The way UK entrepreneurs approach their businesses has shifted over the years.
While the conventional method involves running business activities from rented offices, modern UK businesses now operate from home. This is thanks to garden rooms.
With dedicated backyard business hubs like garden rooms, small-business owners and professionals can cut expenses on commuting to the city centre to run their business activities or work on professional projects.
As a freelancer, creative professional, or small business owner, tapping into the potential of a garden room allows you to operate from your backyard without sacrificing comfort.
Here are key insights into how garden rooms are shifting the work-from-home culture in the Brits:
From Backyard to Business Hub: The Rise of Garden Rooms for Entrepreneurs
UK homeowners are beginning to see the full worth of their gardens. From what used to be known as summerhouses, garden rooms are becoming popular mini-entrepreneur hubs.
With well-designed garden rooms, freelancers can convert their garden spaces into a hub where they can work on projects. For example, a professional content writer who converts his garden room into a professional client-facing office can benefit from utilising this space.
Working with a professional garden room supplier, a garden room can be equipped with soundproofing to achieve a quiet space where meeting with clients without disturbance is possible. This setup helps with cutting overhead costs.
The reason for the huge adoption is not far-fetched: garden rooms remove the need for commuting to the city while providing privacy. Running businesses from garden rooms, UK business owners or freelancers can separate work life from home life without leaving home. Plus, since garden rooms are close to nature, they improve mental health.
Designing a Productive Garden Office for Business or Creative Work
Creating a productive backyard workspace that works for your business requires careful consideration.
Here are a few areas to pay attention to when designing your backyard business office:
1. Layout
While your business needs determine what goes into designing your mini office, a comfortable seating arrangement is crucial to the functionality of your space. Bring in a compact desk and an ergonomic chair to sit comfortably.
2. Lighting
Garden offices are designed with large windows for natural light, which you can optimise with skylights. However, natural light is not enough to brighten your backyard workspace. Consider adding LED lamps to your setup to brighten up your space and avoid straining your eyes, especially when working at night.
3. Technology
One beauty of garden rooms is that they can accommodate technology, and which technology features to add to your space depends on your priorities. Regardless, you need electricity to power your appliances and Wi-Fi for seamless connection.
4. Storage
Storage units optimise the functionality of your space. Consider wall-mounted shelves or cabinets to organise your items and de-clutter your space.
Creative Industries Thriving with Garden Rooms
Thanks to the versatility of garden rooms, they can accommodate diverse business needs. While they can be transformed into art studios, music producers find value in the cosiness of the backyard mini offices as content creators contribute to their growing popularity in the UK.
For example, a music producer can design their garden room for music production by soundproofing it, ensuring they can produce music without external noise. Plus, soundproofing a garden studio prevents music sounds from disturbing neighbours.
Other adopters of garden rooms include YouTubers, bloggers, and podcasters, while content creators are not left out.
Regardless of the industry, garden rooms offer huge financial benefits. Working from a backyard office eliminates the need for renting an expensive studio, which can cost up to £2,000 per month, especially in urban areas.
Similarly, since a garden office means you are working from home, it eliminates commuting costs and time, meaning more money in your pocket and more time to do more work. You can divert these saved resources into growing your venture.
Making It Practical Year-Round
The UK weather is unpredictable and can be harsh, which makes working outdoors challenging. However, with adequate consideration of the cosiness of your backyard workspace, you can use your garden room year-round.
Although garden rooms are built with SIPs (structural insulated panels) that keep the spaces comfortable all year, it is also important to consider other comfort enhancement features.
Features like double-glazed windows and weatherproof cladding help reduce heat gain and loss in your office. Mini business owners also invest in electric heaters and under-floor heating systems to maximise comfort in their backyard workspace.
Choosing the Right Garden Room for Your Business or Hobby
Choosing the right garden room for your business ensures you get the best return on investment from your garden room.
Here are a few factors to get you started:
1. Purpose
The most crucial factor to consider when picking a garden office is the purpose of the office, which depends on the nature of your business or hobby. Do you need your space to produce music, make content, or write stories? The answer to this question determines the right features for your garden room. For example, soundproofing is non-negotiable if you make music from your mini studio.
2. Size
Garden spaces are in different sizes, and your garden size is a major determinant. While a compact garden room with modular furniture can blend well into a small garden space without dominating the garden, a large garden can sit in a larger garden room seamlessly.
3. Prefabricated or Bespoke
Whether you should go for a fabricated or bespoke garden office model depends on your budget and preferred features. A prefabricated garden office is pre-assembled in the manufacturer’s workshop and only needs to be moved to your garden with the necessary touches completed in a couple of days. Hence, it is a cheaper option, and you can start using your office after a few days of installation.
Conversely, a bespoke garden office is built from scratch on your property, and you need to wait for several weeks for the manufacturer to complete the construction. Hence, it is a more expensive and time-consuming option. However, a bespoke garden room offers the benefit of customisation, meaning you can customise your unit to suit your business or hobby needs.
Conclusion: Turning Outdoor Space into Opportunity
Garden rooms are not trending for no reason in the UK. Their versatility in blending into diverse business needs has earned them a place in the hearts of British mini-business owners. They are also admired for their ability to separate work life from family life to boost productivity.
Business owners and professionals who need dedicated backyard spaces to run their business or hobby from home are switching to garden rooms, and the trend will continue to grow.
Whether you are a professional freelancer or a mini entrepreneur, consider investing in a garden room to cut overhead costs and commuting time.
