Garden Room and Landscaping, Hillhouse Road
Project: Garden room, garden redesign, decking and landscaping. Year: 2023
Ian and Jenny had a raised decking platform that led out from their kitchen, and a staircase leading down to the sloping garden, which had seen better days.
After the steps collapsed they took the opportunity to landscape their entire garden and create a new space for their two boys to enjoy at the same time.
They had seen a number of Tijs’s builds in nearby Hopton Road and thought they looked attractive so got in touch.
Initially the plan was to reinvent the decking, a garden room was talked about as a future possibility but as the project unfolded Ian and Jenny decided to build the garden room sooner.
The build took longer than the family had expected.
As Ian says, “ripping out the garden was pretty quick. It took longer to pull it all together.”
Ian had hoped the project would take 4-5 months starting in April but it actually ended in October.
One of the quickest part of the build was laying the foundations for the garden room, scroll to the bottom to find Ian’s fantastic timelapse video of the process.
There are always some snagging issues but keeping communication open with Tijs meant any were resolved.
“One of the shed buildings we had built was too high (because we didn’t properly discuss that). It ruined the sightline from the window. But Tijs fixed that. And the budget escalated a bit from our original plans so ended up costing a fair bit more. We also changed the spec by adding a new garden wall.”
Much more than your average decking.
“The stair design was the result of a number of iterations between us and Tijs. But Tijs designed the garden room, the other buildings and the basic layout.”
The garden room is currently used by the children to watch TV or play games and has come in useful as a second office.
Ian and Jenny plan to add green roofs to the sheds to increase insulation and biodiversity.
While the project took much longer than expected the family are now enjoying the space. Ian explains,
“We love the space. It has transformed the way we use the garden. Before the garden was beyond a raised deck, so rather sunken. You couldn’t look out onto it from the house, or see people in the garden. Now there is a flow between house and garden. The little sheds are amazing and keep everything hidden. The garden room is becoming increasingly the additional room we needed. When the sun comes out we hope it will also become a place from which we can entertain.”
Timelapse of cement foundations set over one day for the garden room build in Streatham, South London
