If you love your growing teenagers but are less fond of their loud music, visiting friends, smelly trainers or your TV being mainly a games console, you’re not alone.
We’ve seen a growing trend in parents looking for a teenage bolt-hole in the garden. All our garden buildings are made to measure, double-glazed and insulated, helping you create an inviting year-round space for growing teens and their friends to enjoy some freedom and privacy – while you do the same in the house.
One family whose teenage daughter enjoys her own garden room agreed it was a great move, she now has the separation she craved without getting under her parent's feet: "The benefits are endless. It's a quiet, calming and relaxing space to study and do my college work. Now I can have my friends around any time without us getting in my parents way. Best of all it's like having my own house.' You can read more in our case study.
Sound familiar? If this might help your household harmony, here are a few things to consider.
With families of every age and people choosing garden buildings for work, it’s important to balance what you need now with the flexibility to change as your life does. Garden rooms offer lots of scope for re-definition. They are a great long-term investment for this reason and can be DIY or expert-installed in just a few days.
Your playroom becomes a teen den becomes a hobby room becomes a garden office or studio, and all with minimal upheaval as long as you think ahead. Think about the right size and shape, installing appropriate power and utilities, and easy access from the house.
Right now, you need to create something your teen will want to be in, so get them involved in the design of the space and storage. We all love a room of our own, but as teens develop their own separate identities their rooms really are their kingdoms, and a blank canvas is a rare opportunity.
Take them to car boot sales or browse eBay for cool vintage rugs, cushions, posters and accessories. There are endless YouTube tutorials about upcycling furniture or creating original art if that’s their thing. You can give them free rein with colours and decoration secure in the knowledge you can paint right over it when they leave home!
Garden hideaways often work best when you designate spaces for work, rest and play, designing interiors to meet these separate needs. Your teen den can incorporate furniture, media and storage to entertain friends, watch films, play computer games, practice music, do arts and crafts or store sports kits.
Multi-point locking door locks keep kit as secure as it would be in the house, while custom-designed and built-in storage maximises the use of space to keep order. Sofa beds are a popular option, opening out easily for sleepovers and neatly folding away.
But do let them back in the house occasionally!
Be inspired by our wide range of images on our customer gallery pages.
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