This year at the Chelsea flower show it’s seems that flowers or Diarmuid Gavin’s pyramid aren’t the talking point, but instead it’s the sheds. Of course there have always been the usual hut type structures around as well as attractive sheds and the latest greenhouses, but this year there has been an array of large scale garden offices, shepherds’ huts and even caravans. This underlines the trends in what you want in your garden, a garden room.

It’s not surprising though, the amount of versatility that a garden room adds to your home and that extra space. Furthermore, statistics show that it can even add 5% to the value of your property if done correctly.

Chelsea has seen inspiring garden offices in the past and includes:

2005 – Andy Sturgeon – The garden featured a white-walled garden office with glass folding doors.

2005 – Microsoft SoGo Garden – by Lizzie Taylor and Dawn Isaac that contained a futuristic pod.

2007 – Diarmuid Gavin – Westland Garden show garden that featured a ‘his and hers’ pair of garden studios.

2008 – The Simmons & Simmons Garden – A Journey to Work in which they tried innovative ways for flexible working and featured an office in a barn.

There have been plenty this year too with Patricia Fox’s Rooftop Workplace, which integrated a garden office perfectly and created an atmosphere you could be happy to work in. Also Jo Thompson’s vintage caravan took centre stage in her garden and also won her a silver-gilt, but to name a few garden building inspired entries.

Now we do still recognise that it maintains a ‘Flower show’ and not a ‘Shed show’, but shows that gardens this year reflect how we are utilising our outdoor space to create a more working or playful environment.

Check out Walton’s range of Summer houses and Log cabins here to see if something inspires you.