Garden room- new start

Another recommending vertical blinds, because they are adjustable to give different levels of light.

These days they come in a wide variety of colours. you are not stuck with choosing from 50 shades of off white. We have a wall of window in our family room and my verttical blinds are sage green. the room faces south and in the hot weather having slats that can be adjusted so they let in air, but reduce the glare aand thermal gain are ideal.

I expect it is starting to feel very different now you have almost cleared the room Cabbie21.

I am remembering my parents' sun room. Quite small and full of chairs and things. When they died and we cleared the room out it looked completely different and more like I am sure my mother always wanted.
Very hot in the summer as south facing in sunny Kent so a solid roof would have been better for them than the glass. Windows all round and a tiled floor.
I am loving reading all the advice. Good luck with choosing the flooring next. It will look different again once that is down. Don't rush to furnish it. Live with it for a little while with as little as possible until you know exactly what you need.

The room is nearly cleared now and I have replaced a side window looking on to the patio. It had frosted glass which I have changed for plain glass which lets even more light into the room. It has a blind. The patio doors look out on to the garden. I’m going to choose the flooring next. Still looking for the right chairs.

I wish I could have a garden room, something I will definitely bear in mind when I make my last move. My ground is too friable and stony and my house footings are 12 feet deep, they had to go that far to reach solid rock

I would most definutely get a stone floor, laid on top of a good insulating layer. I would have an insulated roof and lots of windows, all around, with perfect fit insulating blinds, they are snug and individual to each window. Light wall and ceiling colours to make use of maximum light

Lightweight furniture for now, like the rattan above. With lovely cushions in nice pastels to keep the area calming and of course a few lovely specimen plants to add ambience

Cabbie21 you’ve got me scrolling through Pinterest now - not a hardship as I absolutely love interior design. Here’s another link, for a small garden room. It might be a bit ‘busy’ for some people (personally I love it) but it could give you some ideas:
pin.it/1sPyluvbc

Here’s a link from Pinterest - there’s lots of ideas on there:

pin.it/1VxHO3lnh

OP, why don’t you go for rattan chairs. They are lightweight so you could move them as necessary. You can style them with cushions - greens with leaf patterns on would help the indoor / outdoor vibe. Have a few large pot plants such as palms to complete the look.

I might look here if starting a new project and wanting a relaxing space.

Both traditional and slightly different:
voyagemaison.com/collections/outlet

I have some of their curtains and have picked out a deep aubergine colour from the abstract florals as a backdrop... They are good quality but
I'm not suggesting curtains just that you need some one thing to focus on in order to start building up a picture.
I'd perhaps look at a comfy chair to relax in...

Exciting!

We recently had a garden room added to our 16th century farmhouse. It's very modern & a great contrast to the original building but works well. We have a shower room in one corner & another corner is the utility area with a washer, drier & Belfast sink for cleaning veg etc . The main part of the room has beautiful rattan furniture from an excellent firm in the Cotswolds called Hadeda and it's arranged to take advantage of our beautiful views through floor to ceiling windows. A 2nd wall has bifolds along its length & we have a lantern in the roof. As it's quite a high traffic room, we opted for large, non slip off white tiles which are heavy duty & easy to keep clean. We don't have curtains - to me, they're not something you need in a garden room. We have underfloor heating but we don't tend to use it very often as the room soon gets warm. I was sitting in there yesterday & it was blissful- the light is such a treat as the main house has very small windows. There's not a lot of wall but what there is is painted a dirty beige & is covered in photos. It's a wonderful room & we wish we'd done it years ago. Good luck with yours, there are plenty of good ideas on here.

We had a garden room at our last house. Light coloured tiled floor, cream walls, and duck-egg blue patterned curtains which were light and airy but would be sufficient for privacy if anyone wanted to use the room as a bedroom. The overall effect was light and bright.

We have good quality vinyl cushioned flooring in our sunroom and a large rug. The flooring just needs a wipe over occasionally. We also have 2 cane chairs, a glass table and a 3 seater recliner sofa.
The roof is solid with 2 non opening windows.
It’s glorious when the sun shines even the slightest.
As we’re south facing we have insert venetian blinds to close if required.
Lots of plants and a radio, it’s a true haven.

