How Can A Garden Office Improve Your Mental Wellbeing?

The biggest appeal of installing a wooden garden office is that it provides a little area of tranquil solitude to be productive, creative or constructive separate from the house.

Beyond location, however, a garden office can help improve mental well-being whilst working due to the use of natural materials, and emphasis on daylighting and views surrounded by the verdant beauty of nature.

A crucial part of the reason why a garden office is so beneficial to mental health is due to its inherently biophilic design, where natural elements are incorporated into more urban, uniform spaces.

People innately want a connection with nature and life in general, which is part of the reason 

why resting in the garden can sometimes be more soothing than resting indoors.

Biophilia involves the integration of natural materials and nature-inspired design into a living or working space, such as using plants, water features, furniture with nature-inspired designs, natural light and imagery.

There are six main principles behind biophilic design and a garden room meets all six:

• Environmental features, where a building has elements directly from nature.

• Natural shapes and forms, such as natural textures, colours, smells and sounds.

• Natural patterns and processes, which often involve the use of asymmetrical, bespoke furniture and furnishings.

• Light and space, especially since daylighting inherently makes a space look bigger.

• Place-based relationships, or the connection between a person and their natural working environment.

• Evolved human-nature relationships, or how a biophilic building evokes the types of living environments people used to have.

People are products of their environment and certain types of living and working spaces can cause fatigue, distractions or stress.

There are links between biophilic environments of the type typically seen in garden rooms and improved mental and physical health.

There are studies which have linked offices with nature-inspired design to lower rates of burnout, improved heart rate variability and reduced cortisol levels. The latter two measures are common biological indicators of stress levels, depression and cardiovascular health.