Royal vs Platinum Garden Rooms Guide – Which Should You Choose?
| Feature | Platinum Garden Rooms | Royal Garden Rooms |
| Best for | Home offices, hobbies, studios and garden retreats | Premium offices, studios and larger multi-purpose rooms |
| Price position | Lower initial investment | Premium specification and price |
| Popular models | Fleet Apex and Odiham Pent | Bletchley, Buckingham, Denham and Marlow |
| Typical sizes | Fleet and Odiham available up to approximately 16×12 ft | Royal models available up to approximately 20×12 ft |
| Insulation | Fully insulated Fleet and Odiham models with insulated walls and roof | Premium fully insulated construction |
| Double glazing | 14mm double glazing on Fleet and Odiham | Higher-specification double-glazed garden room range |
| Design choice | Apex Fleet or contemporary pent-roof Odiham | Wider choice of distinctive Royal designs and configurations |
| Why choose it? | You want an insulated garden office or room with an excellent balance of comfort, quality and price. | You want a more substantial garden room with premium specification and additional floor-space options. |
Small Gallery of Customer Garden Rooms We’ve Built
Explore our photo gallery featuring garden rooms supplied and installed for our customers. From stylish home offices and creative studios to relaxing retreats and versatile living spaces, discover how our bespoke garden rooms can transform your outdoor space.
Customers Garden Rooms Supplied
Another one of our lovely buildings brought to life! Our Royal buildings are the perfect choice for a fully insulted and double glazed year round garden room. Our customers came in to design the building with our sales advisor. This Royal is 10 foot x 16 foot with an apex roof with black felt tiles. The building also includes PVCu windows and door frames in the colour of your choice and Strongcore cladding painted in a Royal Exterior paint. The customer chose to include laminate floor and blinds for the windows also. Our base contractor constructed the heavy duty timber subframe base for the building and will be back to add decking to the base area together and our electrician will visit shortly to add the electrics to the building.
Lovely feedback to receive from our customer who recently had installed our Platinum Odiham 12ft x 10ft pent insulated garden room. Thank you for your comments 😀 ***** 5 out of 5 stars Mr C - December 21st, 2024 Happy with the range of summerhouses seen on site. Quality and pricing is good. It was easy to view and did not feel pressured into buying. Our queries were answered and we went ahead with our purchase, The summerhouse was installed on the date given. No issues. A good shopping experience.
We really did love receiving some photos of our customer's completed building which she's using as a hairdressing salon . The building is our Royal Pent Garden Room 20 foot x 8 foot which comes fully insulated, painted Strongcore, PVCu double glazed windows and doors and designed to our customer's specifications.
One of our customer's recently bought one of our Platinum Winchester Apex Garden Studios 12ft x 8ft. They had the studio painted, ply lined and with laminate flooring in advance at the manufacturer but they also wanted their very own bar to enjoy in there! Which of course we could do for them and what a nice addition to the building.
We always love seeing the finished result! From initial discussions to placing the order and sketching out the customer's desired building and then to actually seeing the building in our customer's garden is so satisfying and why we love what we do! This building is from our Royal range of fully insulated and double glazed garden rooms and is 12 foot x 10 foot with a pent roof which has EPDM rubber roofing as standard. PVCu windows and door frames, laminate floor and painted Strongcore cladding all in colours choices chosen by the customer.
Some lovely photos from one of our satisfied customers! This is one of our Royal Buckingham insulated and double glazed garden rooms measuring 10ft x 8ft. These buildings make great year round buildings and perfect for a home office. Our base contractor also laid our customer's timber subframe base for the building and our electrician has fitted the electrics including an air con unit.
10x8 Royal Garden Room supplied to a local customer, providing a smart and practical garden space for year-round use.
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Choosing the Right Garden Room in Basingstoke
After more than four decades in the garden building industry, my advice is always to start with how you intend to use your new room. A garden office used five days a week has different requirements from an occasional hobby room, gym or place to relax. Think about the size you need, insulation, glazing, where doors and windows should be positioned and how much time you expect to spend in the building throughout the year.
It is also important to compare specifications rather than judging a garden room on photographs and price alone. Look at the walls, floor, and roof construction; insulation; doors and windows; and confirm exactly what is included with delivery and installation. Our main garden rooms and garden offices page is a useful starting point if you want to compare the wider range available from 1st Choice Leisure Buildings.
Garden Offices in Basingstoke for Working From Home
A garden office in Basingstoke can give you a dedicated place to work without losing a bedroom or other space inside your home. A separate workspace can also create a useful distinction between home and work life, while keeping your commute to a short walk across the garden.
