Skip to main content
Request an appointment
  • Price Promise

  • Rated Excellent

  • Fully Guaranteed

  • Over 40 years of value

Hillarys homepage1800 882 9171800 882 917Request a brochureRequest an appointment

Garden room ideas for work and play

Author Lisa CooperHead of Product at Hunter DouglasWritten 24/06/2026
A light, boho-style garden room with tan leather sofas, heaped cushions and dried grasses. Floor-length natural curtains hang either side of black-framed French doors and a sunny garden is visible outside.

Garden rooms have seen a surge in popularity in recent years, and it’s not heard to see why. 

One of the things we love most is how versatile they can be. As a separate, self-contained space, a garden room is the ultimate blank canvas. Here are some of our favourite garden room ideas and interior inspiration - shaped by the questions and priorities we see time and again when helping customers decorate these spaces. 

A Window seat with green cushions overlooks plants through a large window with a green Roman blinds. Nearby, a swing chair and a desk with plants and books complete the cozy room.

Make the space work for you

A garden room can be anything you want it to be. And if you’re clever with furniture and storage, there’s no reason why it can’t serve more than one purpose. 

For example, you might want to use the space primarily as a garden office. But if the desk folds away, you also have an extra place for relaxing or entertaining. A compact, fold-away bistro table and chairs turns it into an atmospheric dining area, while a sofa bed would mean you have an extra room for guests. 

Bright room with floor-to-ceiling window dressed in sheer white Voiles, flanked by blue walls, lounge chairs and shelving.

Designing your garden room

Whether it’s used as a garden office, a garden gym, or a space that occasionally becomes a bedroom for guests, many garden rooms end up doing more than one job. Once the layout is in place, the right window dressings can help the space feel comfortable and considered. Getting the details right makes it much easier for the room to adapt as your day - or the way you use the space - changes. 

A compact home office corner with cream Wooden blinds filtering soft light, a plywood desk, pegboard wall organiser and trailing houseplants.

Create year-round comfort

Heat, light and privacy are three big considerations. Thermal garden room and summer house blinds help rooms stay warm in winter and cool in summer. Our Duette® honeycomb blinds reduce heat loss by up to 55% in cold weather and help keep temperatures comfortable when it’s hot. Or for a softer look, there’s our thermal-lined Roman blinds

Think about light levels too. A south-facing garden room sounds like the dream… until you can’t see your computer screen or your guests are woken by the sunlight at 5am. Blackout blinds or blackout curtains let you turn the brightness right down, while Venetian and Wooden blinds, shown here, give you flexible, precise control.  

  • “The fact that something as simple as Venetian blinds can be so unique and beautiful was something I genuinely hadn’t considered before this.” 

    Evan Edinger, content creator

A neutral-toned corner of a room with sheer white Diffused blinds, a cream sofa with textured cushions and a mid-century style wall lamp.

Plan for privacy

Whether it’s used as a relaxing hideaway, a space to socialise, a garden gym room, or an occasional bedroom, you’ll want your garden room to feel private and secluded. 

As well as Venetian blinds, take a look at Vertical and Diffused blinds, like the ones shown here. They’re ideal for large windows and doors and give you privacy without losing natural light. You can read more on blinds for privacy here.   

  • “We love being able to adjust the level of light and privacy in the space by pulling down the blinds and having that much-needed tranquillity." 

    Jamila Alhassan, interiors content creator

A cosy bedroom with pale plaster-coloured walls, a large white blind on a floor-to-ceiling window, black iron bed frame and layered olive green and charcoal bedding.

Create a calm, cosy retreat…

When it comes to garden room interior ideas, think again about how you’ll use the space and the mood you want to create. If you crave somewhere calm to escape to, soft, neutral colours can work beautifully. Add warm woods, natural materials and a couple of plants to bring the outside in.  

A vivid child's playroom fitted with bright green shutters

… Or embrace colour and creativity

Alternatively, go wild! It’s away from the main home, so a garden room gives you somewhere to let loose and live out your maximalist dreams. We love influencer Erica Davies’ creative children’s hangout, complete with brightly coloured shutters.  

A calm, airy bedroom with two sage green blinds on a large sash window. With layered bedding, a fiddle leaf fig tree and a decorative wooden ladder.

Make it feel like home

Whatever style you go for, garden rooms work best when you treat them as an extension of your home. Create a cosy atmosphere with soft furnishings, add different textures for detail and warmth, and soften the edges with art, decorative objects and plants.  

A rustic stone cottage exterior at dusk, with warm light glowing through sheer curtains and a cosy garden seating area lit by fairy lights and a fire pit.

Top garden room interior ideas

  • A garden room is one of the most versatile spaces you can add to your home. 
  • Smart, multi-functional furniture means even a compact space can work harder. 
  • The right blinds make a real difference to comfort. From thermal options for year-round use to blackout blinds for sleeping, explore our range of blinds for garden rooms to find the best option. 
  • Privacy doesn't have to mean blocking out the light – Vertical and Diffused blinds give you both. 
  • Whether you go calm and neutral or bold and colourful, enjoy the space and treat it as an extension of your home. 

Your garden room, your way 

To get the most from your garden room, it needs to be a space you can use whenever and however you like. Once you’ve taken care of the practicalities – good light control, a comfortable temperature and enough privacy – the rest is down to you.   

Related articles