November/December 2021

Article Garden Rooms
'LIVING SPACES FOR THE MASSES'
‘Move over conservatory sector’ – Ryan Crossley, director of Making Your Space, says the
opportunities are all in the emerging garden room market...
When compared with the rest of Europe,
the UK home is typically small, with a
living space of just 729ft 2 according to
House Beautiful. Statistics from local authority
building control also show a reduction room in
size each decade, from the 1930s onwards.
In recent decades, the lack of space resulted
in the rapid growth and subsequent demise of
the conservatory sector, which, at one stage,
boasted more than 300,000 installations per
annum. This created a stock of over two million,
many of which have been in need of urgent
repair or upgrade. The annualised conservatory
market of today is around 80,000 installations,
but the product has evolved notably, with highperformance
glass specified throughout.
So how is the demand for additional living space
met today? Over the last decade the average
number of bedrooms has now dipped under 3 to
2.95 in the average home, while room sizes have
continued to fall. The demand for more living space
is expanding all the time and Covid-19 – and the
sizeable shift to home working that’s its created
overnight – has significantly fuelled this further.
People have been able to work temporarily in the
spare bedroom or kitchen, but it’s not a long-term
solution given the distractions of a typical home
and the requirement to use Microsoft Teams or
Zoom. A garden room could well be the perfect
option, as it doesn’t have to connect to the fabric
of the building like a conservatory, and can sit
in any property’s garden, including terraced and
town houses.
A garden room can function as a home office,
gym, cinema space, a place to relax, a music
or reading room. Separate from the home, it’s
already a sanctuary for those early adopters
looking for the ultimate extended living space,
separate in form to the main part of the house.
While there may be a number of small regional
retail operators in this market, no one, as yet, has
put together a compelling product and marketing
proposition nationwide for the trade, and that’s
what’s driven us over the last 12 months to bring
Making Your Space to market. Thanks must also
go to Martyn Buckley, former managing director of
Polyframe, for the outside investment.
Easy design
Designing a garden room couldn’t be easier
thanks to the dedicated builder on our website at
makingyourspace.co.uk, which does all the hard
work for you. As a trade only supplier, we can add
all the margins and costings so that sales can be
closed quickly. We can even add the garden room
builder module onto any website for our network
of Design Centres, and we’re actively looking to
expand these quickly.
We offer a marketing support programme with
consumer brochures, installation and specification
guides and factory training days. We can also offer
sales areas that are flexible for both parties.
We can build a bespoke garden room in just
four weeks and have it delivered flat packed on
pallets directly, using quick-fix SIPS construction
wall cassettes that simply slot into place and
clip together. Having adopted proven off-site
construction techniques, a typical garden room
installation takes just two days, prior to a third
day of final fix electrics and plastering.
Many of the skills that companies have invested
in for the conservatory market are perfectly
suited for garden rooms, with bases requiring
the minimum of preparation and just a concrete
raft. But will garden rooms become the darling
of the home improvement market for the masses
in the years to come? We certainly think so and
are ready to support our customers and Design
Partners with everything to make this a reality.
Contact Making Your Space:
01422 385613
www.makingyourspace.co.uk
58 T I NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2021 PRACTICAL CONTENT FOR THE GLAZING INSTALLER & HOME IMPROVEMENT SPECIALIST