The best garden room ideas will see you enjoying a natural extension of your home, all without the hassle and costs of actually extending a house. Contemporary or classic style garden rooms will not only visually enhance your outdoor space but, they have endless practical perks too.
With transformative backyard ideas, you can create more separation from daily home routines, and add a little luxury – whether you want a small garden room hidden in an unused corner of the land, or a shepherd’s hut acting as your full-time office space – there are endless options. With modular rooms of all shapes, sizes, and specs to choose from, you’re sure to find a look that will suit your needs and budget too. Plus, it’s a great place to store all your best garden furniture!
Claire Hornby, Head of Creative at Barker and Stonehouse, says: ‘When decorating a garden room, it’s important to consider designing this space to act as a natural extension of the home. You’ll want to strike a balance between the indoors and outdoors, and I recommend keeping the color palette of this space similar to the interior of the home, but jazzing up the space with lots of beautiful greenery such as plants or foliage.’
1. Wanderlust with a boho escape nook
Let your free-spirited imagination run riot with a creative boho-inspired outbuilding, abundant with plants, mixed natural textures, tactile cushions galore, mix and match patterns, and not forgetting the macramé, of course! This is one of our favourite garden room ideas.
For an easy but impactful shed paint the walls, floor, ceiling, and exterior of your garden room in two contrasting shades. Add a hanging chair for the ultimate floating on-air experience. Hornby says: ‘Adding in throws and cushions will create a coziness to the garden room space come day and night. Finally, a selection of ambient lighting will really help set the mood, and allow the space to really feel like the perfect room to escape to.’
2. Create a games room to let off steam
Play games, relax, and host with the most, with an emporium of entertainment options, all under one roof.
Clark says: ‘Design a garden games room for entertaining yourself and your friends/ family. It’s your choice what games you want to feature in your games room – maybe a table tennis table, a darts board, or a Ms. Pac-Man machine as a blast from the past? Create a space to blow off steam and have some fun! You deserve it.’
3. Express your personality with a unique interior
Tap into the mood rooms trend and create a dedicated space to compartmentalise life and escape when the going gets tough.
Jeremy Yamaguchi, CEO, Lawn Love, says: ‘Design your garden room or summerhouse to be your own personal oasis. This may look different for each person, so think about what you consider to be an “oasis.” Maybe you love natural light and a bright open feeling because it makes you feel refreshed. Maybe you love the cozy nature of a hidden nook. Once you know what you want to get out of a garden room, and what would make you feel most happy and at peace, you can design a room that best creates that unique atmosphere.’
4. Rock out with a dedicated music studio
Just as the phrase out of sight, out of mind goes, with a garden room music studio, you can achieve out of sight, out of SOUND tranquility – result! Not that we don’t love hearing the same chords played over and over again, or that deafening beat of the drum kit that never wants to end…
And by getting creative in your backyard, you can free up precious space in your home for that walk-in wardrobe you’ve always wanted!
5. Find your namastay with a restful yoga space
What better place to reconnect with yourself and nature than in your very own garden room yoga studio? From dawn bird stretches to twilight flows, create a safe space and home gym in which to escape everyday stresses and worries whenever you need some time to breathe and restore…
As shown here, choose a calming neutral or mineral inspired palette (we adore the combo of fresh white and soothing mint), keep your space clutter-free, but welcome in sensory-boosting potted houseplants, the best home fragrance in the form of scented candles or incense, and tactile beanbags, as well as blankets, and the best yoga mats of course.
6. Go for Scandi style simplicity
For a textural addition rooted in nature, install a timber backyard room. Go pale and blonde with tongue and groove for a simple Scandi cabin style, or choose an oak frame garden room design that will weather with time and blend beautifully into the gardenscape.
Robin Antill, director, Leisure Buildings, says: ‘Choosing a garden room made of sustainable materials, such as wood, is a fantastic way to keep the color’s of your gardening room in sync with your outside surroundings, while also reducing your environmental impact.’
7. Unwind with movie magic
Create an experiential outdoor cinema with a projector and dive into seating galore! To transform your garden room into a boutique screening room as shown here, incorporate a statement wallpaper idea, and pop up a fun DIY neon sign. Get the corn popping, and invite around your crew for movie marathons. This is one of those garden room ideas everyone can enjoy.
