Create a productive work-from-home space: Inspiring Shipping Container Garden Office Designs

Add the extra workspace you need at home in a simple and cost-effective way by installing a prefab container garden office.

Our selection of models will help you discover how prefab garden offices built off recycled containers create functional yet beautiful spaces ideal for achieving a healthier work-life balance.

This innovative concept merges modern construction techniques with sustainability practices, which creates the perfect environment to spark your creativity.

Still, container garden offices offer numerous advantages that make them the ideal addition to your backyard.

What is a Shipping Container Garden Office?

Shipping Container Garden offices are a type of prefab designed to offer a functional working space that can be placed in your garden. Built by upcycling shipping containers, these types of prefabs are popular for being environmentally friendly as they contribute to reducing construction waste.

The metallic shipping container defines the solid structure as well as the volume of the prefab garden office shipping container. Still, this steel box is carefully modified to create a beautiful and comfortable office space.

Inspiring Prefab Container Garden Office Designs

We have listed our top 4 prefab garden offices built by recycling shipping containers to give you some ideas.

1. The Nomad Studio

Shipping Container Garden Office Designs

If you are looking for a budget-friendly garden office, look no further, the Nomad Studio is our number one low-cost prefab model.

With a cost below 20k, this 18 sqm garden room is designed to become the private home office that you need. Compact yet complete, this model offers one main spacious room with an attached fully equipped bathroom.

Minimal, elegant but above all, comfortable. Built with high-performance thermal insulation and thermic transfer-resistant outdoor glass; and equipped with heating, cooling and ventilation systems, this office space is designed to ensure a pleasant work environment.

Learn more about the Nomad Studio

2. The Bliss Hut Container Office

shipping container garden office

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The Bliss hut is a great choice for those with limited backyard space. It is the smaller container office of our selection and will only take 13.7 sqm out of your garden.

Despite its small size, this prefab model is designed for comfort. To ensure no unnecessary interruptions during your productive work hours, it includes a complete bathroom as well as an optional compact kitchen.

The glass doors and an extensive window wall let the sunlight in, brightening the interior space and providing a sense of spaciousness.

Broad daylight contributes to boosting energy efficiency as it minimises the usage of artificial light. Still, to regulate the impact of the sun rays and reduce excessive heating a metallised solar control film is attached to the windows.

Learn more about the Bliss Hut

3. The Single Nomad Container Office

A modern prefab model that can nicely integrate into your garden style by providing a choice of three different types of external cladding designs.

The first cladding option is ideal for those looking for a modern-style approach as it offers a unique black finish made of sheet metal profiles, like the model in the picture.

A second alternative offers a warmer wooden feel by using heat-treated Nordic Pine as cladding. You can also opt for the third cladding choice which consists of combining both materials to create a beautiful pattern.

This 36 sqm spacious garden office provides two independent rooms to maximise its usage and offer you more flexibility.

The entrance leads to the main room, an ample space offering a fully equipped kitchen. This versatile room gives access to a complete bathroom and a secondary, more private room.

Learn more about the Single Nomad

4. The Nomad Double

This beautiful square floor plan garden office is a great example of the flexibility granted by container prefabs. This model offers the same characteristics of rooms and size as the Single Nomad, yet a different combination of the structural shipping containers creates a completely different layout and overall aesthetics.

The overall shape of the building creates a whole new look but also alters the user experience as the interior spaces follow a different organisation and orientation.

Yet something as simple as choosing different external cladding as the model in the picture which combines the warm heat-treated Nordic Pine cladding with the modern black sheet metal profile, modifies the module’s appearance completely.

Learn more about the Nomad Double

Can I put a container office in my garden?

In most cases, you can install a small construction built off a recycled shipping container in your garden, especially if it is designed as an annexe or a garden office.

In the UK and most countries of Europe, these types of garden constructions are fairly common and not difficult to install, making it easy for most to build your own garden office.

Planning Permission Requirements for a Container Garden Office

The need for planning permission varies depending on your location. In the UK, for example, a container garden office could be classified under the permitted development rights and be exempt from planning permission [1].

However, always consult with the local planning officers to get to know the legal requirements of your area as it is fairly common for this type of construction to require some sort of permit or license.

Building Regulations Compliance

Regardless of the need for planning permission, in most situations, a garden office still needs to comply with the building regulations established in your location.

These are rules designed to protect important aspects such as the safety of the occupants and have to be adopted by all constructions, even small offices.

While these regulations vary slightly from one country to another, most prefab container structures built in Europe and the UK are conceived to adhere to most of them.

Why Purchase a Container Garden Office?

There has been some hype around building with shipping containers, but are container homes a good idea? Well, these constructions definitely offer considerable advantages, especially while building an annexe type of building in your backyard.

Some of the benefits of choosing a container office:

  • Sustainability: These prefabs reutilise a shipping container to use as their structure and therefore contribute to the environment by reducing construction waste.
  • Durability: Built of anti-corrosive corten steel, the shipping container is designed to withstand severe conditions making it a highly durable structure once turned into a garden office.
  • Affordability: Prefab container offices are cost-effective as being prefabricated and built out of recycled shipping containers reduces their construction costs enormously.
  • Prefabricated: Being built off-site, in a factory-like environment means that all dust and damages associated with construction work are kept away from your garden, causing minimal disturbances to your daily life.
  • Fast delivery: Once you purchase a shipping container office, it can be delivered to your backyard in just 2 to 3 months.

What next?

Now it’s time to create your own productive work-from-home space. Take advantage of the incredible benefits offered by these unique constructions and create your eco-friendly, tranquil dream space right in your backyard. Choose the garden office model that best suits your specific needs and don’t forget to check the planning permission requirements in your location.

FAQ:

How do you set up a container garden office?

Prefab container buildings are built entirely in a factory-like environment and it is generally the same manufacturer who will deliver and assemble the construction in your garden. As the client, in most cases, all you need to do is make sure that the specific location where you want to install the annexe in your garden is accessible for the crane.

Are there any special maintenance requirements for Shipping Container Garden Offices?

The maintenance required for a prefab container office is minimal. Shipping containers are built to withstand extreme weather conditions and usually, only experience damages, such as rust, if their protective paint wears off. However, this is rarely a problem for prefab garden offices as the container is often coated and finished with cladding and roofing materials.

References:
[1](2019, September) Permitted development rights for householders (Technical Guidance) Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/830643/190910_Tech_Guide_for_publishing.pdf

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