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 London
When choosing a garden room in London, I would start with the space available and what you genuinely want the room to do. London gardens vary enormously in size, so a well-planned compact office is sometimes a better solution than simply trying to fit in the largest building possible.
Before ordering, mark the proposed dimensions on the ground and consider how much garden will remain around the room. Think about natural light, privacy, the position of doors and windows, furniture layout and access for installation. In smaller gardens, relatively small layout changes can make a surprisingly large difference to how usable the finished room feels.
Garden Offices in London for Working From Home
A dedicated garden office in London can be particularly valuable where spare rooms are limited or existing living space is already fully used. It gives you a proper place to work without permanently giving over a bedroom, dining area or corner of the lounge to desks and office equipment.
If you expect to work in the building throughout the year, compare the complete specification. Insulation is important, but so are the floor, roof, doors, glazing and ventilation. Our insulated garden rooms and offices are a useful starting point for regular year-round use.
My Garden Building Experience Since 1979
I’m Robin Antill, founder of 1st Choice Leisure Buildings. I left school at 15 and started my first garden building business in 1979, trading as Marina Sheds. In those early years I was directly involved in making, selling and supplying timber garden buildings, which gave me practical experience of how buildings are constructed and where differences in specification really matter.
I sold Marina Sheds in 1990, although unfortunately I did not receive all the money I was due from the sale. It was a difficult lesson in business, but I remained involved with garden buildings.
By 1992 we had expanded beyond traditional sheds to include summerhouses, garages, garden rooms and log cabins. That broader direction led to the name Titan Garden Buildings. My son Craig joined me in 1992 after studying carpentry at Guildford College from 1990, bringing his practical woodworking knowledge into the family business.
We sold Titan Garden Buildings in 1998 and in 2000 decided to retail selected quality products from different manufacturers rather than being restricted to one manufactured range. That decision led to the formation of 1st Choice Leisure Buildings. Today Craig runs the day-to-day business, and I continue to support him and the team whenever required. You can read more about 1st Choice Leisure Buildings and our history.
Why Garden Room Specification Matters
After more than four decades around garden buildings, I have learnt not to judge a room from photographs alone. Two garden rooms can look very similar online but differ considerably in framing, flooring, roofing, doors, glazing, insulation, and materials.
I don’t believe the cheapest garden room is automatically the best value, and the most expensive is not necessarily the right choice either. The important thing is matching the specification to what you actually need. A London garden office used every weekday may justify a different specification from a room mainly intended for occasional hobbies or relaxing.
Think About Access Before Ordering a London Garden Room
Access deserves particular attention when ordering a garden room for a London property. Side passages, terraced houses, walls, steps, restricted parking and limited access through the property can all affect installation, so it is worth considering these practical details before selecting a building.
If access is restricted, tell us before ordering so the requirements can be discussed alongside the size and specification of the room. Thinking about access early can prevent unnecessary problems on installation day.
Preparing a Base for Your London Garden Room
A good garden room needs a firm, flat and level foundation suitable for the particular building being installed. I would not automatically assume an existing patio or paved area is suitable without checking the requirements for your chosen model.
Our garden room and garden office base guide explains the main considerations and why preparing the foundation correctly is so important.
See Garden Rooms Before You Buy
Even after all these years, I still recommend seeing garden buildings in person whenever practical. Photographs are useful, but standing inside a building lets you judge its usable space, floor, doors, windows, framing, and overall construction for yourself.
London customers are welcome to visit our Surrey display site at Sutton Green Garden Centre, Whitmoor Lane, Sutton Green, Guildford, GU4 7QA. We cannot display every model in every available size, so if you want to inspect a particular garden room, don’t hesitate to get in touch with us before travelling so we can confirm what is currently on display.
Garden Rooms London – Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use a garden room as a home office in London?
Yes. A garden room can provide a dedicated workspace away from the main house and can be particularly useful where indoor space is limited. If you intend to use it regularly throughout the year, compare insulation, glazing, ventilation, heating, electrics and the complete construction specification.
What size garden office works well in a London garden?
The right size depends on the available garden space and what you need inside the room. A compact office may only need room for a desk, chair and storage, while larger rooms can accommodate multiple workstations or combine office and leisure uses. Mark the proposed dimensions on the ground before ordering so you can judge the balance between internal space and the garden you will retain.
Are insulated garden offices suitable for year-round use?
A suitably specified insulated garden office can provide a much more comfortable environment throughout the seasons. Look at exactly what is insulated and compare the complete building rather than relying solely on the word “insulated”. You can view our insulated garden rooms and offices for suitable options.
Do garden rooms in London need planning permission?
Many garden rooms at houses in England can fall within permitted development rights when the relevant conditions are met. However, this depends on the height and position of the building, the property, the amount of land covered, and how the room will be used. Restrictions may also apply to particular properties or locations, so check what applies to your individual property if you are uncertain.
Can a garden room be installed where access is restricted?
That depends on the building and the individual property. Consider narrow side passages, steps, walls, parking restrictions, and access through the house before ordering. Tell us about any access concerns beforehand so we can advise you on the requirements for your chosen building.
Why choose 1st Choice for a garden room in London?
1st Choice Leisure Buildings is a family business backed by my first-hand involvement with garden buildings since 1979 and Craig’s carpentry training and industry experience since 1992. We use that knowledge to help customers compare construction, specification and value so they can choose a garden room appropriate for their space, intended use and budget.
We also supply garden rooms across nearby areas, including Croydon, Kingston upon Thames, Twickenham, Epsom, Windsor, Putney, Battersea, Fulham, Ealing, Acton in London are just a few of the areas covered for our Garden Rooms
From £4931