8. Toast the most with a garden room bar
Celebrate clinks and cheers with a sundowner at the best backyard bar in town. A garden room bar idea is the perfect opportunity to create a fun and exciting bolthole, totally detached from the bustling home. Imagine firing up the latest and best gas BBQ on a sizzling afternoon, followed by cooling refreshers served at your very own bar nestled in nature… Just dreamy…
Clark says: ‘There are a few things to consider if you want to use your garden room as an outdoor bar. Where should you position the room? Make sure you’re within easy distance of the outdoor kitchen for those midnight munchies. How will I make my bar classy? Neon signs might be seen as outdated, but we don’t think so! They’re essential in bringing joy and happiness to the drinking space.’
9. Are you paying attention?
10. Use your garden room as a green therapy potting shed
If you’re a keen bean for everything green, how about utilising your garden room ideas as a place to potter about, potting-up plants and more until your heart’s content? Choose a design that benefits from plenty of natural light, for a greenhouse nod that’s good to grow, and treat yourself to a comfy chair, and perhaps a DIY coffee bar, for a combination garden room getaway. Blur the boundaries between outside-in with a vertical garden around the exterior of your garden room.
11. Add an artists cabin
Garden room ideas needn’t be practical – they can be fun and inspiring too. Ann Knonhelmer created the perfect artist’s hideaway for illustrating, which she would mainly do from home, with this cabin-like garden room. Note the surrounding planting and small kitchen garden also, which not only adds a lovely view from the inside but helps create more privacy too. This was purpose-built with help from an architect in the end after realizing that a lot of digging and hard work was going to be involved had Ann built this from scratch alone!
12. Make yours a kids play space
Proof that gardens for kids go further than hopscotch! As a mini extension of your home, what better way to use a smaller garden room than to house noisy little rascals and their playmates? This design from Green Retreats makes the perfect addition to smaller outdoor spaces that still could benefit from all the style and practical value that a garden room adds.
13. Add structure in small gardens
A great way to add impact and frame even small backyards is to keep your garden room central to surrounding raised garden borders. This will help create a refined and inviting structure outdoors. Having the outdoor table almost extending out from the garden room opening gives this fairly small space the perfect amount of drama.
14. Convert your garage into a luxury garden room retreat
Jane and Martin Peace replaced a dilapidated garage with a very jazzy garden room, complete with a sauna and garden bar. This was an ambitious project, but totally worth it. They chose a large standalone timber structure for a contained building complete with open-plan living space and its other luxe features.
15. Paint your garden room to match your deck
Amelia Wilson has a painted garden room, in blue, which makes it a seamless addition to the decked space.
Learn how to paint decking like a pro, and decorate the surrounding space with outdoor lounge chairs and plush accessories, to extend your garden room’s space further to create a cozy outdoor living area.
16. Line it with your garden’s walkway
When planning garden room ideas, it’s important to consider the path up to them from your house. To make your garden room even more accessible, line it with a gravel or other type of garden paths. Marrying both style and function again, this garden room has a sloping roof and extends from all sides. Plus, the wrap-around door and window set naturally enhance the look of this gorgeous structure.
17. Add concertina windows for zero distractions in a garden office
When you’re designing a garden office you need to think about how to make the best use of the space. It’s likely that you’ll need storage, a couple of shelves, and more to make your garden room inviting and functional on the inside, so one of the best garden room ideas is choosing concertina windows rather than floor-to-ceiling windows – a wise (and stylish) move. David Nossiter Architects created this modern garden room as a peaceful space for an author, so if you need to concentrate, this is the garden room for you!
18. Zone in a big garden room
If you’ve got the room, use it! Having a garden room large enough to zone an outdoor kitchen area, seating spot, and more, is the ultimate dream. And, as we know how unpredictable the weather can be, adding a BBQ is a fine way to make use of the shelter, while you’ll still get to enjoy an open plan and airy setting.
The clever Camargue Louvered Canopy by Garden House Design will be a joy to have in summer, and will still perform just as well in cooler months.
19. Go industrial chic with a converted shipping container
Like the industrial trend? Used in everything from extending a house to living room décor, industrial chic is defined by strong, graphic lines and the use of heavy-duty materials. The contrast against the green of the garden provides the perfect amount of drama to make this space really cool and inviting. And now there’s a way to bring some of that edgy style to your garden, with a garden room made from a converted shipping container.
20. Invest in a tailor-made outdoor kitchen
Garden room ideas don’t come much chicer than this! If you have a passion for feasting al fresco, push the barbecue aside and go for a full-on kitchen in the garden. Kitted out with a grill, fridge, and sink, it will be a godsend when the heavens cloud over. Install heating and it will get good use in the cooler months, too.
AR ‘Chic designed this garden room for a homeowner who is obsessed with Mediterranean cooking. Glazed panels open entirely, revealing a kitchen that doubles as a games room, reading room, or office.
published by Real Homes
