Design

BESPOKE

How we design your new cabin

We work with you to create a custom design for your new cabin that fits your land, your needs, and your vision.

As professional designers, with over 30 years of bespoke design practice and business ownership, we use our experience to create a smooth and open creative dialogue between you and us.

We encourage your active involvement in designing your perfect cabin, and we help you visualize and fully understand the proposed design regardless of your creative experience.

STAGE 1 - Free consultation and survey

We begin by visiting your site to gain an understanding of your needs and the cabin location. We conduct a detailed land and access survey to ensure that we:

Understand the size and location requirements for your cabin.
Identify any need to submit a planning application or building notice for design and building regulations compliance. This may be needed due to the size size of your cabin, its height, proximity to your neighbour’s boundary, and if you require mains water and toilets/showers.
Consider the cabin’s positioning in relation to the sun and other house and garden features, and account for seasonal variations in your garden.
Understand your desired material palettes and finishes for the interior and exterior as a starting point for our design drawings.
Identify the location of your main dwelling power supply to assess the cost and process of installing the correct power and data supply to your cabin.
Discuss your budget and the factors that influence the price.
Ensure that we have the necessary information to construct your cabin and transport it to its intended site. For example, if the site has a narrow side passage for access, we may need to construct the cabin in smaller sections for easier transportation.

BEFORE

AFTER

DESIGN

BUDGET

STAGE 2 - Agreeing an outline budget for your new cabin

Our service is end-to-end, so we offer a full budget estimate before starting any design. This budget includes everything you would like to have in your new cabin. This may include an estimate for:

Necessary groundworks to prepare your garden or land for cabin installation. This may include suitable foundations to support the structure and connect to your underground mains water and waste pipes.
Connecting mains power and data to your house in preparation for your electrical and WiFi needs.

Manufacturing, delivering, and installing the garden room/cabin.
Decking or other related garden works to complete your cabin project.
Any special one-off fitted furniture, flooring and light fittings, or other special interior fittings like bars, toilets, and showers.

Once this outline budget has been agreed upon, we use it to guide our design process. However, this does not mean that additional features cannot be added as we progress.

STAGE 3 - The first design drawings

We use a virtual online whiteboard to share our design ideas with you. We can both share our design ideas, weblinks, and drawings throughout the design process here.

We also email all drawings to you for ease of sharing.

We sketch our ideas and create 3D computer mock-ups of our design proposals.

STAGE 4 - Detailed design drawings for making your cabin

Making a cabin is similar to building a new house. It requires detailed drawings to ensure that all materials fit together correctly and create a secure and watertight structure. We also create these details to minimize the materials used and waste created. A small adjustment in size or shape can often save a significant amount of materials, reducing the cabin’s carbon impact and saving you money.

If you want your cabin heated, we use these drawings to work out its thermal efficiency, or U-value, so you can be sure it will be efficient.

Additionally, materials can be selected to soundproof your cabin if you intend to use it for music or family and friends gatherings.

FINISHED

DESIGN

STAGE 5 - Approving your new cabin design

As we work through the detailed design and specifications for your finished cabin, we are happy to meet with you in person. We know it’s often easier to talk things through face to face. Matt uses technology to show you a virtual 3D walk-through of the design. Once you are satisfied with all the material and finishing choices, we will send you an Order Confirmation that confirms everything we have agreed to do to complete your cabin project.

From here, we begin the cabin making production process!