Not so long ago, a garden office looked kinda like a shack or a converted garden shed. Nowadays however they are much more than this. You can get some very snazzy garden offices with full insultation, proper lighting and even some with solar panels! Things really have come on a lot.. is it a good idea for working from home though?

Last spring I spent some time looking around at garden offices for myself. I had run out of space in the house as I had just started running a shop selling t-shirts. I needed somewhere where I could setup ‘T-shirt HQ’ to make the t-shirts and process the orders. I came across some excellent garden office designs and I would like to share a few findings with you!

If, like me, this sort of thing is on a budget, check out the low-end offices here…

Budget Garden Offices

Above images are from the Garden Retreats range - http://www.gardenretreats.co.uk

Mid to High End Garden Offices

All above images are from the Garden Lodges range - http://www.gardenlodges.co.uk

Above images are from the Garden Escape range - http://www.thegardenescape.co.uk

The legality

In most cases, you will not need planning permission. You should always consult your council’s planning office for clarification but the general rules (for the UK) are:

• The garden building / office is not in the grounds of a listed building or in a conservation area
• The building is not within 5m of your house
• Garden buildings greater than 15 sq metres should be sited at least 1 metre from any boundary
• Garden buildings over 30 sq metres may require planning permission.
• The garden office / building should be in your back garden
• The height of the roof ridge does not exceed 4m at the highest point in your garden
• The footprint of the garden building does not cover more than 50% of your grounds
• The garden building must be used by the occupants of the main house