If you plan to work in your garden office throughout the year, I would pay particular attention to insulation and double glazing. Allow enough room for your desk, chair, monitors and storage, and think about the positions of windows and doors before ordering. Also consider electrical power, lighting, heating, and internet access when planning how the finished office will work.
Insulated Garden Rooms for Year-Round Use
If your Basingstoke garden room will be used regularly throughout the year, an insulated model is well worth considering. Our insulated Royal, Fleet and Odiham ranges provide options for customers wanting a garden office, studio, hobby room or leisure space that can be enjoyed beyond the warmer months. Double-glazed doors and windows are included on selected insulated models.
Insulation should not be considered in isolation. The walls, roof, floor, glazing and doors all contribute to the performance of the complete building. Our garden room insulation and heating guide explains the subject in more detail.
Can You Have a Bespoke Garden Room in Basingstoke?
Yes. Bespoke options are available on selected garden rooms, which can be useful if your garden doesn’t suit a standard building size or you have particular requirements for doors, windows, or the internal layout. Depending on the model, choices can include different sizes, apex or pent roofs, coloured finishes and multi-room layouts.
I would start with what you need the room to do rather than choosing purely on appearance. Tell us the available garden space, intended use and approximate budget, and we can help you identify suitable options.
Do Garden Rooms in Basingstoke Need Planning Permission?
Many domestic garden rooms can be installed under permitted development rights without making a full planning application, provided the building and property meet the relevant requirements. However, you should not assume that every garden room automatically qualifies. Its position, height, and intended use can matter, and additional restrictions may apply to some properties and locations.
If you are uncertain, check the current requirements for your property before ordering. Planning rules are ultimately the responsibility of the property owner, and obtaining advice beforehand is considerably easier than dealing with a planning issue after installation.
A Good Base Matters
Whatever garden room you choose, it needs a suitable firm and level base. In my experience, this is one area where cutting corners is a false economy. The base supports the building and can affect how doors and windows operate as well as the long-term performance of the structure. A base-building service is available for selected garden rooms, and our team can advise on the requirements for the model you are considering.
Why I Recommend Seeing Garden Rooms Before You Buy
One piece of advice I have given customers for many years is to see a garden building in person whenever practical. Websites are useful for comparing sizes, prices and specifications, but photographs cannot tell you everything about the quality of timber, framing, floors, roofs, doors and windows or how substantial a building feels when you walk inside.
Customers from Basingstoke can visit our Surrey garden building display site, where you can inspect full-size buildings and compare different specifications for yourself. An informed customer is far more likely to choose the right garden room first time.
Over 45 Years of Garden Building Experience
I’m Robin Antill, founder of 1st Choice Leisure Buildings. I left school at 15 and started my own garden building business in 1979, trading as Marina Sheds. Those early years gave me hands-on experience of making and selling timber garden buildings and taught me that the construction behind a building matters far more than clever marketing.
I sold Marina Sheds in 1990, although unfortunately I did not receive all the money due from the sale. In 1992 we broadened our range to include summerhouses, garages, garden rooms and log cabins, and that change of direction led to the name Titan Garden Buildings. My son Craig joined me that year after studying carpentry at Guildford College from 1990.
We sold Titan Garden Buildings in 1998 and, in 2000, decided to take a different approach by retailing quality products from selected manufacturers. That led to the formation of 1st Choice Leisure Buildings. It meant we could offer customers a genuine choice rather than being restricted to recommending only the buildings we manufactured ourselves.
Today Craig runs the day-to-day business, and I support him and the team as required. The principle behind the business remains much the same: provide straightforward information, offer quality choices and help customers select a building appropriate for their needs and budget. You can read more about my garden building experience or learn more about 1st Choice Leisure Buildings.
Garden Rooms Delivered to Basingstoke
We supply garden rooms and garden offices in Basingstoke and surrounding areas, with installation included on selected models. Whether you want a dedicated home office, an insulated garden room, a studio, a gym, or somewhere to relax, take a look through the buildings above and compare the specifications and prices.
If you are unsure which building would suit you, contact the 1st Choice team and tell us what you want your garden room to achieve. We can help you compare the relevant sizes, construction, insulation, glazing, base requirements and available options without pushing you towards a more expensive building than you actually need.
Robin Antill
Founder, 1st Choice Leisure Buildings
We also supply garden rooms across nearby areas, including Reading, Winchester, Farnham, Guildford,Windsor, Newbury, Hook, Chineham, Tadley, Kingclere in Berkshire and Hampshire
From £4931