, explore their website or chat with the team on 01202 874 766 or via email at info@executivegardenrooms.co.uk.
