Garden Rooms, Studios & Offices in East Dulwich & South East London

Fully insulated garden offices, studios and gym rooms. Designed and built with our sister company Dulwich Building Co, integrated into the wider garden plan from day one.

A garden room is one of the best things you can do with a London garden. Done well, it adds usable floor area to your house at a fraction of the cost-per-square-foot of an extension, gets you out from under the kids' feet during a working day, and ages into a piece of architecture rather than a shed.

The mistake we see again and again is treating the garden room as a separate purchase from the garden. People order a kit, drop it in, and then have to retrofit a path, a patio, lighting and a planting plan around a building that's never quite where it should be.

What we build

  • Garden offices, studios, gym rooms, music rooms and reading rooms (typically 8-25 sqm)
  • Fully insulated for year-round use (floor, walls, roof, glazing)
  • Heated and lit, with proper electrics from the house
  • Plumbed where needed (basin, WC, kitchenette)
  • Cladding to match — Western red cedar, sweet chestnut, charred timber (yakisugi), painted cement board, brick to match the house
  • Flat or low-pitch roof, with sedum or wildflower roof option
  • Bifold or sliding doors, side-light glazing, rooflights
  • Integrated decking, paths, planting and lighting around the building
  • Fully designed into the garden by our landscaping team

Why we do garden rooms differently

We're a landscaping company, not a flat-pack reseller. Every garden room we build is custom-designed for the garden it sits in, by the same team that's redoing the garden around it.

The position is right. Most off-the-shelf garden rooms end up in the back corner because the supplier doesn't know the garden. We position the room where the light is right, the view is right, and the rest of the garden still works.

The approach is designed. A path from the back door to the garden room, integrated into the patio, with planting either side and lighting underfoot.

The materials match the house. Brick cladding picks up the brickwork on the back wall. Cedar weathers to the same grey as the slate roof. The garden room reads as part of the house, not bolted onto the side of the lawn.

The build matches our extension spec. We construct garden rooms to the same standards we use for kitchen extensions through Dulwich Building Co. Real foundations, real insulation, real electrics, real ventilation.

What it costs

Indicative ranges, fully built, fully fitted, integrated into the garden. Final price after design and survey.

  • Small studio (8-12 sqm), basic spec: £25,000 to £40,000
  • Garden office (12-18 sqm), insulated, glazed, fully wired: £35,000 to £55,000
  • Larger studio (18-25 sqm), high-spec finishes: £55,000 to £85,000
  • Garden room with WC and kitchenette: £55,000 to £95,000
  • Premium spec (large bifolds, sedum roof, oak interior): £75,000 to £120,000+

What moves the price: size, cladding choice, glazing spec (triple-glazed bifolds vs double-glazed sliders), whether plumbing is included, foundations, interior fit-out level, and the access route.

For comparison, a house extension is currently running at £3,500-£4,500/sqm. A garden room is roughly £2,500-£3,500/sqm fully fitted.

Areas we cover

East Dulwich · Dulwich Village · West Dulwich · Herne Hill · Peckham · Camberwell · Forest Hill · Honor Oak & Nunhead

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A small gray shed with an open door, revealing an unfinished wooden interior, situated on a stone patio surrounded by trees and a wooden fence.
View of a modern house with gray exterior siding and large sliding glass doors, opening to a wooden deck outdoors, with a fenced backyard and trees in the background.
Empty interior room with OSB panel walls and ceiling, a sliding glass door at the back, a small shelf on the right wall, and some tools on the floor.

Frequently Asked Questions

About Garden Rooms & Studios

  • Usually no, if it falls under permitted development. Common limits: max 2.5m high if within 2m of any boundary, max 4m elsewhere (3m if flat roof), less than 50% of garden area, single storey, used as ancillary to the main house. Conservation areas, listed buildings and Article 4 areas are stricter — we’ll check yours.

  • Garden rooms under 30 sqm internal floor area, more than 1m from a boundary, with no sleeping accommodation, are exempt from building regs. We still build to building regs standard (insulation, electrics, structural integrity) so you can be confident in the spec.

  • Typically 8-14 weeks on site, plus 4-6 weeks of design and planning beforehand. Garden rooms with brick exteriors take longer.

  • Yes — we’ll trench in supply and waste pipes alongside the electrics. Worth thinking about if it’s a gym, art studio, or guest accommodation. Brings in some additional regs around drainage.

  • Yes — fully insulated and heated, garden rooms work year-round. We typically install an electric panel heater or, on bigger rooms, an air-source heat pump.

  • Yes — we use either screw-pile foundations (which avoid the need to dig deep into clay) or an insulated raft, depending on tree proximity and ground conditions. Both are appropriate for South London soils.

How a quote works

  1. Tell us about your garden.
    Use the form opposite to describe what you’d like done — a new patio, garden room, full redesign, or anything in between. WhatsApp 07584 928 681 if it’s easier.

  2. Send a plan or photos.
    Already have a plan from a landscape architect or garden designer? Upload it. Otherwise, just attach a few photos of your existing garden so we can see what we’re working with.

  3. We assess the job and call you.
    We’ll review everything you’ve sent, work out what’s involved, and ring you to talk it through.

  4. Book a site visit when it suits you.
    We come and walk the garden with you to confirm the details, then send a clear, fixed written quote — itemised by element so you know exactly what you’re paying for.