How to create the perfect home office

Rural property has been massively in demand over the past three years. Post-Covid, people who moved to the country for the first time have learnt to embrace rural ways of living, from online shopping to a weekly commute.

To facilitate this, and enable a good work-life balance, we have seen more home offices being created than ever before.

When weighing up the type of home office that will be most convenient, many people would choose to build a garden office rather than extending their home or converting a bedroom for use as a home office on a semipermanent basis.

It is often possible to achieve a good quality garden office for a relatively modest budget, with a huge range of options and finishes available.

The key criteria to consider are: good insulation for year-round use and a suitably fast internet connection (linked to the domestic Wi-Fi network).

With a new build garden office it is often possible to connect it to a ground source heat pump, or an airsource heat pump if desired. The quality of the walls, base and roof will determine the efficacy of the insulation and a good quality structure will ultimately help ensure it is sufficiently warm in the winter and cool in the summer.

Future proofing is the other key criteria to consider. Depending on your family situation currently, do you want to plan ahead to create a multi-purpose space for teenagers to socialize in, or are you looking to also create an occasional bedroom for visiting family and friends?

A properly constructed garden room will add value to your home, equal to or greater than the cost of construction and is likely to be popular with purchasers.

As a new building, the process of securing planning permission is likely to be relatively straightforward as you wouldn’t have to contend with ecology surveys or significant environmental issues such as bats discovered roosting in an outbuilding or attic!

In most cases garden offices in your own grounds will not require planning permission, under regulations governing permitted development, but this is not always the case. The exceptions would include if your home is in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, a National Park or a Special Area of Conservation.

The style and finish of such a building is likely to be in keeping with your property – either a rural, weathered, more rustic style, or perhaps a contemporary building for those living in a town.

The other benefit of a garden office is the potential to combine it with another purpose, such as the creation of a garage, a workshop, or a home gym.

Some people may consider that ultimately they would like to create an additional dwelling in the grounds of their home and the footprint of the garden office is perhaps a template for this future property, subject to all necessary planning consents. If this is the long-term goal, the investment in a standalone garden office would become very worthwhile. n

Sam Gibson 07769 687 978 sam.gibson@galbraithgroup.com