Interiors: garden space cubed

Feeling cabin-feverish after the holidays? John Sherry certainly hopes so. His Co Meath company Gardenrooms provides that bit of extra space families crave when hobbies, work, guests or teenagers start taking over the house.

In business since 2003, he designs and builds timber structures that can be installed in most cases without planning permission. Over 600 have been built in the last decade for all kinds of uses – one client wanted a house to display his Lego collection, another as a venue for Tarot readings. Most requests come from people who’ve started working from home and from parents who find themselves prisoners in their own bedrooms as their teenagers party downstairs.

“So many people have open plan homes these days,” says Sherry “that there is simply nowhere else to go. The parents who want one of these are usually the ones whose kids have friends over all the time, and they want to keep it that way. They like to know where they are, and one of these helps.”

The spaces are also popular as gyms, music rooms and art studios.

This Cube design comes has floor to ceiling double-gazed windows, full insulation and laminate walnut flooring. It takes around six weeks from ordering to opening, with the actual building part taking up to two weeks, depending on size.

Prices start from €11,000 for a 10 sq m building ( with plumbing for a toilet and sink adding an additional €4,000) rising to €28,000 for the 25 sq m Cube. See gardenrooms.ie