Garden Rooms and Studios – The Practicalities

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People seem to be considering working from home because it is not as cost-effective working from their salons on the high street, social distancing has caused issues with having not enough customers in any one time or chairs not being filled in at any one point in time and parents are wanting to promote the skills that their sons or daughters seem to have and home would be a good place to start. 

While the garden or home has always been a useful space for people to work from,  these are the things you really should consider first:

• Business Rates (ensure you have told your local council of the activities). The .GOV website gives plenty of information on how to go about this.
• Getting Business Insurance for working at home
• Health and Safety
• Checking with your mortgage provider or landlord

Once you have checked over all this and are sure that it is ok for you to work from home, you will want to decide on whether you want to work from inside of your home or consider an outbuilding. Both will require consent from the council in the form of planning or building control. 

Here are some key pointers which all tie in with each other towards helping you make your mind up about how you plan to work:

• Do you want customers inside of your home? This can put pressure on families but equally if set up correctly; there can be a distinct separation between personal and work life.
• How much space do you have in the garden – this may dictate whether you allocate space from inside your home or garage?
• If your customers commute to you via car are there parking facilities nearby? Will customers using these facilities adversely disrupt facilities for neighbours?
• Does the space you have allow you to have the number of customers and staff to make your business plan work? 

There is a whole variety of prebuilt sheds and structures available on the market. These products can have some great advantages but also disadvantages depending on what you go for. I would highly recommend exploring alternatives depending on the size and shape of the garden you have; I would suggest a structure which offers 

• Excellent thermal properties. This will keep the cost of running heating minimal
• Something attractive which can bring in a lot of light
• A structure which looks aesthetically pleasing to look at externally
• A place which you enjoy coming into
• A place which you may have had a lot of input in creating
• Cost effective

Materials which are easy to maintain and have a high durability to seasonal variations

Considerations

• Have you considered how the structure will be maintained if it is stuck right up against the boundary wall?
• Will your customers be comfortable?
• Does it have all the services to meet legal requirements
• Does the off-the-shelf product give you the layout you need inside to maximise your service. A good example is: will the window positions on an off-the-shelf product prevent you from positioning your seating or arranging furniture. 
• Will you be able to provide privacy?
• Will you be able to wall mount heavy items?
• Will liquid or chemical spillages damage/void the warranty of the structure? 

If you are considering an outbuilding or change of use where customers will visit individually or in groups I would recommend planning submission so that the local authority knows and understands the activities on your land and you have one of part of the other associated documents to ensure your business is compliant. 

I would strongly recommend you engage an architectural designer, architect or planning consultant to assist you with this journey to ensure you get the best out of your future venture. Some of the many things you will get help in are:

• Ideas on the re-configuration of your home to create the space you need to carry out your services.
• Designing a structure adapted to the shape and size of the garden
• Assisting with the change of use of garage spaces
• Presenting you with options of what the structure could look like
• Submitting applications to your local council

Sanjay Kanadia

www.spillways.co.uk