These days, more and more people are starting to take care of their gardens because they’ve realised just how much space they have to work with. But instead of just making it a pretty place to relax in, homeowners and even renters are looking for ways to transform their garden into a more practical part of the home. Whether you’re looking to transform it into a party space for your guests or if you’re interested in making a garden office at some point, we’ve put together some tips to help you out.
Consider building a freestanding room in your garden
One of the best ways to make use of a large and empty part of your garden is to consider building a freestanding room. This is incredibly popular these days because more and more people are starting to work from home, meaning they need an isolated area away from the main house where they can focus. This is also a fantastic idea for increasing the amount of space in your home and gives you a room that you can personalise and turn into whatever you want. For instance, you might want to turn it into a movie room, you could turn it into a games room or you might want to upgrade your home gym by having it in a separate building.
With so many options for a freestanding room, you’ll be spoilt for choice on what you can do with it. However, it’s important to consider some of the challenges that come with building a freestanding room in your garden. For example, you may want to invest in garden room roof kits which are helpful for when it rains. Since the freestanding room is going to have a roof, water can pool on it unless you build a gutter to direct the water off and into a drain or a rain collector. In addition, you’ll have to think about how you’re going to get utilities in the room such as electricity and water. This will likely need additional assistance from a plumber and electrician, so this definitely isn’t a cheap option unless you don’t need any utilities.
Turning your garden into a living space
Ever wanted to spend more time outdoors? If so, then why not consider turning your garden into a living space? This is a fantastic option for people that live in locations that offer great weather all year around. It’s also the perfect idea for people that regularly invite their friends and family members over for parties and meetings. There are a couple of ways to approach this. For starters, we’d suggest starting with some high-quality garden furniture. Garden furniture is more than just plastic tables and chairs, and you can get some really high-quality pieces that are weather-resistant and very easy to clean. Even if it does rain, quality outdoor furniture is designed to be easy to clean and maintain.
As with designing any kind of living space, it’s important to look at the decor options you have available to you and also match colours and patterns so that it looks great. If you want to use furniture that you already have in your house, then it’s important to cover your patio or create a roofed area in your garden to protect the furniture from the elements. You’ll also want lighting, some small tables, and perhaps extra decorations such as vases and candles. With so many options available, this can be a fantastic project to get stuck into.
Creating more space for your children to play in
If you have kids at home then you’ll know just how much they love to roam around the garden and frolic. If this is the case, why not go an extra step further? You could keep it natural by designing obstacle courses and seating areas using tree stumps, or you can plan an area with play equipment such as climbing frames. You could even just keep a large open area maintained so that they have space to play sports. If you have a fairly large open area that’s away from the main house, then it can even be used as a place for camping. This is a great way to get your kids to explore the outdoors a bit more. This encourages more physical activity and gets them away from their computer screens and phones.
Don’t forget that you still need to take care of your garden
Even if you’re converting a lot of your garden space into something practical, that doesn’t mean that you can ignore your gardening responsibilities. For example, if you have a freestanding room in your garden, then you still need to keep your trees under control and trim them when possible because you don’t want branches and leaves all over the roof, and you also don’t want to give rodents and pests an easy way to get on top of it.
As such, maintaining your garden is still really important. Don’t neglect basic tasks and consider hiring a gardener if your space is a little too much to handle for one person. If you don’t have much time to maintain your garden, then it might help to delegate some of the tasks to other family members or reduce some of the responsibilities you have. For example, you could get rid of some flower beds if they’re not providing much value, or you could replace parts of your lawn with stone paths so you don’t have to maintain the grass.
Transforming your garden into a more practical space comes with loads of great benefits, but it’s important that you don’t overlook the responsibilities that it comes with. There’s going to be a bit more cleaning and maintenance involved, and you’ll likely need to spend a bit of money on various renovation projects. However, the results are well worth it and we highly recommend the idea of converting your garden into a practical space.
Luciana joined our team as a mum blogger in 2020. A dedicated mum to a lively daughter and a dog, Luna, Luciana brings authenticity and passion to every post. Her expertise in parenting and lifestyle topics offers practical, relatable advice for real-life situations.
Nice ideas! A garden office sounds nice.