working from home Archives

Home Office Vs. Garden Office – Which Should You Choose?

Posted on 10th January 202123rd January 2021

Featured Image Tranquil by Garden Room Cabins

Over the past year, more people than ever before have been working from home. What began as a necessity due to the pandemic has now become a convenient and cost-effective choice for many individuals and businesses. As many people have learned the hard way, productivity depends on having a suitable home working environment. This post compares the more traditional home office to the contemporary garden office to see which comes out tops.

The case for a dedicated space

For those who have partners, children or housemates at home, it goes without saying that a dedicated workspace is essential to avoid frustrating distractions.

If you live alone, you may think you don’t need a dedicated workspace as you don’t have other people making noise and interrupting you. Whilst this does make for fewer distractions, working from your living environment often proves unproductive due to the temptation of your home comforts. This is the space you’re used to relaxing in; your TV, fridge and sofa can all provide temptation to slack off.

A dedicated workspace can be set up to help you to focus. It also provides the boundaries between work and relaxation time that often get blurred for homeworkers.

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Home office

A home office is a room in the main house that is dedicated to work or study. People often choose to use their smallest bedroom as an office. Some people use their dining room whilst others are fortunate enough to have a large property with plenty of space to choose from. Building an extension or loft conversion is an option for those lacking space, although this may prove costly, stressful and disruptive. Home offices are a popular choice for those who are employed and work flexibly, both in the office and at home. Part-time freelancers often choose to use existing space because the investment of an extension or garden room is not warranted.

Pros:

Using existing space is the cheapest option
You’re incredibly close to family members if they need you
An extension/loft conversion will add value to your property

Cons:

You’re extremely close to family members if they’re disruptive or noisy
Building an extension could involve planning permission
Building works for an extension/loft conversion can be lengthy, disruptive, and costly
It doesn’t have its entrance, so clients and visitors have to come through the main house

Garden office

eDen Hub Curve

A garden office is a self-contained workspace in your garden. There are many different sizes, styles, and providers to choose from, which means there is an ideal option for everyone. You can even get tiny office pods, (like the one pictured above) for those with smaller gardens, so you don’t lose too much of your outdoor space. A garden office is not only a wonderful home working space, but also adds an attractive feature to your property. Garden offices are a popular choice for people who run their own business as it provides a dedicated, professional space to work, hold meetings, and collaborate with others. They are also popular amongst those working in professions requiring a studio-type of environment, such as fitness instructors and artists, as well as people who work regularly with clients such as hairdressers, beauty therapists, counsellors, and consultants.

Pros:

Because it’s self-contained, disruptions from family members are minimised
You’re close enough to family members if they need you
Separates work and home life
No planning permission required
Vast choice of sizes and styles means you can create the ideal workspace
Views of the outdoors
Cost-effective options that can be much cheaper than an extension/loft conversion
Adds value to your property
Provides a professional space to hold meetings/work with clients
Options available that are larger than a box room or extension

Cons:

It’s more expensive than using existing space
Takes up space in your garden
Requires heating, insulation, and electrical hook up (although this is often included)

Conclusion

Whether a home office or garden room will suit you best will depend on your individual circumstances, including your income and living situation, as well as what you do for a living and when and how you want to work from home.

When weighing the pros and cons, the contemporary garden room comes out tops. If you dip your toes in and out of home working, a home office may be enough to meet your needs. If you’re serious about homeworking for the long-term or building a small business, this is the option to go for because it will provide a dedicated, quiet and professional space that is designed to meet your exact needs.

Shed Quarters – The New Normal?

Posted on 17th November 202014th December 2020

Already halfway through our second national lockdown, it’s clear that home working is here for the foreseeable future. Some businesses may permanently offer staff the option to work from home now that the benefits and savings have been realised.

Research by insurer Direct Line has found that a million people have invested in a shoffice, and another 1.1 million plans to do so in the next year.

Since the first lockdown, many creators of garden rooms, cabins and high-end sheds have found their order books filling fast as people realise the potential of some extra space in the garden.

These buildings dubbed ‘shoffices’ or ‘shed quarters’ are likely to be in demand indefinitely. Below, we take a look at some of the key considerations and frequently asked questions of those looking to invest in a garden office.

Do I need planning permission to build a garden office?