I agree with pascal30s ideas. A sofa bed or single sofa bed chair that's really comfy and easy to pull out , tkmaxx is lovely for styling a room and has small items of furniture . You may need to keep heavy curtains to block out light if you may use it as a bedroom or else very good light blocking blinds. 🤔

I would also think hard about heavy curtains in a garden room. Luxaflex Intu blinds are good, provide insulation and screening. I have laminate in my 15 year old conservatory and haven't noticed any fading. There are sun/heat resistant makes out there. I have always had a large door mat at the door to the garden and a large rug for the sofas. Afraid absolutely hopeless on decir so all white for me. The blinds are a gunmetal grey. Sure you will enjoy your endeavours.

As your garden room is the main or only entrance and exit to your garden you do need a floor that is easy to keep clean.
I too would suggest a tiled floor, but do make sure to buy tiles that do not become slippy when wet!

I personally would never use a garden room as a bedroom, but tastes differ.

As the room gets the sun, I would chose unbleached cotton for curtains or blinds, loose covers if you want them on a sofa or on chairs and have an extra set to make it easier to wash them at need.

The more storage space you have, the more stuff you will hang on to, whether you need it or not. So perhaps you should consider whether you do need more storage space.

A built in cupboard sounds a fairly expensive solution to me, but that may not bother you. If you are working on a tight budget you can probably find a suitable chest of drawers or a cupboard in a charity shop and paint it any colour you like.

I would paint the remaining walls a duck egg blue to complement the autumn colour of the drapes, and possibly furnish with bamboo styled furniture?

I would keep the decor light and neutral - if the room catches the sun any darker shades will fade.
I would consider tiling the floor - this would be hardwearing and functional as it would make it easy to clean when taking garden rubbish through plus a rug would add a cosy touch and be easy to move for the thoroughfare for rubbish.
You can change colour schemes so easily with accented accessories - cushions, throws, pictures etc.

We have similar chairs to these (rattan / armchair shape / quite lightweight) in our kitchen extension / garden room. They can easily be taken out into the garden in the summer if wanted.

We have solid oak flooring in our conservatory and it’s faded as have the sofas and chairs, everything fades in sunlight.

We have a cabin/ home office and we’ve painted it all white, with the beam left as natural wood colour. The idea was that we would get bright accessories (no curtains though as it’s down the garden and we aren’t overlooked) but now we are planning to move, so it will be left for someone else to do. We put pine laminate on the floor and it still looks good.

I would have old, patterned tiles on the floor, one really comfortable sofa bed, big terracotta pots with plants and I would have plantation blinds on the windows. Colours would be light and neutral on the walls,, maybe an old cabinette/cupboard painted in a light matt colour..

Thanks for the thought of aluminium. At the moment the room holds one easy chair which I may move elsewhere, but I would like to have a comfy chair to sit in in that room when it is too windy or too hot to sit outside.
There is also a z bed which has not been used for years and bookcases which I have now emptied, plus things ‘in transit’. All to go.

HelterSkelter1

I have dark aluminium benches in the garden from Homebase some 10 years ago and they are very light. I am able to move them easily on my own to mow the grass.

I bought one to start and then ordered 2 more when the first was delivered as I liked it so much and they were such a good price. I havent seen the same ever again but I do recommend aluminium for its hard wearing and lightweight qualities.

We've some, aluminium painted dark bronze - chairs easy to move around and use where needed (inside or out). Aluminium chair sets are wonderful.

annsixty

That is a complete house Norah apart from a sleeping area😉
How lucky you are.

It is our home. Back side has been renovated and added on conservatory 'style' albeit with a roof. My point was art, seen from any spot, colours one loves - can be a way to to set coulors for a room.

Yes, sleeping rooms, bathroom, hall, reception are on the front.

I have dark aluminium benches in the garden from Homebase some 10 years ago and they are very light. I am able to move them easily on my own to mow the grass.

I bought one to start and then ordered 2 more when the first was delivered as I liked it so much and they were such a good price. I havent seen the same ever again but I do recommend aluminium for its hard wearing and lightweight qualities.

That is a complete house Norah apart from a sleeping area😉
How lucky you are.

Along the length of the back of our home is a conservatory, with a solid roof, wood floors, white/lined roman shades drawn up tight. The laundry, loo, dog home are at the far end (outside entrance), then our kitchen, eating areas, family space, finally the children's playroom and library. Wood floors, easy to mop for children & pets.

I've done a huge oil, somewhat like this. Colours I love, for the far end of the children's play room. Pink and blue being my favoutite colours, it makes me happy just to see it, even from a distance. Perhaps select art first, play off that?