Work-from-home is the new norm, with many companies encouraging their employees to work remotely. This has opened up our creative minds, with many people looking for exciting ways to create the perfect environment for work and productivity. Garden offices have risen to serve this purpose pretty well.
Garden offices make it possible to create a comfortable, inspirational, and functional work environment oozing professionalism. One of the reasons for this is that it separates your family/home life from work, allowing you to get the job done without intruding on your homes space. You, too, can enjoy the conveniences of a garden home office as well. Outlined below is a guide from the experts at www.quick-garden.co.uk/garden-offices on how to make it happen.
1. Make The Structure More Secure
The typical garden shed might not be solid and secure enough to serve as an office. You thus want first to ensure its foundation and walls are stable, then replace the flimsy door with a stronger one. A good quality lock will also be needed to ensure everything in the garden shed (computers, printers, hard drives, etc.) is secure.
2. Roof The Shed
The last thing you want is to leave your valuables in a leaky structure. The only way to ensure this is to have the shed renovated to fix any issues, especially with the roof. Although you can decide to do this in a DIY, it probably would be best to have a certified contractor handle the renovations. Decide on the type of roof for the garden office. You can choose to either use the traditional felt roofing or the longer-lasting and more effective corrugated sheets. Corrugated sheets are commonly preferred for they are more durable and do an excellent job of keeping weather elements out.
3. Consider The Fancy Tile Look
Dont just go for the simple/plain corrugated sheet roofing for your garden office; choose something interesting from the wide range of roofing designs and color options on the market.
4. Go For Bright and Bold Colors
Although the classic brown and wood stains might have looked good on the shed, they probably wont look good in the garden office. Consider applying a fresh lick of bright and bold paint to it. The best thing with a garden office is you get to choose whatever theme you want for your office. That said, you can decide to make the garden office pop with color and even have a colored roof from the classic grey roof.
5. Weatherproof The Garden Office
From the fun stuff, you want the garden office to be as comfortable as possible all year round. If looking to use the office throughout the year, certain functional considerations such as cooling, heating, and insulation should come standard. The garden office needs to be insulated to keep heat or cold out while maintaining the same level of comfort. The last thing you want is to suffer frostbite in winter or heatstroke in the heat of summer. You also should consider insulating the floor and walls, especially if you live in a noisy neighborhood. Insulating the garden office will also help improve privacy, particularly when having zoom meetings and calls. Consider investing in a portable air conditioning unit or a heater for use when the weather is extreme outside.
6. Connect Electricity
Your garden office wouldnt be complete without electricity. Although you will be tapping electricity from the main house, you still should hire an electrician to help. The electrician will ensure everything is done according to code and it is set up as it should (no shortcuts). Getting electricity to the office is one of the most labor-intensive parts of the conversion, though worth every moment. The best thing about having this done professionally is that you can have the sockets installed in the right places and make the garden office future-proof.
7. Prepare and Setup the Interior
Once done securing, insulating, painting, and running electricity to the garden office, you can start working on the interior. This is the part where you get your creative mind ready to set up the office in the best way possible. Here are a few pointers:
– Use neutral tones: Avoid dark or bold colors on the walls, as these may create the illusion of a small and confined space. Neutral colors are commonly preferred as they are easier to work with and dont have the effects mentioned above. Consider accessorizing with bright colored pieces (rug, wall hanging) if looking for a particular effect.
– Invest in a comfortable and ergonomic chair: This is particularly crucial as you will be spending much of your time here seated. A comfortable chair with excellent back support will come in handy.
– Give the office some life: Bring indoor plants to the garden office to add life to the same. The plants will also help purify the air and act as ornamental objects too.
