Garden offices get more popular in the UK by the day for some good reasons.

• Starting a business from a place that you already own, or you are already paying for removes a lot of the financial burden from the new business. Especially the start-up phases are often accompanied by financial hardships or the need to take a loan to cover the costs before the money starts flowing in. A garden office will be a relatively small one-time investment and will spare you the monthly bill for the rent of business premises if you have the option to erect it on your own ground, or on a place that you have already rented.

• It can be advisable to separate the spaces for private life and business to be able to create the right working environment where you can concentrate fully on the job. Family life and everyday life at the main house can be quite distracting.

• Garden offices also give you the possibility to employ staff. The larger models have enough space to easily set up up to 10 working stations. Many would not want to have their staff constantly roaming around in their private rooms.

• Another advantage is that a garden office can easily represent your company because it looks neat and proper, and you can also welcome business partners or customers there.

• A newly erected garden office will give you the chance to furnish and set up the working environment to your own business style without interfering with the style at your home.

• Working in the lush, green environment of your own garden will provide a positive working environment. It gives you tranquillity, focus, and boost creativity. It will blur the artificial borders between free time and work time and integrate your work into your life. You will work autonomously.

A modern garden office is made from wood, can be insulated additionally, has an interior full of natural light, and is sturdy and durable enough to last for many decades. There are many different styles, sizes and floor plans to choose from. A garden office with a single workstation can be as small as 10m2 or 25m2 if you want to receive customers there. Buildings of 40 to 60m2 for setting up multiple workstations are offered as well.

Professionally pre-fabricated sets can be ordered via the internet, delivered in flat pieces that you can even carry through your home if your garden has no own access from the street, and you can assemble the kit yourself or better with two persons in one or two days.

Of course assembly by professional builders is also offered for a surcharge.

The same is true for the necessary infrastructure:You will probably need electricity there. It would probably be a good idea to have that installed by a professional electrician. The line could even go underground if the distance to the main house is not too far so that the optics and the atmosphere of your garden won’t be changed by it.

A telephone-line or Wi-Fi can both be extended from the house. If your garden office is far from the house, you can buy booster units to enhance the signal of the wireless router. Access to water or even a toilet or a shower are options, too. A hot water boiler can provide tea and a fridge contains snacks for the breaks on the sofa with a view of the garden.

There are different possibilities for heating. You can find a comprehensive guide on heating your garden office here. If you want to impress your visitors with an open fire, make sure to comply with the current fire regulations. You will probably need to have a fire extinguisher there.

If you have just a small space in your garden, or if you live in a conservation area, you might have to seek planning permission. However, many garden offices have roof heights below 2,5 m, and are designed to evade planning permission.

Our garden offices are sturdily built from long-lasting northern spruce with proper doors and locks. Insurance companies will usually include them on your domestic insurance policy. Of course, that doesn’t mean that you cannot take some steps of your own to improve the security of your garden office.

On the downside: If you decide to work from your own garden office in the future, you will need the necessary discipline to get to work every day by walking through your garden after a relaxed breakfast without any time pressure. No boss will watch over you and discipline you if you take an unscheduled break on the sofa. You might find yourself walking to your office in the middle of the night because you just happened to have an excellent idea for your business. You might even discover that you work much better in the peaceful nighttime and sleep the days away instead. You need to be ready for freedom and creative ideas! If you are not, it might be better to skip any plans for an own garden office and continue working from a regular, regulated working place.