In the majority of cases, no planning permission is required to install an office in your garden. Outbuildings can be built under permitted development rights. Providing it’s single-story, does not exceed 2.5 metres in height and is not intended to be lived. There are exceptions, so always do your research first. You can find out more about this here.

Will my garden office be covered by home insurance?

Of course, being away from the central living accommodation, you will worry about leaving expensive IT equipment in an outbuilding. The good news is, the majority of home insurance policies will cover outbuildings both in terms of buildings and contents. Of course, you should always advise your insurance company of the value of the contents in the outbuilding to be on the safe side, and check that you will be covered.

Does the cost include utility connection?

Most people will require electricity and an internet connection to be able to work from their garden office. Some companies offer a complete solution which includes electricity connection and internet connectivity. The majority, however, do not so this will be an additional consideration.

Options to keep the cost down could be a WiFi booster to boost the strength of the WiFi to your outbuilding. Alternatively, an armoured electricity cable and ethernet cable can be run from the home along a fence, for example.

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Can I have a bathroom installed in my shoffice?

Many garden room creators offer a bespoke service. This means you could potentially opt to add a bathroom or running water to your outbuilding. This will incur additional costs and require the services of a plumber, so in most instances, people choose to use the facilities in their home.

What’s the average cost of shed quarters?

The price can vary greatly, depending on your requirements. For comfort, we would recommend ensuring your garden room is fully insulated and weatherproof. So, while you could potentially pick up a shed for sub £1,000 – it won’t supply the comfort necessary to work in year-round.

As a minimum, you should expect to pay around £2,500 for a small office space. There are numerous options that vary in size and features. Some garden rooms provide dual-use such as office and storage; others are compact and offer a small area to work. You can start by considering your needs and requirements. Our suggestion wizard can help you find solutions. Try it out here.

If you’re looking for something small the Lugarde Napoleon Garden Home Office. This is a minimal space, purely dedicated for working. For those that require a little extra space, a mid-range garden office will set you back just over £7,000 like this Modular Garden Room by Urban Décor. For anyone looking for the complete solution. £10,000 will get you an eDen Hub which is ready to go with electrical sockets and an internet connection point.

For those that prefer something bespoke, eye-catching and unique the Anthropod GO! Or the Archipod are beautiful solutions.

There is something for everyone, with such a large range of options and sizes available. You can even. choose from different cladding options to blend into your garden with ease. You can browse a vast range of shed quarters here.

Manage Lockdown2 Like a Boss with a Shoffice

Posted on 4th November 20205th November 2020

*Pictured above is the Lugarde Napoleon Garden Home Office by Cotswold Garden Spaces from £2,699

With plans for a new nationwide lockdown announced at the weekend, the population is once again having to consider working from home.

This lockdown is different from the one back in March, with less stringent regulations. The key differences are that education settings such as schools and universities may remain open and people who cannot work from home may still go to work unless they work in non-essential shops that cannot offer a click and collect service.

The news has been welcomed with mixed reactions, but the message is clear – We must protect our NHS.

So, Can You Work Effectively From Home?

Many people discovered during the last lockdown that there are perks to working from home. There’s no commute time, you saved money on travel and lunch, coffees, etc and you can wear what you want!

Of, course there were some downsides, many weren’t equipped – Argos sold out of many desk designs back in March and the kids were also at home, so parents had more distractions than they would at work.

So, What’s the Key to Home Working Success?

Quiet
Comfortable
Warm
Connectivity

During the last lockdown, many people found themselves working in cramped and uncomfortable makeshift conditions. Productivity can be greatly reduced by poor posture, background noise, and discomfort.

You needn’t despair though. We have a solution that caters to all of the above points creating the perfect home office.

Garden offices or Shoffice’s (shed/office), have become increasingly popular since the first lockdown. Many people realised the potential of having a dedicated working space.

How Can a Shoffice Help Me Work More Productively?

Having a dedicated working space can greatly increase productivity and keep you focused on the task at hand. Somewhere quiet and away from distractions, as well as any embarrassing background noises that could interrupt phone calls or zoom meetings is the key. (If you need a laugh you can view some hilarious zoom fails here).

Being away from the main living accommodation, a garden office is the perfect solution.

Comfort Catered For

Garden Rooms make a perfect shoffice because they are versatile and come in a range of sizes. From the compact single person office space to large multi-room, multi-function spaces. Whatever your needs, there is a range of sellers ready to create off-the-shelf, or bespoke garden buildings to fit your exact requirements.

