GARDEN RETREAT – DODDINGHURST, ESSEX
Jo and Dan approached Hawksbeck Garden Rooms as they were looking to create a retreat at the end of their garden, partly for Dan to work from. They had a very clear vision of what they wanted to achieve.
They chose a Hawksbeck Heritage garden room, as they loved the spacious feel of the internal vaulted ceiling and the external appearance of the pitched roof. They were particularly keen to retain an exposed ridge beam, to mirror the design of their timber framed home extension. They also opted for a small bathroom with sink and toilet, and a separate room for gym equipment, accessed by a cedar-clad door from the outside of their garden room.
They loved the natural slate roof they had seen on another one of our completed garden rooms, as well as the cedar cladding. Jo and Dan wanted the cedar to weather naturally over time to a silver grey, rather than have it treated with a protective oil. This will work well with the natural palette that they have chosen throughout the building. They have set the garden room off with Origin Bifold doors at the front, which are colour matched to the Bifolds in their home.
The Shaker style units in the bathroom and living area are from deVOL Kitchens. In the bathroom, Jo sourced a reclaimed piece of timber, which we installed on the vanity unit. The kitchen work surface is Carrara Jade quartz. The flooring is a Havwoods engineered wooden flooring called Jutland, an oiled tongue and groove board with a bevelled edge.
Aesthetically, it was really important to have the air conditioning unit out of sight, with only discreet grills in each room. Working with our air conditioning experts, we installed an Adaptive Inverter Ducted System, with the unit housed in a bulkhead out of sight, and only small grills on show.
At the front, we installed a lovely large decking area, which Jo tastefully decorated with plants. The decking is Millboard, a composite material, which is durable and long lasting. The antique oak colour works really well with the cedar.
Jo’s amazing attention to detail and interior design flair has made this an amazing garden room project to work on and the end result is stunning.
“Hawksbeck built us a stunning slate roofed garden room, making maximum use of an area of our garden that was little used. The building is absolutely beautiful, blending seamlessly with the surrounding space. It is a very tranquil and productive place for home working.
Jon is utterly professional, regularly on site and overseeing the whole project from start to finish. Costs are clearly communicated at the outset and broken down into line items. We were particularly impressed with his appreciation of and attention to fine details. Jon is always willing to explore alternative design ideas and discuss options at all stages.
Jon and his whole team are a pleasure to work with, and in particular his awesome carpenters, Glen and Tom!
We highly recommend this company.”
