This is a collaborative post: Garden outbuildings have become an incredibly popular addition to the home and with good reason. Outbuildings are an excellent and inexpensive way of adding extra space to your home. Extra space that doesn’t involve costly and time-consuming extensions or the need for planning permission. Yet extra space that can enhance and enrich the lives of all members of the family. What is more, outbuildings can be incredibly versatile and meet a variety of needs.
So if you are limited by space, finances or willingness but still want to reap the benefits that a garden outbuilding can provide here are some of the most popular and clever uses for a garden outbuilding and how it can improve your quality of life.
Home office
Following the rise of home working more and more people have been turning to their garden as a space to house their home office. With indoor space being a premium, bedrooms are all being used, spare rooms are doubling up as playrooms or walk-in wardrobes and communal areas provide little privacy or solitude, eyes turned outside. A home office in the garden provides an excellent alternative to working at the dining table. It is a space dedicated to work, a space that you can walk away from and shut off at the end of the day. And importantly, a space that is quiet and away from the hustle and bustle of the busy home. What is more, home working seems set to stay and the daily commute is replaced with a stroll across the garden path.
Home gym
The home gym is another feature that grew in popularity as the gyms were forced to shut down and people adapted their workout regime. Workout equipment became a premium during the lockdown periods as households scrambled to recreate their fitness plan from their homes. As a result, home workouts remain ever-popular and households are looking for ways to adapt their home to fit in their new equipment and workout space. This has seen outbuildings pop up and their interiors dedicated to a personalised fitness suite, all in the back garden.
Potting and planting
Another recreational pastime benefit of outbuildings is gardening. An outbuilding can provide many uses for the green-fingered owner over and above the traditional flowerbed or vegetable plot. It can be a place to escape the elements and plant and protect your blooms, a safe haven for your flowers and plants. A space of solitude and serenity where you indulge in your beloved hobby without interference. And importantly a space you can use all year round to provide limitless gardening. For the serious gardener consider opting for one of the more professional Cultivar Greenhouses, purpose built for your passion as opposed to redesigning the garden shed.
Built-in Bar
Yet another victim of the nationwide shutdown was the restaurant and bar trade. As the public was forced to stay home they became more and more inventive with ways to adapt to a new normal. The result is a good old British pub in the back garden. If you cannot go to the bar, then bring the bar to you. Garden bars now provide a great social setting when entertaining guests, they add an extra room to your home when hosting events and can be a great way to get people in the garden or away from the main rooms of the home. They are fun and inventive and can be personalised to suit you and your taste.
A children’s area
Perhaps you don’t have the interior space to dedicate a whole room to a children’s playroom or their bedroom space is limited. Perhaps you are fed up with Lego or lounging teens taking over the living room. Or perhaps only being able to use the garden as an extra space to play or chill half the year just isn’t enough. Whatever the reasons, dedicating your outbuilding to the children can be a move that benefits the whole family.
For older children, it can provide them with a bit of privacy and space. A space where they can take their friends without taking over the house. It can also give them a feeling of independence and help to nurture and promote maturity.
For younger children is a great way to provide them with a place to play, get the toys out and let their imagination run wild without the stress of mess and noise levels disturbing the rest of the household.
A hobby room
Whatever your hobby chances are you can really get the most out of it in your outbuilding. An outbuilding can provide the perfect space to create crafts, paint or just sit back and watch all of your favourite sports. You can create and adapt your outbuilding to meet the needs and demands of your hobby without encroaching on any of the communal areas in the home. Moreover, it can provide you with a space to develop your hobby and see it flourish into a side hustle that brings in a little extra side income too.
A place of work
It is not just office-based workers that are now working from home. There are many trades and professions that can operate from the comfort of their own home but may not have the space to do so. Alternatively, if your profession involves members of the public or visitors then you may not feel comfortable inviting them into your home and as such an outbuilding can provide the perfect solution. Utilising outbuildings such as beauty rooms, physiotherapy suites or personal training spaces are great examples of how you can adapt your home to become your new place of work, making your garden outbuilding a worthwhile investment.
A workshop
There was a time when the garage would double up as a workshop and house the tools and equipment needed for DIY projects. Yet as more and more houses extend into the garage or use the space to improve living areas of the home the tools and workbenches have been evicted. Yet if you are a lover of all things DIY and have an extensive collection of tools you will not only need somewhere to store but a place to put your hand to your projects. A garden building is a great option as it can provide you with ample space for your needs and ensure that all of your potentially dangerous tools are kept in a safe space away from the youngest members of the family. You can also add enhanced security measures to your outbuildings to ensure your expensive tools are safely out of sight from opportunist criminals.
The good old garden shed
Finally, one important usage of the trusty garden outbuilding is the humble garden shed. Finding storage solutions is not always easy and it may be that you are forced to look outside to find that extra space. The importance of a garden shed should not be underestimated, it can be used to house a variety of objects, from mowers to bikes to paddling pools. There really is no end to what you can store in your garden shed and if you can get creative with the layout and internal storage solutions you could turn your shed into an Aladdin’s cave of treasures that need a home. If nothing else then it provides a great space to keep the garden furniture out of the rain through the typically tumultuous British summertime.