As more of us are choosing to work from home on a permanent basis, either to settle into a better work-life balance or to pursue self-employment, there has been an increase in demand for usable spaces that combine versatility with practicality.
If you run your own kitchen or bakery business, you know how much space you need for tools, equipment and storage. You need an area to prep your ingredients, another to bake or cook the food, another for cooling and adding finishing touches, and somewhere cool and dry for storing. Doing all this in your home can put a lot of strain on your resources and personal space.
If your property can accommodate it, a custom-built, bespoke garden room can answer all your problems. Instead of shelling out for a kitchen extension, you can take advantage of your outdoor space and create a perfect place for cooking and baking that you can take with you if you ever move to a new home.
This article will cover the benefits and considerations of setting up a kitchen or bakery in your garden and how we can help you choose the best option for your needs.
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Why set up a kitchen/bakery in your garden?
If you’re a chef or entrepreneur with a bakery, catering company or cake decorating business, a kitchen garden room may be just what you need to take your enterprise to the next level.
Firstly, if you’re currently operating out of your home, you may find you’re running out of room, particularly if you need to start using larger, commercial equipment to complete orders. It might be a challenge to bake bread or decorate cakes in the family kitchen when other members of the household are also using this space for washing up and preparing meals. A dedicated garden building for cooking and baking, separate from your main house, will give you all the extra space you need to hone your skills or grow your business.
You may find that what you need from your baking kitchen is very different to the needs of the rest of your family. If you teach virtual cookery classes, for example, or don’t follow a typical nine to five working pattern, you don’t want your spouse or children unwittingly walking in and cause a distraction. Having a separate room to cook or bake in means you can enjoy a space with everything you need, rather than renovating your home kitchen. You can design and decorate one of our contemporary garden rooms to create a dream kitchen that suits your taste, as well as your practical needs.
Finally, you may be looking for a space that can be both a kitchen and a studio, so you can photograph what you make. A stylish, bespoke garden room kitchen with windows or glass doors that let in plenty of natural light is the perfect place to capture your creations.
Planning a kitchen/bakery in your garden
As well as considering how you want your stylish new space to look, there are also a few practical factors to think about when planning your kitchen. An obvious thing to consider is the amount of space you need and the size of the structure you need to build.
It is also important to remember that the size of the outbuilding will impact whether it falls under permitted development rules or if you need planning permission. Usually, garden rooms don’t require planning permission; however, this is only the case if it follows certain rules. These include that the total area of all outbuildings, including sheds and garden rooms, mustn’t cover over 50% of the land around your house. There are other rules too, especially if your home is a listed building, so it’s best to check planning permission rules in your area.
Secondly, it’s important to consider what equipment you’ll need and how you want the room designed internally. For example, do you need to install an industrial mixer to bake multiple cakes at once or a pizza oven to create your signature, authentic pizzas? You’ll likely also want the room to be supplied with the basics, such as electricity and heating. Similarly, it’s important for a kitchen that the building allows enough ventilation to keep things cool and to prevent condensation or damp building up. The materials you choose are also just as important as the equipment you use, for example, for a convenient, hygienic and attractive interior, opt for something like a wipe-down tile.
Finally, consider if the room will have any other uses as well as being a kitchen. For example, you may also want the space to function as a dining area for entertaining guests. In which case, you will need plenty of room for furniture and storage space to keep the area clear of clutter.
The Garden Retreats pod
If your heart is now set on a stylish, contemporary garden room kitchen or bakery, the Garden Retreats pod may be just what you need. Our completely modular pods come in three, individually-priced sizes so you can add as many as your garden and budget can accommodate. You can add more pods if you need more space, and even take your complete garden building with you if you relocate.
The Garden Retreats pod is made with the highest quality materials that require minimal maintenance, so you can focus on keeping your kitchen safe and clean rather than worrying about the building around you. The carbon fibre structure won’t expand or deteriorate, and the external composite cladding will prevent condensation build-up. We’re so confident in the quality of our garden rooms that we even offer a 25-year warranty.
As well as including the practicalities, such as electrical sockets with USB ports, spotlights, a mains hook-up and smartphone-controlled heating, Garden Retreats pods also boast several additional, attractive features. For example, you can choose between bifold or patio doors to let the light into your space and select your choice of wipe-clean wall panels and floor tiling. You can also opt to add decking or a roof terrace with a spiral staircase for the ultimate outdoor dining experience.
Frequently asked questions
How should you maintain your garden kitchen or bakery?
Luckily for you, our garden rooms don’t require a high level of maintenance to stay looking and working like new. The carbon fibre and external composite cladding ensure the outside of the building remain resistant to the weather and won’t deteriorate. Simply give the windows, doors and walls a wipe with soapy water to remove any dried-on dirt or grime.
Thanks to our range of wipe-clean wall panels and floor tiling options, the inside of your new garden kitchen or bakery will be very low maintenance. To keep things clean, simply wipe down the surfaces with a cloth or a mop to remove grease or residue that may collect over time.