This family room in the beautiful village of Chalfont St Giles in Buckinghamshire was one of our favourite builds of 2017. The whole household were involved in making decisions about their new space and it was great fun having their 11 year old son take such an active role in the decision making process. We are sure he’s a designer of the future!
The brief was to provide the family with extra living space which could be used as a games and cinema room, and somewhere for the family to gather in the evenings and weekends.
The 8m x 3m build took just three and a half weeks in October 2017.
Location location location…
The area chosen for the build was the far end of a long and rectangular, traditional 1930s style garden, and positioned in front of two sheds which were to remain in place for storage. Because of the position of the sheds, we allowed a 1m space to the right hand side of the new garden room to allow easy access.
One of the remaining sheds is just visible to the right hand side of the new family garden room. The long narrow design of the building ensured that there was plenty of garden left to enjoy.
Climate control
As the garden room was going to be used very regularly throughout the year, the family opted to include a climate control unit. We often recommend them, especially in builds where the room is south facing, as direct sunlight on large expanses of glazing can result in a very warm environment inside during the summer months. In the winter, they negate the need for additional radiators on the walls – yes, they have both cooling and heating functions, and can also be set to regulate heat, providing a set temperature throughout the year. Other climate control options offered by Vivid Green are specialist solar glass, which can reduce the solar gain by up to 57% and fitted aluminium blinds.
This is an image of the climate control unit at the rear of the family garden room. Slimline and modern.
Bringing the outside in
An extra wide composite decked area was added to the design which makes the most of the large 5 panel bifold doors which open right up. Matching cedar cladding was added to the bottom lip of the deck so that the whole design tied together.
Connected
The client smartly opted to also include a built in Wifi connection and multiple power points. It was definitely the right choice as the room was over ten meters from the main house, and would be requiring high speed broadband and electricity for multiple devices.
Client feedback
“From start to finish Vivid Green have been exceptional. Taking time to get the design right, we quickly moved into implementation. The build team were phenomenal. They took real care not only to get the construction and finishes to the highest possible quality but also to minimise the impact on the rest of the garden. I would not hesitate to recommend and to use Vivid Green again. Great job guys.”
Would they recommend us?
“Unquestionably. A great business to deal with I will use Vivid Green again.
The studio has exceeded my expectations. It feels like part of the house.”