Seonaid Royall, the owner of "Sprout Up", a successful garden design and maintenance service based in South London, enjoys the work life balance her garden office offers. Installed over 8 years ago, she is no stranger to working in the garden and spends many hours drawing up plans for both small & grand schemes from her cosy garden room. Seonaid has a talent for transforming neglected gardens into creative, useable spaces that can be enjoyed all year round.
Seonaid chose a flat roof building (under 2.5m high) for her garden business HQ, this meant that she could avoid planning permission and situate the building close to her boundaries. A set of double doors and two long windows to the front elevation provide plenty of light, whilst there is an opening high level window for ventilation. The building has been painted by Seonaid in a soft green colour which blends in to the overall garden design. 
Before I changed careers and moved into my calm, zen-like garden room, I worked in the busy world of television, as a production manager for high profile shows like Top Gear and investigative BBC documentaries. Thankfully those project management skills still come in handy running a gardening business.
When I set up my business I wanted to spend time getting to know my clients and their requirements so I could offer exactly what they needed. Expanding fast into an office space with rental fees wasn’t a sensible option. The garden room gave me the flexibility to grow successfully without paying overheads, while staying close to my family.
Your service was perfect, and the flexibility of choices meant I could make it work for our budget, putting money in the areas that mattered. The option of taking on parts that I could do myself to make it work financially was a real bonus since I have construction skills.
For a small, urban garden everything you put in it matters, especially from a design perspective. The clean, sleek look of the building was important, as was the cost, shape and ability to modify it to my exact needs.
Being located at the end of the garden, it’s a very quick commute. Plus, I save time on school drop-offs and pick-ups. It’s also far enough away that I’m able to focus fully on my work and my clients.
How flexible the space is and how well it's lasted. No damp, disrepair or niggles. And eight years after it was built, Garden Affairs helped me make some minor adjustments, no trouble at all. Just how I run Sprout Up – things done to last, with care and attention to detail.
For further information about "Sprout Up" Garden Design visit the website at: www.sproutup.co.uk
Or you can Email: [email protected]
Or Phone: 07974 224638