With double glazing, insulation, electrics, and even heating or running water if required, these rooms have everything you need to comfortably work throughout lockdown and beyond.

Need Some Shoffice Inspiration?

We have selected some popular shoffice choices below, but you can start your own search for the perfect home office here.

	Broadway by Nordic Garden Buildings from £13,395 The Broadway has a flat roof to maximise the space within the building. Constructed with modern materials Nordic Garden Buildings have created a durable space that is ideal for home working. The Broadway is a maintenance-free, insulated building that can be used comfortably all year round without the inconvenience of annual painting or staining. It also has the added benefit of high security locking on all the doors and windows, you can rest assured that your property within the building will be safe and sound.
	Serenity Garden Room – Self-Build Kit by Serenity Garden Rooms from £10,346 Save money with a ‘Serenity Self-Build’ garden room. If you’re a little handy you can build your own stylish, fully insulated, all year round, Serenity Garden Room. Supplied with a step by step tutorial, full support and detailed video guides to help ensure a high quality, professional finish for your new space. This garden building lends itself well to a home office set-up and looks great thanks to top-quality timber C24 which Serenity garden Buildings import from Sweden. Serenity uses timber only from a range of planed-all-round carcassing, providing a reliable and consistent high-quality finish.
	The Newhaven Corner Summerhouse by Scotts of Thrapston from £6,730 For smaller or odd-shaped gardens, corner buildings work really well. The Newhaven has been cleverly designed to make the most of a corner setting and to fit snugly into a confined location. It is supplied with lockable doors and casement windows with laminated glass. The doors and windows are all fitted with brass ironmongery, as standard. The Newhaven opens up to create a spacious and airy summerhouse offering the ideal view across the whole garden, which is great for those working from home.
	Dryspace Spaces – Small by Dryspace Structures from £14,394 Dryspace Spaces offer a fully configurable and modular semi-permanent maintenance-free space. Each space comes with a 10-year structural warranty to provide customers with peace of mind. Fabricated using carefully sourced and tested materials, a Dryspace Space has a projected life expectancy of more than 35 years. Insulated panels, ensure that these structures can provide the perfect year-round space to work, rest or play.
	POD Garden Room by Winslade Landscapes from £11,160 The POD Garden Room is ideal for use as a shoffice, It comes with a 10-year product guarantee and a 5-year installation warranty. An attractive unit with plenty of natural light and space to work. This garden building looks great while offering that all-important extra space to work, rest, or play. Winslade Landscapes cover Hampshire, Surrey, London, Berkshire, and other surrounding areas

A Beauty Salon Cabin Offers a Treat For Customers Bodies & Minds

Posted on 11th October 202014th December 2020

Our search to showcase the versatility of cabins for work, play and rest led us to Hannah Bath. Hannah has run her beauty business, Serenity beauty, from a cabin in her garden for the last two years now.

It’s been a difficult time for beauty businesses during the ongoing pandemic, but beautician Hannah, from St Neots, Cambridgeshire actually took the time to become a mental health first aider because her clients feel safe talking about their problems with her, meaning she can offer the best possible advice to them, making her service a cut above the competition. We asked Hannah some questions about her beauty business and learned that her customers actually prefer visiting her cabin as it’s more secluded and private.

What prompted you to take this route?

I have 2 children so being able to work around them was the key. I was working from a room inside the house previously but was desperate for a bit of separation to gain that all-important work-life balance. Thankfully things were going well with the business and I was able to have the cabin installed in the garden of our new home.

What do your clients think of your beauty salon cabin?

They love it! I actually looked at renting a premises on the local high street initially. A few clients voiced concerns over parking costs and being seen in public after having certain treatments such as lip waxes and the redness that follows, facials and spray tans. They love the fact that they can park on my driveway and pop into the back garden in their comfy clothes with no make-up without fear of bumping into someone they know. A beauty salon cabin was the ideal solution for everyone.

What services do you offer from your cabin?

I offer treatments such as eyebrow and eyelash services. Spray tans. Facials and massage. Manicure, pedicure and all waxing services too.

How do you promote your business?

