A garden room is always useful

"If only I had one more room!" is something all of us have said at one time or another. Some of us might even feel that way every day. No matter how big the homes we have, they always seem to be just one room too small. A garden room is the perfect solution. If you buy one in a kit, you can have that extra space in no time, and even though the garden rooms are only 10-15 square metres (32.8-49 square feet) in size, there are lots of different styles and options. Most have an open floor plan, with just one large room, but you can have two rooms as well. Some have lots of large windows and others have almost no windows at all.

What you choose depends entirely on your needs. A workshop or sewing room needs light. If you want the garden room as a guest house, on the other hand, you might not want that shop window feeling, but you can always adjust the amount of light with large curtains. Maybe the garden room needs to fulfil several functions - guest house, workroom or storage for garden tools, outdoor furniture, car parts or fishing equipment. You might even not know in advance what you're going to use the garden room for, just that you really need the space.

In that case you can choose a versatile model that works for any purpose. Bear in mind that a well-looked after garden room will last for a hundred years. The needs you have now might not be the same forever, but you can be sure that you’ll always have a use for it.

Maybe the whole family has different thoughts about what the garden room should be used for. Sometimes those needs are the same (one person wants a carpentry workshop and the rest of the family wants to avoid hearing the never-ending banging and drilling every single night), but at other times there's constant squabbling over the space, so make sure you talk things through before buying one.

Before you choose a model, you should also think about how it will fit in with your house and other buildings on the plot. Many people picture the garden room as a small red house with white timber, and windows with separate panes, a bit like an old-fashioned cottage. It's an elegant and timeless style, but doesn't look good with a modern house with an aluminium facade and large panoramic windows.

Or maybe it does? It could be a nice contrast! Think about it carefully, because even if you get a garden room because you need space, it's a good idea to buy one that helps make your plot of land more beautiful. Once you've decided and the garden room is in place, the only regret you’ll have is: “Why didn't we do this before?"