Garden rooms have become incredibly popular as savvy homeowners are increasingly looking to transform any available outdoor space into more usable extensions of the home. These innovative buildings offer excellent possibilities in terms of aesthetics, functionality and design creativity.
Cladding is just one creative aspect with garden rooms that can be modified to fit a certain look or style. With the Garden Retreats pod, you have a choice of three different external cladding colours to accentuate the appearance of your pod’s exterior. Our cladding is made from composite material that will last a lifetime.
This guide will explore some of the benefits of composite cladding in comparison with alternative materials, as well as the cladding colour options for Garden Retreats pods.
Click on a link to jump to that section:
Understanding our composite cladding material
Garden Retreats pods are clad in composite material, which is fire-resistant, robust and ensures that the colour you choose remains the same for decades (unlike wood). This material is incredibly hardy and is designed with longevity in mind.
There are a number of benefits to using composite cladding, such as:
Durability
Compared to garden sheds and other outbuildings made with timber cladding, there is no external maintenance required with our pods and our cladding meets standards for fire resistance. Timber can easily get damaged and deteriorate over time and lacks the material strength that composite materials offer.
Improved aesthetics
The same wood or steel appearance you see on every other garden building becomes a bit boring. Our composite cladding is sleek, stylish and modern, but makes no compromises on quality or durability.
Low maintenance
One of the biggest benefits of composite cladding is the lack of maintenance required to keep it in good condition. A simple wipe down is all it takes to remove grime, dirt or debris. Unlike other materials, which require sanding, sealing, staining and other forms of maintenance, composite cladding is incredibly hassle-free.
Resistant to pest problems
Other cladding materials like wood, are susceptible to pest problems such as termites or carpenter ants. Composite material is not a part of an insect’s diet, so your Garden Retreat’s cladding will be left well alone.
Cladding colour options
The versatility of garden pods from Garden Retreats allows for an impressive level of customisation. You can choose between black, grey or brown cladding colours so that the outside of your garden room reflects your aesthetic preferences as much as the inside does.
A brown cladding colour would complement large gardens in the open countryside to emulate a more natural, rustic appearance. Black and grey achieve a more modern aesthetic effect ideal for urban gardens and home-based commercial businesses such as art or photography studios, bakeries and beauty salons.
The Garden Retreats pod
The Garden Retreats pod offers unrivalled quality, versatility and functionality. All of our pods have electrics, sockets with USB ports, internal and external spotlights, smartphone-controlled heating and a hook-up point for mains included internally. You can use your pod for almost anything, from a games or family room to pet grooming salon, or simply for homeworking and homeschooling. What you do with your pod is entirely up to you. This versatility is expanded upon with the modular nature of the pods, which are available in three sizes that you can install individually or combine to create a bigger structure:
- 2 x 3 metres
- 3 x 3 metres
- 5 x 3 metres
The real innovation behind these pods is their modular nature, which allows you to construct a garden room that perfectly meets your needs. If you are looking for a specific floor plan or size, then you can attach multiple pods together to create a more open space. Due to their modularity, the pods are easy to break down and take with you, should you ever move. Your Garden Retreat will stay with you for years to come, even if you relocate.
Our pods are designed with durability and resilience in mind. Made with carbon fibre frames, they are incredibly light but remarkably strong and will not expand or deteriorate over time like you might expect with wooden frames. Better still, issues such as mould or wood rot are completely negated when using carbon fibre. Our construction materials require approximately 75% less energy to produce and transport than steel, while offering similar strength and resilience. On-site installation is swift and simple, so your pod will be built and ready to use in a matter of days.
In terms of customising, as well as the cladding you have a choice of wipe-clean luxury Italian vinyl floor tiling and innovative Wall Panels to make cleaning a breeze and maintaining a beautiful garden room as easy as possible. You can also choose between bifold and patio door systems in black or grey. For even more space for relaxing and entertaining guests at home, you can upgrade your pod to include decking and/or a roof terrace with spiral staircase. Because the structural integrity of the pods is so sound, these features can be fitted at the same time as the initial installation or added at a later date.
Frequently asked questions
What internal wall and floor tiles are available for Garden Retreats pods?
Your garden room design is entirely in your hands, so you have a choice of several different colours and styles of luxury vinyl tiling for your internal floors. These are in the Karndean style and simply wipe-clean. Our fire-proof and scratch-proof wall panels are available in six colours as standard, and you can even upgrade them to feature your own hi-res images or logos. Read more about our wall and floor tile options here.
What add-ons are available for Garden Retreats pods?
Garden Retreats pods are available with a roof terrace with spiral staircase and/or decking. Read more about these optional extras in our guide here.