I have built my business up mostly through my Facebook page and word of mouth. In the beginning, I did a couple of school fetes and gained a few clients that way, but word of mouth really is the best form of endorsement; people go where their friends feel comfortable.

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How did COVID affect your business?

I was actually on maternity leave during a chunk of lockdown, so I felt as though the world had stopped with me. I kept in touch with my clients and gave them the option to be contacted when I was back to work and I’m very thankful to say that most of them have returned. It was hard at first when Boris had restrictions such as no facial treatments, but people were mostly just happy to be able to have any form of pampering done, and instead of their eyelash extensions people treated themselves to a pedicure or something else. They were just grateful to get out of the house for a treat.

How easy was it to install the necessary equipment?

It was surprisingly easy. I just had to gauge where I wanted things to be placed such as where I would need plug sockets for my equipment. I had the cabin purpose-built from scratch with foundations by a builder who is a family friend. It has 2 windows and a nice sturdy door. It’s insulated and plaster-boarded, in total it cost £5,000 for the cabin. I then decorated it myself and added flooring at around £200. I opted for vinyl flooring as it’s easy to clean and replace if needed. It took him around 3 weeks to complete the build, we were really lucky we had great weather at the time so he could just get on.

I have electricity running in there with its own fuse box it was connected from the house. They laid the cable under the patio slabs, there is no water out there currently. I have a downstairs cloakroom just inside the back door which my clients have always been able to use. Now with COVID I have asked them to only use it in emergency’s and everyone has been fine with this, no one has needed to use it so far.

How did COVID affect your business?

I think like everyone in the beauty industry I suffered from not being able to come back as soon as some other industries could, but on a personal level, it has certainly made me reflect on my business and think about how I operate and how I can maximise my clients’ experience and my earnings. I have also had the time to research some new treatments and become a mental health first aider as I find a lot of my clients like to talk to me about a wide range of subjects and I now feel like I’m in a better position to listen and offer the right advice to help them.

We have been inspired by Hannah’s resilience, she took the time to do a little market research with her clients and actually found that a cabin in her garden was a firm favourite as clients prefer to be somewhere quiet and secluded without the feeling of judgment post-treatment.

Follow Hannah on Instagram here or follow The Serenity Beauty Facebook page for all the latest updates on her beauty salon cabin.

Will Working from Home Become the New Normal?

Posted on 26th August 202014th December 2020

For a while now, companies have recognised the benefits of having staff that work remotely. It saves their resources in the form of large office spaces and the overheads associate with them. The biggest concern in the minds of organisations, however, was the security associated with allowing employees access to systems from home.

COVID expedited what we believe would have happened slowly over the next few years and enforced homeworking, which made companies test their infrastructures and systems earlier than expected.

Homeworking is beneficial to both the employer and employees. Workers enjoying cutting out the commute time and can be around at home for deliveries, family, pets, and so on. So, with it seemingly being a win-win, will more people opt to continue working from home once this pandemic has passed?

The ‘gig economy’ has been exploding in recent years, with many people gaining paid jobs on the internet and working from home, so if employers offered the chance to work from home instead of travelling into the office how many more would opt to do so? Google already told staff they would be working from home until at least Summer 2021 and they are unlikely to be alone in this measure.

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Of course, it’s not all a bed of roses, many people found that working from home with the entire family home was distracted and could limit productivity. There was very little warning with COVID which meant people were operating under makeshift conditions, working from a laptop at a kitchen table, Argos and the likes quickly sold out of desks and chairs so that people could create that dedicated office space.

There has been a rise in people looking for some extra space since lockdown in the form of garden rooms and offices. These rooms a multi-functional and provide additional space that can be used to work in peace and quiet, increasing productivity and ensuring everything needed for the tasks required are at hand and not cluttering up the main living accommodation. They also provide space to start a home business as well as being purely office space.

Ultimately, COVID has inadvertently produced a large social experiment that could change the world on so many levels in the immediate future, steering us towards a new normal and where and how we work will be at the forefront of this. IT skills will likely become even more valuable, with many other jobs likely to become in lower demand such as cleaning contractors who service office blocks for example. This will leave some people needing to reskill in order to maintain some form of paid employment.

We predict a massive shift is beginning to take place, we would love to hear your thoughts about this topic. Join in the conversation with us on social media.

If you want to be prepared and fancy a garden office of your own, you can start your search here.

