Garden Rooms and Annexes: Just for the Summer, or a Year-Round Investment?

When looking for a new place in the home to relax, entertain or even work, many homeowners opt for a garden room, separate from the home to get away from the hustle and bustle of the household. Since the pandemic, more people have opted for a garden room for extra space; according to recent statistics, the UK garden room market was worth approximately £266 million in 2024 and is forecast to grow at a 5.8% CAGR until 2030. With more purchases comes more competition, so do homeowners know exactly what to look for before committing?

Choosing the right garden room depends on various factors, such as size, usage, and window and door choices. Some people may choose garden rooms that are ideal in the summer, but don’t serve much purpose in the winter, but could they be missing a trick? With the right insulation and amenities, garden rooms could be your next perfect home addition.

Uses and Benefits: Getting the Most out of your Garden Room

Everyone has their own reason for building a garden room. One of the most common reasons is for a designated, quiet home office. Since the pandemic, more and more people have gone hybrid or completely remote. In fact, 28% of workers in Great Britain were hybrid workers between 8 January and 30 March 2025, and 91% of employers offer some form of flexible working. Therefore, most people with a hybrid work setup will need an assigned space to work comfortably, and sometimes, a spare room in the home just won’t do.

Office garden rooms eliminate household distractions and can maintain that boundary between home and work life, something that can be hard to balance when working from home. Other popular uses for a garden room include:

• Home bar and entertainment space: garden rooms can be perfect for a home bar, with ideal sizing options for a pool table or lounging area for entertaining guests and throwing parties. Garden bars can also keep any mess and disruption away from your main living area.
• Home gym: one of the downsides of going to the gym is how crowded it can get, which is why a garden gym is the perfect spot for at-home workouts, yoga and tranquil meditation.
• Gaming area or playroom: when gaming online with friends, most want to be left alone, making a separate garden space a great choice for online battles and tournaments. If you have small children, garden rooms can easily convert into a play den, and create extra storage for toys too.
• Spare/guest rooms: if you frequently have family and friends staying over, creating a designated space away from the home offers comfort and privacy.

Rather than building a garden room from scratch, you can also transform old outhouses or sheds into multi-purpose rooms, saving you money in building and installation costs.

As well as serving a practical purpose, garden rooms have plenty more benefits to offer. Unlike summerhouses, garden rooms can be used all-year-round, especially when fitted with the right floors, doors, roof insulation and double-glazed windows. They can also provide you with more flexibility, and they can increase your property value should you ever come to sell. Importantly, garden rooms can potentially improve your wellbeing, providing you with a space separate from your home.

When choosing a garden room, most builders and installers will provide everything for you, from flooring and roofing to doors and windows. However, some garden rooms come as “empty shells” like a flat-pack kit to save you money. In fact, garden room kits can save 20%–35% compared with a fully installed garden room. Looking elsewhere for windows and doors can also give you the freedom to pick the right options that suit you.

Do the Right Doors Really Make That Much Difference?

The right garden room doors can make or break your comfort, as well as how practical the room is for its use. As well as ensuring the style of door suits your needs, it is important that you choose doors that highlight their energy efficiency, glazing and security features.

Energy-efficiency is key for making sure your garden room is usable throughout the year. Double-glazed doors with low U-values can keep heat in during the winter and create a cooler environment in the summer. Also, energy efficient doors could save you money; the Energy Saving Trust says draught-proofing around windows, floors and doors could save homeowners around £85 a year in Great Britain. If you keep high-value items in your garden room, doors with approved locks and other safety features such as security glass could be essential for your peace of mind.

For the most practical choice, consider the following options for different settings:

·       For open-plan entertaining, choose bifold doors: for seamless indoor-outdoor transition, bifold doors are a popular choice for garden rooms and patios alike. Their easy-to-open accordion-style design allows them to stack against the wall when opened, removing the partition with ease.

·       For uninterrupted views and home gyms, choose sliding doors: sliding doors are practical, functional and stylish options for garden rooms, with panes that slide over each other to save on floor space. Wide glass door panes mean more natural light and uninterrupted views, perfect for adding extra serotonin to your workout or meditation.

·       For smaller garden rooms and home offices, choose French doors: a classic choice, French garden room doors swing open for a symmetrical look. They’re ideal for smaller rooms as they swing outwardly, saving on internal floor space.

Ultimately, the doors you choose for your garden room can also depend on your personal preferences too. All of our doors at Vufold are perfect for garden rooms, with low U-values and excellent security features across the board. You can view all of our garden room doors here. Our doors can also be installed by you, saving you money on installation costs that garden room builders or renovators may charge you.

