Getting your garden room to look just right
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How To Decorate A Garden Room
One of the joys of the garden room is that it's separate from the main body of the house - and therefore can be whatever you want it to be! Most family homes are very practical; you may love pale carpets, but they don't work with a family dog that loves muddy puddles and they're a magnet for any toddler's jam sandwich!
Your garden room is a haven and retreat, but the thought of decorating can feel like a challenge - a large, blank canvas where taking the first brushstroke is a little intimidating! With a little forethought, however, you can have the space of your dreams.
Sometimes, even garden room decorating must be practical. Family cinema rooms, for example, need dark colours and sound deadening to prevent the viewing experience from being impaired. Music rooms need similar sound deadening, for obvious reasons.
If you're using your garden room to relax or as a grown-ups entertaining space for cocktails, then you can let your imagination run wild! There are, however, a few ideas to set a room off beautifully and keep a stylish, more adult feel.
Garden rooms can make brilliant use of light with long windows and doors. If you're using your garden room in summer for garden parties or barbecues, then a pale palette maximising the available light to make even compact spaces feel spacious. In turn, when winter light is less available, cleverly placed lamps and up-lighters bounce artificial light around to make it a much more attractive place to be.
Storage is key to keep a sleek, comfortable and uncluttered look. Putting any shelving above the eye line keeps walls clear and make areas feel bigger. Using furniture with in-built storage, such as coffee tables with shelves or under-sofa storage can also really help. Using slim furniture is another good idea as 'too large' pieces can overtake even a bigger room, but oddly a statement piece such as a cabinet can draw the eye and make a room feel larger.
You can also use rugs to divide a room into 'areas'; for instance, placing an appropriately sized rug in front of a sofa helps to naturally define a seating area and guests will gravitate towards it, pulling up chairs or stools onto the rug. The same tactic can be used for dining, games or any other purpose you'd like to put your garden room to!
The best garden rooms are the ones that are a representation of you, your family and what you want to use the room for but with a couple of clever design tricks, the right use of colour and furniture, you can have an elegant, useful and relaxing space that you never want to leave!