Compact Garden Offices – Don’t Sacrifice Style

Posted on 17th August 202014th December 2020

With an increasing number of people now willing and able to work from home, people are turning to the garden to get the space they need to work in peace, quiet and calm. With so many garden room office options providing the ideal working area we have decided to narrow down the options and share some compact Garden Office solutions that are ideal for people who just need space for a desk, computer and chair to get their work done.

Lugarde Napoleon Home Office

The Napoleon Garden Home Office is available through Cotswold Garden Buildings. It utilises the Lugarde System which means it is easy to build at home and comes with easy to follow tutorials. Its compact size belies its capacity to be the perfect tiny home office which is planning rules friendly at less than 2.5m high. It’s flooded with natural light through its double-glazed windows and matching door and the interior is beautifully finished in natural pine with an internal roof finial, requiring no further wor, unless you choose to decorate to make it your own.

Barbados Mini Garden Office

The Barbados Mini is a compact office solution by Cabin Living which incorporates a stylish design with a smaller footprint for tight spaces. The lowered ridge height allows placement close to a boundary often without the need for planning. This stylish timber cabin is delivered for self-assembly by the owner although you can opt for installation for an additional charge by contacting the seller in advance.

The Micro

The Micro by ModuLog is the smallest building in their range and is made up of 2 modules creating an internal space area of 2.44m x 2.2m. Taking up very little garden space, and with a curved design, this cute little garden room is certainly eye-catching. This building g can be delivered as a flatpack making it ideal for anyone with access issues and can be built at home as a DIY project. You can even customise your Micro with cladding and window options including Bi-fold doors.

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The Madison 1900 Small

The Madison by Nordic Garden Buildings is a superb garden room specially designed to make the best use of those awkward corners in the garden. Retaining privacy towards the rear, the front of the building allows light to flood in bringing you closer to the surroundings of the garden for a beautiful view while you work.

As you can see, being limited on space doesn’t mean you need to compromise on style or taste. There are numerous options, in a multitude of styles, colours and materials even at the smallest end of the scale, allowing you that dedicated, peaceful working space to get your job done and maximise productivity.

Start Working For Yourself With a Garden Room

Posted on 8th August 202014th December 2020

There’s no denying that are living in the midst of a seismic shift. The Covdi-19 pandemic seems to have accelerated things that experts have known would happen for years.

Organisations have been looking at financial and environmental factors that would have eventually led to a focus on employees working from home. For businesses the costs of physical offices, staff to maintain these offices and the carbon emissions of premises are all negatives that could be reduced by implementing strategies for their workforce to carry out their tasks from home.

Government organisations and large companies who were forced into testing this home-working earlier than perhaps they would have liked have seen that their infrastructures could support this shift with some now deciding to make these changes more permanent.

Other organisations have made unfortunately had to make some serious cuts to their workforce with numerous redundancies despite the government’s furlough scheme.

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Those that did work in makeshift conditions during lockdown will know that if this was to become a permanent change, they would need a more dedicated space to work from. Kitchen tables and laptops can’t cut it on a long-term basis, which is why the demand form garden office solutions has increased in the last few months.

Not only can garden rooms be used to create a dedicated office space, but the versatile nature of them also lends itself well for so many home-based business opportunities, so whether you’ve been asked to start working from home, or were made redundant and want to go solo and start your own enterprise, the garden is the place to do it! We take a look at some solutions below.

The Garden Office

There are so many garden offices on our marketplace that there really is something to suit everyone. Whether you’re looking for a small dedicated space in the garden to work in peace and quiet, or something larger that a small team of people could occupy, then the garden office Is the ideal solution. There are even cubicle solutions that can be installed both inside and outside.

*Pictured is the Steel Framed garden Office By Option garden Buildings

Craft Room

Crafters will know that they need their own dedicated space to create their little masterpieces. Organisation is key with everything in its place and a place for everything. Garden rooms are ideal, giving you that dedicated space to create exactly as you desire with bespoke options, off the shelf units and even DIY projects for those that enjoy a challenge.

•Pictured is The Bespoke Handcrafted Workshop by Burlington Garden Buildings

Fitness Studio

COVID has certainly made a huge impact on how we work out. With clever PT’s, yoga teachers and the like finding new ways to keep their clients in shape. Zoom was a godsend for many, and while Joe Wicks managed to find a room to teach the nation’s children, making sure they had a dedicated space was something that the majority weren’t prepared for. A garden room provides ample space, with the ability to choose the flooring and interior to work around you and your workouts.