Future-Proofing Your Garden Room

To get the most out of your garden room (and your investment), you need to ensure it stands the test of time. Guaranteeing that it has been built with durable materials, and it has enough internal amenities such as plug sockets and lights, you can transform your garden room into a more versatile space if it ever needs to change its purpose in the future.

When choosing your garden room, or if you’re looking to renovate an old outhouse, make sure that the materials used are ready for any weather. The Met Office projects that, by 2070, UK winters could be up to 30% wetter and summers up to 60% drier, with summers 1–6°C warmer depending on region and scenario. Therefore, insulated floors and walls, roofs with rigid foam, structural panels, and weatherproof doors and windows are a must.

If you ever choose to sell in the future, or you want to leave your property to your loved ones, garden rooms could increase the value of your home, though this can change from property to property and be affected by quality and location. A garden room can reportedly add 5–15% to property value, depending on quality, size and purpose; one cited estimate suggests a garden office can add 8.4%, or around £22,739.

All of our windows and doors at Vufold are ready for any weather, made from high-quality materials and finished to the highest standard to keep you comfortable. We also provide advice for all kinds of doors, including how you can ensure that your door is right for you.

The Winter Conundrum: Can Garden Rooms Be Beneficial?

Older garden rooms, such as summer houses, were built with summer in mind (hence the name). They weren’t well insulated, so they would often be forgotten about come autumn and winter. Modern garden rooms, however, are treated like year-round living spaces, placing emphasis on comfort and practicality. Nowadays, winter doesn’t have to be a concern when deciding whether to invest in a garden room.

Most premium garden rooms nowadays are built with Structural Insulated Panels (SIPs) for impressive insulation, with rigid foam boards in the floor and roof for further comfort. Windows that are at least double-glazed are both durable and thermally efficient, and can muffle sound, perfect if your garden room is a home office.

The doors you choose can also make or break how thermally efficient your garden room is. Choose doors that have double-glazed glass and thermal breaks, which not only stop the flow of thermal energy, but also prevent condensation and mould. Thermal breaks can also keep your garden room cool during the summer. Finally, look for doors with low U-values; at Vufold, we provide doors with U-values as low as 1.0 W/m2K, providing you with even better insulation and reduced heat loss.

“In winter, it’s not always easy to ventilate a garden room,” says our expert, Rick Collins, operations director at Vufold. “

“When using a garden room all year round, it’s important to remember you will need the correct proportion of heating and insulation, but background ventilation must also be a consideration to ensure you stay damp and condensation free.”

“Choosing trickle vents, especially in rooms that only have doors, is essential.” You can add trickle vents to your order of bifold doors or sliding doors.

Our Doors Perfect for Garden Rooms at Vufold

All of our doors at Vufold are perfect for garden rooms, no matter its use or purpose.

Bifold Doors for Garden Rooms

We manufacturer and deliver high-quality bifold doors made from either, wood, aluminium and oak, each finished to the highest standard, adding style and comfort to your garden room. Our various costs (subject to change) and sizes are:

Our aluminium bifold doors, pictured above, come in various finishes such as jet black, anthracite grey, white, or a mixture of grey and white, suited to your personal taste. These doors come with a 15-year guarantee, a high-security multi-point lock and thermally broken aluminium sections for cosy living. We also offer custom sizing to suit your unique space.

Sliding Doors for Garden Rooms

Our aluminium sliding doors are perfect for garden rooms that need more natural light, available as lift and slide or inline sliding options for ease of use. We also offer COR Vision slimline sliding doors, our slimmest frames yet. Different costs (subject to change) and sizes (custom available) are:

Our COR Vision aluminium sliding doors, pictured here, feature our slimmest frames for more expansive views and abundant natural light. Available in black, grey and white, you can order the best style for you and your garden room. Complete with a 10-year guarantee (15 years for both our other ranges), a robust multi-point locking system and low U-values, these doors are a great choice for garden rooms and patios alike.

French Doors for Garden Rooms

French doors are a classic, popular choice amongst homeowners, and can add a traditional touch to your modern garden room. Our French doors are available in oak, timber, uPVC, steel-look or aluminium finishes, giving you plenty of choice to suit your style and your budget. Our various costs (subject to change) and sizes are:

Our Heritage steel-look French doors, pictured here, are our more prestigious collection, ideal for art-deco-style garden rooms. Available in jet black and anthracite grey and come complete with a multi-point locking system and a 3-star security cylinder, these doors tick all the boxes for comfort, security and style.

Ready to style your garden room? Get in touch with us today to enquire further about our doors, or get a bespoke quote.