Since the second part of winter started, more ideas about what would be fun to do this spring come to mind. Although it is a little early for the seedlings to prepare, it is a perfect time to plan new buildings, weather that’s a chicken fence such as https://www.critterfence.com/chicken-fence or other area preparation is the key. After all, how well you think about the most important details will directly determine the result. Why not spend more time on it?
Probably the most common project that you can decide to do on your own as soon as the weather warms up is garden rooms, which allow you to enjoy private relaxation during the summer and provide an opportunity to escape from the noises of the city in winter. To make this construction easier to decide and the result more enjoyable, in this article we have decided to share some basic tips to help you create the vacation area of your dreams.
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Why Is It Worth Designing Yourself?
Although there are many finished wooden house projects on the market, an individually designed garden house usually meets the expectations of the owners much better. The needs of people are different, so if, for example, some people enjoy a large space, for others the small rooms of the cottage give a feeling of privacy and coziness.
Choosing a ready-made wooden house project will save you a lot of time, but you will also not be able to implement your original ideas – will have to come to terms with the solutions that are not always acceptable but are included in the house project already. It is also important to mention that the individual design of a garden house can also help reduce its construction costs: when designing a house yourself, you will only pay for the solutions that are necessary for you.
It must be emphasized that designing a house on your own does not mean that you have to do it yourself without professional help. By deciding to use the help of specialists in the field, you will avoid mistakes that may cost extra money and receive useful tips which help you enjoy the result of the constructions even more.
How To Choose The Size Of Your Garden House?
The first important decision from which the construction of practically every cottage begins is the choice of the size of the wooden cottage, on which the price of all the garden house project depends. You can decide on the size of the garden house that will be the most suitable for a comfortable life. It is important to keep in mind that after saving on space, you will be able to choose better quality materials for the construction.
No less important is the decision on which the final price of a wooden house will depend – the number of floors of your garden house. However, if the plot on which you plan to build a wooden cottage is quite small, despite the higher construction costs, a two-story house could become a great choice for saving space in a more spacious yard.
If you have a limited budget for construction and the price of a wooden house is relevant to you, we encourage to think carefully about possible additional architectural solutions. Consider whether your home needs a patio with large windows and a roof, or other facilities such as a balcony, basement, or garage. For example, the cost of installing a garage is the same as installing a living space, so a roof can be a great alternative in this case, as it will not only cost much less, but will also perform most of the same functions perfectly.
According to the general practice, garden rooms usually do not exceed 80 m2 in the area and 8.5 m, so they do not require a special building permit. However, if you want more space in the summer house or plan to spend a lot of time in it – a larger option of the building is worth considering.
If you cannot imagine your garden house without a garage, even a wooden cottage with a small living space may already need a permit – the garage area is included in the total living space. A building permit is also required if the garden room is planned to be built in a protected area. The cost of legalizing a wooden house is usually quoted individually, but in general practice, it currently starts at € 600.
Modern Garden Rooms: How To Plan The Interior?
After a preliminary decision on all the technical issues, you can move on to the most fun part of the planning – creating the interior of the house. To prevent your garden house from becoming an ordinary summer house, we suggest taking the time to search for ideas and inspiration online before starting design works. On websites like Pinterest, you can not only find beautiful pictures but also practical tips that can make a simple wooden house a unique place for a holiday.
It is no secret that we usually imagine garden rooms as a simple square boxes, but it is far from limited to this idea. Original layout solutions should not be avoided, especially for tiny wooden houses. Individually designed mobile homes and cottages can be very modern, with large panoramic windows and a terrace, one of the ideas often recommended by contractors for a small wooden house – a living space without walls, otherwise called a loft.
To prevent the garden house from becoming a cramped room, we also suggest thinking about storage places carefully. We suggest using the small spaces under the stairs or the remaining corners of the rooms. For example, although we are accustomed to storing things horizontally, we can also use vertical spaces to store things which often saves more space. One of the options often chosen by settlers is wall wardrobes taking up the entire wall area. It does not clutter the room (as a large and heavy additional piece of furniture) and allows full use of your garden house space.
After considering the purpose of each isolated room carefully, try to plan as few corridors as possible. It does not only hinder the use of space, but also reduces the overall sense of space in the garden house and, most importantly, prevents light from passing through the windows from all sides.
The Importance Of Lighting And Interior Colors
Finally, we suggest paying enough attention to colors and lighting during the interior design process. Although lighting design is often given relatively little attention, it can become a particularly significant accent in a home while making small summer houses look much more spacious. Thus, the possibility of a larger number of windows and the location of artificial lighting should be considered during the design of the wooden house, as these changes will be difficult to make in the later stages of the project.
In case garden sheds have already been designed, indoor lighting can be improved just by using several types of lighting. The two most popular additional types are task lighting and spotlighting. Task lighting, which is brighter than general lighting, includes standing lamps, desk lamps, bathroom mirror lighting, under-cabinet lamps, rail lamps.
Spot lamps include ceiling lighting and ceiling-mounted lamps. As we have emphasized before, the combination of all three types of lighting will create an effect that will make the space look visually larger. Different types of lamps can also give the interior an extra style, if possible, combine them with furniture and other interior details.
No matter what decoration of the walls, floor, and ceiling you are going to choose, you should pay attention to the future colors of the rooms in the house. This will not only determine how stylish your garden rooms will look, but will also have a significant impact on the feel of the space and the lighting in the house. Based on general knowledge, it is not difficult to understand that the chosen light colors of the room will give much more light than dark ones.
The bright colors chosen for the decoration of the room will make your little house more spacious optically than it is. A bright interior will become an irreplaceable solution in case the wooden house lacks windows or the light through the windows is blocked by trees growing outside. It is important to mention that furniture should be given no less attention than the walls of the main garden house room.
How Could You Save Money?
We all enjoy small things, but sometimes it comes at a high cost. After checking several ideas, you will realize that a well-designed wooden cottage does not necessarily have to be spacious and large if its spaces and the purposes of the spaces are well thought out. It is true that if you choose a professional contractor for the construction of your wooden house, he will share important recommendations and insights – what is important to invest in and what is just nice to have.
However, you can take a look into this topic by yourself more precisely, after all, who can know your personal needs better than you?
An important insight of professionals that you may not find in publicly available information is that there is not recommended to save on the construction materials. For example, you can choose a lower class of windows and doors when designing a building, but based on our experience, this will only reduce the insulation of the wooden house and you will spend more on heating it.
Another saving idea that we often hear from customers is saving by choosing thinner, lower-class walls. This is a fairly practical choice if you usually plan to use your wooden house as a summer house. It is also enough to use thinner walls to insulate the rooms, which will help reduce construction costs without giving up on higher quality windows and doors. However, we do not strongly recommend this saving option when garden houses are built for all-year use.
Another way of saving is a choice to be independent when it comes to the common service network. For example, instead of using shared electricity, it is possible to live with an independent source of electricity during the summer. An easily transportable generator can be a great solution in this case, as purchasing it is not a big investment. Therefore, if you do not use the holiday home too often, it can be a great lighting solution that does not require high financial costs.
Another great alternative that can replace the insulation of a wooden garden house is the installation of a fireplace. In this case, your garden room will not only be heated according to the need, but it will also become a much more cozy place to spend colder vacation evenings. The choice to use solar energy is considered to be an extremely environmentally friendly solution, and wind energy is also considered to be effective, however, it also requires the house to be located in a windy area.