•Pictured is Sensational Spaces Home Gym

Beauty Room / Salon

Those in the beauty industry have perhaps had the most confusing time of all navigating the ever-changing government advice on when they could return to work with some of these small businesses being hit extremely hard by the pandemic. Anyone qualified and talented in hairdressing and beauty treatments can always find clients with the help of some advertising g on social media, which is why creating a dedicated space makes sense. It eliminates the majority of the overheads, means clients don’t have to come into your home and you don’t need to be travelling to theirs. You can create the perfect atmosphere for your clients to relax while they get pamperedwhile you work from home.

* Pictured is The Balmoral by HG Spaces

Workshop

Workshops are handy for many home-based businesses. Whether you’re a carpenter, mechanic, a tinkerer, or perhaps a restorer, having a dedicated workshop built for exactly your needs could help your business venture soar.

*Pictured is The Bespoke Room by RA Garden Rooms

Music Room / Sound Studio

These garden rooms lend themselves very well to creating a dedicated sound studio for music producers, or an ideal band practice room, or teaching room for music teachers. Away from the main living accommodation, they can be easily soundproofed if necessary and keep the noise of your love of music away from people trying to relax at home.

*Pictured is the Pinnacle by Green Retreats

Writers Retreat

Writers need some peace and quiet to allow their creative juices to flow. Creating a dedicated space to take a cuppa and go and write with a nice view of the garden and the sounds of the birds for company creates the perfect serene backdrop to get those words down.

*Pictured is The Writers Studio by Curve Garden Buildings

Artist’s Studio

Art can be a messy business, which is why creating a dedicated studio away from the main living quarters makes a lot of sense. As with writers, artists need some space and quiet time to think and produce their masterpieces, so the garden is the perfect space.

•Pictured is Log Cabin Emma by Urban Decor

Air B&B

For those with ample space on their hands, there are numerous options to create a little Air B&B or glamping business. Staycations have become increasingly popular and will probably be even more sure during the throes of this pandemic and for a while afterwards as people will be wary of visiting foreign lands. The possibilities here are huge, from basic accommodation or empty shells that you can fit yourself, to fully ready and operational solutions.

•Pictured is The Bespoke Camping Pod by Garden Room Design

As you can see, there are so many opportunities with a humble little garden room, but these are just the tip of the iceberg, you are only limited by your imagination, so why not visit our website here and review and compare all the options to start working from home!

Of course, there are certain considerations that should be made before you start executing any plan for your home-based business such as seeking permission from your mortgage provider or landlord. Depending on the nature of the business, you may also need permission from your local council, so we always advise doing a little research first.

Could Travelling Offices Be The Future?

Posted on 10th June 202014th December 2020

There’s no denying that COVID changed the world, only time will tell how long we need to maintain some form of distance. While things are gradually beginning to return to some form of normality, albeit slowly, there is fear of a second peak.

One of the most notable consequences of this pandemic was the sudden and immediate need for people to be able to work from home. Requiring space, and somewhere quiet to carry out work. For parents of young children, this has proved somewhat difficult.

Garden rooms have been surging in popularity in recent years, a versatile extra room to serve the exacting needs of their owners, but they aren’t the only way of gaining an extra room.

Multi-Functional Caravans

On our marketplace we have a few caravans which can double up as a spare room/office space while being a travelling home for holidays and weekend getaways, making them even more versatile than a fixed structure such as a garden room.

We have selected two options below, but you can check out the full range of caravans available on our marketplace right here.

The Lone Traveller

Designed and built for a lifetime on the road this 18ft Tiny House on wheels is perfect for anyone wanting the flexibility to easily move from site to site.

The Loan Traveller is designed to be very mobile friendly for anyone that may need to move their home regularly. Standard sizes start from 18ft x 8ft which have room for a large mezzanine bedroom upstairs which can fit a double bed.

The ground floor is fully equipped with a kitchen, bathroom, breakfast bar and seating area all with underfloor heating as standard.

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Barefoot Caravan

The Barefoot Caravan is a versatile space perfectly suited to the current home working conditions. It can be set up for homeworking and then taken away for adventures. It comes completed to a high spec. with your own bespoke choices.

