‘Moving out’ to the garden provides a level of escapism that every home worker has likely dreamt of. In building a den-like structure as your office, there’s a sense of purpose fundamental to the work from home mindset. Therefore when we considered a dream home office to capture the ethos of Five, working with a Green Retreats shell seemed like a great place to start. We chose the 5.5×4.5m Edge unit for its nod towards mid-century design. The glazed bi-fold front and sheltered deck creates a studio style workspace with real connection to the garden.

With the energy experienced from being outdoors, it’s not surprising that the Green Retreats concept has been so successful. Retreat, sanctuary, hideaway call it what you will, it feels special. However, the interior needs to give back more than just desk space – will we be likely to spend time here on a hobby or interest, entertaining, or collaboratively working with others? Can the garden room rehome work-related storage or display a collection? Often the things we treasure are boxed away for safe keeping.

Come winter, moving the laptop to the kitchen table was not part of the plan. So ditching the white box interior and thinking about the mood on grey days is a must. As with most home offices the shell provides a simple rectangular space, the challenge being to create an interior that matches the vibrancy of the garden and the warmth of the timber outer shell.

As a result, texture is important to the design. Linear oak fluting, the richly organic wallcovering by Missoni, cork cladding and Kvadrat rug all serve to soften and warm the space. Furniture is used to vary the mood; an eclectic shelving unit in navy blue by Tylko takes the eye off centre and bespoke fitted furniture to the left creates a wraparound workspace for two either standing or sitting. To the centre, lounge furniture by HAY lends a casual take on the garden aesthetic. Focused dimmable down lighting in task areas and a large Duckbill pendant light allow for a change of mood. As a result we created a sense of comfort within a utilitarian building.

Absolutely a garden room interior needs to be as at home in the garden as its external details. Look back at what inspires interiors connected to the outdoors, from Frank Lloyd-Wright’s iconic home Fallingwater to Hampshire’s very own Strom Architects who design ‘uniquely modern homes’ seemingly embedded in the landscape. For both, the design style shows affection for all things human through the tactile nature of materials, use of tone and form. Let a garden office truly reflect the garden.