A Garden annexe; an affordable alternative to a home extension

Are you looking for additional space at your home to accommodate elderly relatives? Granny Annexes or Garden Annexes can be a logical and practical solution to enable you to increase your living space. There are numerous options available to you in respect of adding living accommodation and we’ve listed a few of these below:

1 – Traditional House Extension

2-  Barn or Garage Conversion

3- Log Cabin or Modular Building

4- A custom-built Granny Annexe / Garden Annexe through a reputable Garden Room Manufacturer

The traditional home extension has been, historically, the first port of call for those looking to create additional space for a larger family. If you have the right budget and you’re not at all concerned about having builders on site for several months at a time and a building site (along with the scaffolding/mud/diggers and everything else that this entails!) at your property then this could be the right solution for you. However, there can be complications with the application for Planning Permission if you’re in a National Park or an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). Achieving Planning Approval for a stand-alone building can be a simpler process.

If you have a disused outside building such as a garage or barn, a barn or garage-conversion can be a cost-effective way of making the most of what’s already there. This can, however require the material change of a building and you will have to meet and obtain building control approval, as many garages do not have adequate heating, insulation or fire safety routes.

Log Cabin and other softwood log-style garden building manufacturers are advertising their garden annexe range of structures in lieu of the traditional home extension but may not reach the levels of energy-efficiency or comfort that you may be seeking. The log-cabin doesn’t boast the same lifespan as that of architecturally designed modular buildings or contemporary Garden rooms and they may require treating/re-cladding after a period of 10 years. Log-Cabins vary widely in specification and shape, from the pitched roofs and a twee cottage style (not dissimilar to a large wendy-house) to the utilitarian box-like flat roofed timber porta-cabins which serve to provide a space albeit lacking much architectural charm.

Contemporary Garden Rooms and Custom-built Modular Buildings are designed and built to Buildings Regulations Standards and are visually captivating, depending on your tastes. With a wide array of Garden Room Manufacturers in the UK you’re sure to find a style of garden annexe which would suit your property and your grounds.

Our clients have been thrilled at not only the space a new Garden Annexe has allowed them but are impressed at the feeling of the space with the curved walls and open space of the cathedral roof structure.

To provide a bathroom for your relative, a radial extension is built out of the perimeter wall, which can be extended around the Rotunda at any point to create a jaw-dropping space with a pitched roof and fully integrated flooring and internal wall linings to complement the central space. Leaving the core of the building as a complete circle for the kitchenette and living area.

Feedback has shown us that, overall, a custom-built and sympathetically designed garden annexe or granny annexe in the round is more visually appealing to our clients and provides a more practical space for disabled relatives and wheelchair users. The smooth curved lines of the structure coupled with ramped or decked access from the garden is a calming and ergonomically sound application for such use.

For those who are firm believers that our mood and well-being is affected by our immediate environment, a circular and airy environment can provide an uplifting and refreshing alternative to the home extension or the garage conversion.  There can be nothing quite as beautiful and well thought out as a well designed and beautifully handcrafted garden annexe for your relative or friend. 

Ultimately, the core benefits of a stand-alone custom built garden annexe are:

• A smooth and efficient installation – averaging about 15 working days
• Less mess and disruption than a house-extension
• The addition of a multifunctional space which will evolve with you and your family over the next 40+ years
• An energy-efficient eco-building which doesn’t burden the household with additional heating requirements
• The practicality of a separate building which sits within your garden providing both privacy and independence for your relative (and you!)
• The peace of mind that Rotunda Garden Rooms are modular which means that they are permanent once installed but are also re-locatable* should you decide to move house (*with the assistance of our team)
• The addition of an aesthetically appealing and innovative garden annexe which works to serve a practical purpose, can increase your property valuation and most importantly will wow your friends and family and bring a smile to the faces of those who make use of it

Besides, who said that getting old meant forgoing exciting spaces and incredible design?! For the young and old alike, there is joy to be sought in the round. Please call us if you’d like to arrange a free site survey for your garden annexe (0161) 2223350