This website is supported by its readers. If you click one of my links I may earn a commission. I am also a participant in the Amazon affiliates programme and I will also earn a commission from qualified purchases.
Your garden. The place where you can sit back, relax and… do work? Yes I know what you’re thinking, what kind of new age, green room hippie stuff is this… a home office garden pod?
One of the things I struggled with when I first started working remotely was actually getting out in the garden and actually getting some fresh air, one of the things that actually really impressed me when I visited a colleague was checking out their home office garden pod, which had a number of benefits including:
- A great team building exercise
- Helps reduce stress
- More organic food Improved wellbeing
- A healthy atmosphere to work in
- Manages work/life balance
- An extra room for a busy house
- It’s good for the environment
- It’s not just a shed
- More vitamin D
So which of these are the most important benefit, and how much does it cost to build a home office garden shed? Keep reading to find out more.
(Just a heads up a lot of people reading my blog are in the process of designing their own home office. If you want to save some of the painstaking time I did in designing my office, you can find my recommended products here)
What are the benefits of a garden home office pod?
So before my current role, I was used to cramped sales rooms. I kid you not, one of the offices I worked in was about the size of a cupboard and had no windows, it definitely echoed some serious prison vibes.
When I moved to my new office one of the things that blew me away was our garden room.
At first I scoffed thinking that this was just a bunch of soft millennials needing a safe space to sit around and express themselves but this couldn’t be further from the truth.
In fact everyone at work actually slumbers over each other to try and get time in the green room for an hour or so.
So how does this impact remote workers and people who work from a home office?
Well it’s very easy to keep yourself cooked up in a dark room typing away. Things which really aren’t the best when it comes to staying productive. So hows about we bring the outside in?
Let’s break down the ten advantages of a home office garden pod we listed earlier.
A great team building exercise
A lot of people who work remotely often feel like they don’t get the opportunity to collaborate with their colleagues or as though they are on the outskirts of company culture. You’re also likely to be going to the office at least a few times a month.
As such why not take the initiative and work on getting your colleagues involved in the design of your home office garden pod.
The links between productivity and team working are clear when working towards a goal and having a find project like this to distract you and your colleagues from the daily grind will definitely feel like a welcome reprieve.
Helps reduce stress
Anyone who has attempted yoga (yes I tried my first session a few weeks ago and no I have not recovered yet) knows just how easy it is to get distracted. Cars going by, kids busting into your room, all these little distractions chip away at your willpower and can often leave you feeling bummed out.
One of the huge benefits of a home office garden space is that it is designed specifically with being a safe sanctuary. Allowing you to do yoga ( which has a ton of benefits), read a book, or just generally take a break in peace away from the distractions of the workplace.
This can be amplified by implementing things like soundproofing panels or noise-canceling headphones to really stop the sound from getting in. My own personal favorites are these Sony WH1000XM3 which I use in my home office.
More organic food
One of the great things about office garden pods is, you know, the garden part of them.
Most of us at some point have been bitten by the gardening bug and want to figure a way to grow our own produce only to let life get in our way.
By setting up a home office garden space you now have the direct space to help things grow.
This works especially well with foods like carrots, peas and potatoes all of which you can grow in relatively small spaces.
On top of this just thinking about the costs you will save growing your own greens instead of going to your local store.
Your wallet will thank you.
Improved wellbeing
One of the other benefits of home office garden pods is you will notice a significant improvement in your wellbeing.
Having a green office garden space according to some scientists at least can have huge impacts on calming you due to relationship with nature. It’s the same reason why after coming back from a park walk you feel much more engaged.
A few quick ways to boost up your garden pod with green is with a few artificial table plants. My favorite is the Nearly Natural which goes nicely with almost any room ( seriously) but for a full list you can see my resource page here.
A healthy atmosphere to work in
Let’s face it, we all need a break from the borefest of modern offices. Magnolia walls, cramped spaces, the smell of stale coffee in the air.
As appealing as that sounds, having an atmosphere that allows you just to get some fresh air will do wonders to your work atmosphere and you will find yourself getting more stuff done. After all, happier employees are much more productive.
Manages work/life balance
Let’s face it. Anyone who has worked remotely or from a home office knows just how easy it is for you to start doing household chores like washing or doing the dishes, or just generally getting distracted.
By having an outside work space that is away from your house you’re almost forced to be productive creating the separation and professionalism you might need to get the ball rolling on your work.
An extra room for a busy house
Anyone who has grown up with a lot of siblings ( like me) knows exactly the struggle you have to just find your own space to do what you want.
Having a home office garden hub is great not only for working, but a place you can start doing your own activities. Ever wanted to start painting as a hobby? Now you have the space! What about if you wanted to start a side hustle? Now you have a dedicated focus room outside of office hours.
Don’t forget your garden pod can double up when you are not using it for whatever purpose you need it for.
It’s good for the environment
I know what you’re thinking, how can something that is man made be good for the environment? Well making sure you’re filling your home office garden with plants and greenery will go wonders, especially for insects like bees who are dwindling in numbers at the moment.
Think of it almost as creating your own mini habitat for animals who all too often are forgotten in the concrete jungle.
Keeping trees such as indoor bonsai trees or better yet growing your own from cuttings.
It’s not just a shed
When most people think of a garden office they immediately think, cheapest shed they can find.
The truth is a little bit more complicated. Whilst home office garden hubs are about the same size as sheds, they often have a lot of extra functionality such as heating, electricity light and many bespoke designers actually help and specialise specifically in creating these.
This is a much cheaper way to get an extra room than just building a brand new room.
More vitamin D
So anyone who lives in a colder climate knows how much of an issue vitamin D deficiency can be in the long winter months.