Curved, stylish and unique, the Barefoot Caravan has been designed and developed in Britain in a collaboration of manufacturing expertise. Despite being compact on the outside, they are light and spacious inside, with luxury seating that converts to a huge bed, plus a kitchen, shower room and lots of storage.

Perfect for great adventures in the UK and abroad, and a versatile space for home working or as an extra bedroom. Ideal for people who are new to caravanning, and attracting great demand from campervan enthusiasts and tent campers.

Each Barefoot is made to the customer’s own specification with a lovely choice of body colours and upholstery.

The Benefits of Using Caravans for Home Offices

We have listed some of the benefits of opting for a caravan like the two above to provide your extra space/home office requirements. Can you think of any to add?

The caravans are built to order with a choice of interior options to suit your exacting needs and requirements.
Your home office set-up can literally be taken anywhere.
Work while enjoying the sights of somewhere new.
Allows for an extra room/office to be parked on the driveway or in the garden for use whenever it’s needed.
The most versatile extra space solution there is.
Eliminates restrictions.
Offer complete freedom.

No one expects COVID to last forever, but this pandemic has brought to the forefront the need to be adaptable and versatile. The world is changing and with it the way we operate and do things. A caravan could provide the ideal solution; bringing the ability to travel in freedom and work in isolation together in one unique space.

Work from Home in a Garden Room

Posted on 3rd June 202014th December 2020

With the Coronavirus pandemic, came a never before seen need to work from home. Large numbers of people have had to work from home for as long as is needed to mitigate the risk. Businesses small and large may be beginning to think about re-opening but nobody knows the true scale or length of time the unprecedented healthcare crisis we face will limit our lives in one way or another.

Flexible and remote working has been on the rise for many years now, since technology and legislation have developed to a point that facilitates this lifestyle well. Home working reduces travel time and costs and improves employee wellbeing because it provides a less stressful environment and improves work-life balance.

The current health crisis may be the worst we have yet witnessed as a planet in living memory but it’s not the first and the fear is that it won’t be the last, with rising populations and ever-increasing global interconnectedness. With the blessing of technology that facilitates it, it may be the time for people to seriously consider home working as a viable long-term option, whether in an employed or self-employed capacity.

How can you create an effective workspace in your home?

Many people struggle to work from home because there are so many more distractions, from kids running around making noise to the temptations of home comforts including the TV, sofa and the lure of the fridge.

The key to working effectively from home is to create a dedicated space as free of distractions as possible. Your workspace should be set up in such a way that promotes productivity, with the right equipment and technology to do your job effectively.

It is helpful to have a set work schedule and stick to it, making sure others in your household do not disturb you during these hours.

Garden rooms are becoming an increasingly popular way for people to work from home because they provide a beautiful workspace which is separate from the main house and all it’s distractions.

The great thing about a garden office is that you can design it to meet your working needs, so you’re not just making do with the inadequate space you have available indoors. If you run your own business, garden rooms often provide a space adequate to meet people’s entire business needs which dramatically cuts the cost of renting space elsewhere.

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Many types of business can run effectively from their garden, from internet ventures to beauty salons, art studios and personal training gyms. Much of what you can imagine can be facilitated in a garden room and they can be designed to scale and be future proof too.

For example, many people start their venture working alone from home but design their garden room to facilitate another three desks so they can employ staff easily when the need arises.

Having a garden room promotes a work mindset far more than using a room inside the main house because, even in some small way, you are still leaving the house and going to a different environment to start your working day. You get the best of both worlds, by travelling home from work each day in literally seconds.

Future proof your career now with a dedicated workspace at home

There’s never been a better time to create a lasting workspace in your own home. Getting the perfect space set up now, whilst you have the time to design and facilitate the installation, will set you up for many years to come.

If you’re an employee, you will be able to enjoy greater freedom by asking for flexible working rights from your employer and being able to demonstrate your capacity to work in this way.

If you’re self-employed or thinking of starting your own business, now is the time to take the plunge or take your business to the next level.

We don’t know what the future will hold or how things will change as a result of the current crisis. All we can do as individuals, is use the time we have wisely to rethink our habits and routines and restructure our lives to prepare as best we can for an uncertain future – working from home may just become the new norm.

Image Used is The Ashmere. Find out more about it here.