Building and outbuilding for an annex, office or studio | here’s some inspiration

An outbuilding, or man cave used to be the place men went to escape the nagging of their spouse. It would need the crucial ingredients; a pool table, an overly priced globe drinks cabinet that was bought on a whim at a Vintage Fair, a free standing jukebox player that is now redundant because the Sonos or Alexa Speaker is twice as powerful and ten times smaller and a sufficient surveillance unit installed which we would explain away as home security but really it gives the man plenty of forewarning that the wife is one the way, should he be on any erroneous websites. 

But the modern man, AKA me, has other ideas on what he should he put in his outbuilding. And when my first idea of installing a retractable drawbridge over a piranha tank was denied by the city council, I decided upon more practical measures. 

I began putting some moodboards together for the design, whilst I had Tuula dress up in a butlers outfit and bring me peppermint tea on a silver tray whilst asking me, 'God have you been up all night again? You must get some sleep Master Thompson.' (It's just a thing I have, she's well compensated for this act of humility). 

I want to highlight five wonderful websites that I've been using for inspiration for my, sorry OUR outhouse. 

Photo credit juliusbahn.co.uk

Julius Barn 

A family run business, that offer custom-made designs that are handcrafted in England to deliver a uniquely characterful addition to your home. And the key word there is CHARACTER!! It's more important to have some than to be one. Each individual beam is hand selected from their drying yards, and they look beautiful on their website. If you imagine the spartan-like barn that Rocky trained in when he went to fight Ivan Drago in Russia, then you're on the same page. Note to self - enlist Tuula to cry 'No pain, no pain'  as she slaps my stomach when I do sit ups. 

Ecospace Studios

As you might be able to tell from my Instagram stories we have a lot of garden space and we want the outbuilding to not just be 'another add-on' or an after thought to the main house. We want it to have some connective tissue. Not so much an extension of the house, but an extension of us. GOD THATS GOOD! (Note to self - make sure you pitch that to all these companies you're giving free exposure to). 

Ecospace is contemporary, it's modern and it's sustainable. The imagery on their portfolio is dynamite, you should check it out here. 

Plank Bridge 

Before you look at renovating your summer house consider Plank Bridge. I know it sounds like one of those initiation pranks that you'd have to do as a student, but it's a real business. Some time ago I published an article on my blog on 'All the things I wish I knew before building a Summer House'  and my G*d it reads like a Jilly Cooper novel, only without the sex. 

My point is, any renovations on existing summer houses that have not had a facelift in the past 20 years will more than likely cost you just as much, to flatten it and start again. These summer huts that I saw on Plank Bridge look just the ticket. A nice retreat, an outdoor space, you can AirBnB it or simply make it an art studio for your old lady so she doesn't disturb you whilst the F1 is on. 

Garden Studio 

For inspiration for the outbuilding, that needs both enough space for a gym and an at studio, then the Garden Studio gallery is something to check out for sure. 

Sanctum Garden Studios 

What I love about these guys is that they do off the peg studios as well as bespoke. They offer solutions that meet your budget. In addition to their garden offices, they offer various other garden studio options, including art studios, music studios, gyms, and more. 

Main Photo by Olivier Guillard on Unsplash - other photos used are accredited to the brands mentioned