Additional Family Living Space Garden Room in Long Eaton
Additional Family Living Space with a Private Garden Retreat
Our clients wanted to create valuable additional living space for family life while also making their garden feel more private and inviting.
Rather than treating the garden room as a standalone building, we designed the whole project around the relationship between the house, garden and new room. The result is a contemporary, fully finished family space connected to the house by an extensive area of composite decking.
The positioning of the garden room, together with its covered veranda and feature wall, helps create a more enclosed and private-feeling garden without sacrificing natural light or the sense of openness.
The brief
The family needed more room to relax and spend time together, but did not want the disruption or expense of extending their home.
Their new garden room needed to feel like a genuine additional living room rather than a traditional garden building. It also needed to complement the existing house, connect naturally with the garden and provide a comfortable space that could be enjoyed throughout the year.
Privacy was another important consideration. The layout was therefore designed to create a more sheltered garden environment, with the veranda and building helping to screen the outdoor seating area.
A garden room designed around family life
The main garden room measures 6m wide by 3.5m deep, providing ample space for a large corner sofa, a television and additional seating.
A 3m-wide covered veranda was incorporated at one end of the building, creating a sheltered outdoor area that extends the usable living space beyond the internal room.
The veranda features a contemporary black feature wall and matching black soffit. This creates a striking contrast with the natural cedar cladding while also making the seating area feel more intimate and protected.
Grey composite decking was installed beneath the veranda, across the front of the garden room and through the wider garden. This provides a practical, low-maintenance connection between the house and the new building and helps the whole scheme feel like one carefully considered space.
Corner glazing and garden views
Two anthracite grey sliding doors meet at the corner of the building, opening up the main living space to views across the garden.
The corner glazing allows natural light to enter from two directions and gives the room an open, spacious feel. When the doors are open, the internal living room, veranda and garden flow naturally into one another.
An additional anthracite grey window provides further light and ventilation while maintaining privacy on the more enclosed side of the building.
A fully finished interior
Inside, the walls and ceiling were fully plastered, painted and completed with painted skirting boards, giving the garden room the same quality of finish expected inside a home.
A contemporary light-grey rigid-core floor with built-in underlay was chosen to provide a durable, comfortable and easy-to-maintain surface.
Recessed ceiling spotlights provide bright, even illumination, while a dimmer allows the family to create a softer atmosphere in the evenings. Multiple electrical sockets were installed around the room to accommodate the television, sound system and everyday family use.
The finished room now provides a calm, comfortable setting for watching films, relaxing together and entertaining friends and family.
Contemporary external finishes
Natural cedar was used across the front and visible side of the garden room, bringing warmth and character to the design. The less prominent elevations were finished in black horizontal Marley Board. Combining the two materials created the appearance the clients wanted while providing a practical solution across the building.
Anthracite grey doors, windows, fascias and external lighting complete the contemporary design and tie the cedar and black finishes together.
The finished result
This project created much more than an additional room. The garden room has given the family a spacious new living area that feels separate from the main house while remaining closely connected to it. The veranda provides a sheltered place to sit outdoors, while the building and decking layout have helped turn the garden into a more private and cohesive family space.
It is a great example of how a bespoke garden room can increase usable living space, enhance the garden, and change the way a family enjoys their home.
