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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.
|
Is a 12×8 Garden Room Big Enough for a Home Office?
For one person, a 12×8 garden office gives you a generous amount of working space. A nominal 12ft x 8ft footprint provides approximately 96 square feet, or around 8.9 square metres, giving you room for a substantial desk, office chair, computer equipment and useful storage without everything feeling tightly packed together.
The finished internal space will be smaller than the nominal footprint because of the framing, insulation and internal lining, so always check the exact dimensions of the individual model before ordering furniture or preparing the base.
Can Two People Work in a 12ft x 8ft Garden Office?
Yes. A 12ft x 8ft garden room is a practical size for two people when desks and storage are planned properly. The 12ft length gives you more freedom to position two workstations without immediately making the room feel cramped.
If both people need large desks, several monitors, filing cabinets or substantial equipment, measure everything first and compare the actual internal dimensions. A 12×8 room is capable of working well for two people, but furniture choice and door and window positions still make a significant difference.
Why the 12ft x 8ft Shape Works Well
One reason I like this size is the balance between length and depth. The 12ft dimension gives you useful uninterrupted wall space for desks, cupboards or shelving, while the 8ft depth provides enough room to move around comfortably.
That makes a 12×8 garden room particularly adaptable. It can begin life as a home office and later become a studio, gym, games room, hobby space or general garden retreat without the proportions being too restrictive.
12×8 or 8×12 Garden Room – Is There a Difference?
The terms 12×8 garden room and 8 x 12 office can describe the same nominal footprint, but the orientation of the doors, windows and roof can change how the building works within your garden. Always check the product drawings and exact external dimensions rather than relying only on the size name.
This is particularly important when you need the longer 12ft side to run along a boundary or when you want the entrance to face a particular direction. Selected ranges allow changes to doors, windows and layouts, which can help if the standard configuration does not suit your garden or furniture.
Should a 12×8 Garden Office Be Insulated?
If you intend to use the room regularly throughout the year, I would strongly consider an insulated specification. However, I would not judge a building purely because the word “insulated” appears in the description. Compare the walls, floor, roof, doors, glazing and internal finish together.
Our insulated garden rooms and offices include different specifications across the Platinum and Royal ranges, including fully insulated Fleet and Odiham models and premium fully insulated Royal garden rooms.
My Garden Building Experience Since 1979
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. In those early years I was directly involved in making, selling and supplying timber garden buildings, which taught me to look closely at construction rather than simply how attractive a building appears in photographs.
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 business lesson, but it did not end my involvement with garden buildings.
By 1992 we had expanded beyond traditional sheds to include summerhouses, garages, garden rooms and log cabins, and 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 carpentry knowledge into the family business.
We sold Titan Garden Buildings in 1998 and in 2000 formed 1st Choice Leisure Buildings. Rather than being tied to one manufacturer’s products, Craig and I wanted to use our experience to select quality garden buildings from different manufacturers and give customers a genuine choice. Craig now 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 working with garden buildings since 1979, I’ve learnt that two 12×8 rooms can look remarkably similar online while being quite different when you compare the framing, cladding, flooring, roof, glazing, doors, insulation and internal finish.
I don’t believe the cheapest garden room is automatically the best value, and the most expensive is not automatically the right choice either. The sensible approach is to decide how often you will use the room and what you need it to do, then choose a specification appropriate for that purpose.
10×8 or 12×8 Garden Office?
A 12×8 garden room has approximately 96 square feet of nominal floor area compared with around 80 square feet for a 10×8, giving you roughly 16 square feet of additional nominal space. That extra length can be useful for a second workstation, more storage or additional seating.
If garden space or budget is tighter, a 10×8 garden room or office can still provide a very capable one-person or compact two-person workspace.
12×8 or 12×10 Garden Room?
A 12×10 garden room provides approximately 120 square feet of nominal floor area compared with around 96 square feet for a 12×8. The additional 24 square feet can be useful if you want more separation between workstations, a larger seating area or a room serving several purposes.
You can compare our 12×10 garden rooms and offices if you are deciding whether the additional depth would be useful now or in the future.
Preparing the Base for a 12×8 Garden Room
A garden room needs a firm, flat and level foundation suitable for the particular building. Do not build the base from the nominal 12×8 description alone, as exact external footprints vary between models. Always use the manufacturer’s precise dimensions for the building you actually order.
Our garden room base guide explains the main foundation options and why getting the base right is important.
See 12×8 Garden Rooms Before You Buy
Even after more than four decades around garden buildings, I still recommend seeing them in person whenever practical. Photographs are useful, but they cannot fully show how substantial a floor feels, how doors and windows operate or how much usable space there really is once you step inside.
You can visit our Surrey display site at Sutton Green Garden Centre, Whitmoor Lane, Sutton Green, Guildford, GU4 7QA to compare representative garden rooms and offices. We cannot display every model in every size, so please contact us before making a special journey if you want to see a particular 12×8 garden room.
12×8 Garden Rooms – Frequently Asked Questions
How big is a 12×8 garden room?
A 12×8 garden room has a nominal footprint of approximately 96 square feet, or around 8.9 square metres, with nominal dimensions of approximately 3.6m x 2.4m. Exact external and internal dimensions vary between models, so always check the individual product specification.
Is a 12×8 garden office suitable for one person?
Yes. A 12×8 garden office provides a generous one-person workspace with room for a substantial desk, office chair, monitors, storage and additional seating if required.
Can two people work in a 12×8 garden office?
Yes. A 12×8 office can provide a practical two-person workspace when desks and storage are planned carefully. Measure the furniture you intend to use and check the internal dimensions of the particular model before ordering.
Can I use a 12×8 garden room throughout the year?
Yes, provided you choose a specification suitable for regular year-round use. Compare insulation to the walls, floor and roof together with the doors and glazing, and remember that appropriate heating and ventilation may still be required depending on how and when the room is used.
Is a 12×8 garden office better than a 10×8?
A 12×8 garden office gives you approximately 16 square feet more nominal floor area than a 10×8, which can be useful for a second workstation, additional storage or seating. A 10×8 may still be preferable where garden space or budget is more limited.
Why choose 1st Choice for a 12×8 garden room?
1st Choice Leisure Buildings is a family business backed by my first-hand garden building experience since 1979 and Craig’s carpentry training and industry experience since 1992. We offer buildings from different manufacturers and ranges, allowing us to help customers compare specifications rather than trying to make one product suit everybody.
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