Transforming an outdoor space with a dedicated garden room is an increasingly popular way to add valuable living space to your property. In addition, it also adds to a property’s appeal, creating a personal sanctuary.

A garden room is far more than just a shed. It offers a versatile space, from a quiet home office or a vibrant creative studio to a bustling family games room or a serene reading nook.

Natalie Mitchell has created a guide to the essential considerations that you’ll need to take, from the initial design choices and structural foundations to the exciting possibilities of creating a functional garden room.

Building a functional garden room is not a quick or easy job. There are a lot of things that need to be considered when planning a build of this type.

The location of a garden room is important. The position needs to be considered as it will be almost impossible to move the garden room once it's been built. Aspects such as the weather should be considered. The space where the garden room goes should also be as level as possible.

While most garden rooms are built with wood and timber, other types of garden rooms can be built, such as a plastic garden room or metal garden room.

The first step that needs to completed before starting to build a garden room is to lay the foundations upon which the garden room will sit. Using a concrete base, this will offer maximum durability. On the other hand, if looking for flexibility, a slab base is much easier to move around.

Next, create a building plan. Those wanting a garden room should create a plan on paper for how they want their garden room to look so that they have a basic outline of which to work.

After that comes the roof, and there are a few options. For a small budget, a tin roof may be the best and cheapest option for you. On the other hand, a shingled roof will give the garden room a more sophisticated look.

Once the skeleton and roof are complete, flooring and polishes need to be added. Polish and paint the flooring as desired and wait for it to dry before moving onto the next step.

The final step is to add in the walls, windows, and doors. Begin by inputting the walls, remembering to leave room for the windows and doors to be installed. If building the walls from wood, make sure they are sanded down nicely so there are no sharp edges.

Garden rooms can add 10-15 per cent to the value of your house. They provide extra living space that can be adapted to a variety of functions, which is an appealing selling point. With many people working from home or in hybrid jobs, a garden room is the perfect home office, away from the noise and distractions of the house.