Before & After: 'Our garden room is like a woodland cabin'
Building a Scandi-style garden room has proven the perfect multifunctional option for one family: a chill-out cinema space for cosy nights in, somewhere for the children to socialise with their friends, and a quiet zone for mum, Joanna, to work.
Who lives here
Joanna Kerr, owner of homeware store Mauve & Mocha, lives in a 1980s house near Edinburgh with her husband Paul and their three daughters, Olivia, Mya and Valentina.
Before
‘We built the garden room before we even moved in,' says Joanna. 'The plan was to live in it while we renovated our new home, but the house wasn’t as dilapidated as we’d expected, so we were able to live in it during the building work.'
What look were you aiming for with your new garden room?
JK: I love Scandi minimalism and a little bit of a hygge feel, so I wanted it to have the air of a cabin in a Nordic forest with an elegant, cosy atmosphere.
Tell us how you got started...
JK: Paul has a kitchen company called Haig Kitchens, but when we began this project in 2018, he had a small construction company, so he built the room himself in his workshop. It’s made from SIPs (structural insulated panels), which are large timber panels with insulation sandwiched between them that you can order cut to size. He says it was a bit like doing a giant 3D jigsaw. We didn’t need planning permission as it was within permitted development rights, so that simplified things tremendously.
How did you decide where to locate it?
JK: Our home is on a corner plot, and a footpath runs beside the garden, so we positioned the garden room to provide us with a little extra privacy. The back garden is north-facing, so it's nice to have a room that’s south-facing—it’s drenched in sunlight on a sunny day and heats up beautifully, even on cold winter days.
Were there any drawbacks?
JK: Yes – I love the woods that surround us, and the garden room does block the view of some of the trees a little. However, I found the Bellewood mural wallpaper from Rebel Walls, so was delighted to add it as a way of reinstating them!
Are you happy with the room?
JK: We love it. It’s such a peaceful sanctuary and a real chill-out space for the whole family. We all come in here to watch films sometimes; the girls use it to socialise with their friends and I often escape here to do a bit of work. A real bonus is that, because it’s so well insulated, we’re able to enjoy the garden all year round and in all weather. I have become a lot more interested in gardening as a result and a lot more knowledgeable. We all feel so much more connected to the outdoors and in tune with the seasons, thanks to our garden room.
Sourcebook
Garden room designed and built by homeowner
Wallpaper, rebelwalls.com
Sofa sideboard and rug, all dwell dfs.co.uk
Mirror, tkmaxx.com
Walls French Gray matt emulsion, farrow-ball.com
Accessories and framed prints, mauveandmocha.co.uk
Cushions, dunelm.com
Costs
Wallpaper mural £1,075
Sofa £1,499
Sideboard £495
Rug £280
Mirror £30
Paint £59
Art & Accessories £290
Total = £3,738
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