Most of us are cooked up inside trying to avoid the cold weather. One of the major benefits of home office gardens which have a large number of windows is that you’re exposed to more light and vitamin D then your indoor based counterparts.
Do you need planning permission for a home office garden?
Most people who work from home will not need planning permission for their home office garden spaces. Home office garden pods that are sustainable will need to be a single story with a maximum height eaves height of 2.5 meters. If your structure is built within a 2 meter boundary it can be no taller than 2.5 meters.
How to design a home office garden pod
So now you know what the benefits of a home office garden are, what if you wanted to create one? Exactly how would you go about doing this.
Well there are two options. You can either hire a professional to help build you one or you could design it from scratch.
Now Yotuber Ali Dymock goes into great detail about how to do this step by step: I’ve listed one of his videos below. But to summarize I’ve made a table below that
(Just as an FYI this would be for a 30 meter squared garden pod)
| Step | What you will be doing |
Why |
| 1 | Designing exactly how you want your room to look | You cannot design a project this big by chance and so need to use something to help you visualize the garden pod, as well as to give you an understanding of how much materials you will need. My recommendation would be to use something like Stylesketcher to really get a good blueprint of what you will need. |
| 2 | Demolition any existing existing shed/garden space | In order to make room for your garden pod, it’s likely you will need to get rid of whatever you have existing in your garden, so say goodbye to your old sheedor garage. Feel free to skip if you already have garden space |
| 3 | Planning permission | So if you decide to go for something larger than the sizes we recommended earlier we recommended earlier you will need to look into planning permission and building regulations. I am not a qualified professional when it comes to this so be sure to do plenty of research and speak to any legal teams if you need. |
| 4 | Foundations | Use cedar lengths to measure out the exact size of your garden hub, hammer stakes in place. Lay your foundation using cement blocks |
| 5 | Timber Floor | Once your foundations are complete you will need to lay your floor down, be sure to use a waterproof panel underneath to stop any water from leaking out. |
| 6 | Insulation + plywood | Needed to keep your garden pod warm year round. For the best option select PIR insulation, although slightly pricey it definitely does the best job outdoors for retaining heat |
| 7 | Walls | Your garden pod will then need walls,again follow https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WcViyalO2jA to help |
| 8 | Roof | Once your walls are completed you then need to put together your roof. |
| 9 | Roof covering | The final stage will be to add a few finishing touches like roof coverings and fascias to make your garden pod pretty. Feel free to add paint here to if |
What materials will you need to design a home office garden pod?
So now that you know how to design a garden home office there is a lot of material you’re going to need, especially if you’re thinking of building this from scratch.
The following Items are essential for designing a garden home office:
- Sledgehammer – For knocking down any existing garage space/cement
- Dust Mask – For stopping any disk getting infected
- Crowbar – great for playing away any touch bits of cement
- Ladder – great for reaching hard to reach spaces
- Titan breaker – great for smashing up concrete for the foundations of your office space
- Headphone – great for drowning out the sound of the titan breaker
- Concrete blocks – needed for laying down the foundation of your garden pod
- Screws – needed when you fit everything together
- Nails – same as above
- Timber – needed for the floor and walls of your garden office
- Waterproof sheeting – needed for the floor and walls of your garden office
- Tape measure – needed to measure the exact length of your space n
- Insulation – needed to keep your office warm
- Plywood – great for your walls and room of your garden office
- https://www.sketchup.com/ – great for designing your home office
All of which you can find on my resource page here.
Now that is obviously going to be a lot of work, but one solution would be to use something like an arrow shed to save you a lot of time if you don’t want to use your own timber.
FAQs about home office garden pods
So hopefully the post has helped get an idea of not only the benefits of home office garden pods but also how to create them. It’s worth mentioning however there are still a few questions people to have with them, hence I have listed these below:
What is the best way to design a home office garden pod?
The best way to design a home office garden pod is by using sketchup.com. They have tons of great video to help you get familiar with the platform and really help visualise your design.
It is worth mentioning however that you do not need to have a super in depth design. Instead aim for something basic like a rectangular shape that is easy enough to crease, especially if this is your first time
How much do home office gardens cost?
To create a home office from scratch, purchasing all materials will cost between $2000 and $5000 depending on the size. If you were to use a building service for this, they would charge anywhere from $30 to $50 for labour and this could end up costing you upwards of $10000 – $20000
A cheaper alternative would be to use a shed as a home office garden space which would cost significantly less.
Does a garden office add value to your home office?
Any improvement to floor space and extra room will increase the value of your home. Typically home offices will add about 20% to the value of your home. This will increase depending on the size of your home office.
Now if you make your garden pod a complete eyesoar or make it out of materials that are quite hard to come by, you might find this reduces the price of your house by a fair bit.
I’ve actually written a post about home offices and values which you can find here.
How do you keep a home office garden hub insulated?
The best way to keep a garden home office insulated is by using PIR insulation. The majority of your heat will be lost through the floor, windows and roof of your garden office so ensure you have ample coverage
On top of this, you can always do little hacks likc only having patio doors instead of floor to ceiling walls or reducing the amount of windows you have to ensure you keep as much heat in as possible.
Worst case scenario feel free to add a heater to your office space to stay nice and toasty during winter. My recommendation for insulation can be found here.
Wrapping things up
So hopefully this post has helped give you a bit of insight into home office garden pods and how they are truly a viable option to consider if you have the time to build one.
Once again you can find out all the materials you will need on my resource page here and you can also find all of my recommended products here.
Finally a lot of people are curious how I make money through this blog so if you want to find that out you can check out the only course I recommend for starting a side hustle here.
The content on this on this site has been written by Fehed Nicass who has over a decades worth of experience in sales and has worked remotely for the past 2 years.