As a homeowner, you may have found yourself in need of that precious thing so many of us crave at one stage or another: more space. Time brings new opportunities, growing families, and huge life changes, so you might have arrived at the inevitable fact that the room you once found acceptable is no longer sufficient. Garden rooms are a perfect solution to this problem, and what better place to look than Garden Retreats.
Garden Retreats will provide you with all the space you need, with excellent quality and premium construction. Rather than deal with the hassle that interior home renovations bring, why not opt for a whole new innovative design that sits in your garden and meets all your spacious needs—whether it be an office, workout zone or family games room.
There are plenty of opportunities to get creative and customise your bespoke garden room, and we’re here to help you make that process as easy as possible. Therefore, this article will focus on a simple yet crucial design element: what type of doors are available, and how can you choose the right style for you?
Our garden rooms come in a choice of bifold or patio doors, and this guide will give you detailed information on both to help you make the next step in achieving your perfect Garden Retreat.
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Bifold doors
For a contemporary garden room, a bifold door system can be a stylish and very practical choice that really opens up a space and brings in lots of natural light.
Pros
- Space/fluidity – Bifold doors function by folding the panels in on one another to the side of the frame. This creates a huge opening space joining the interior and exterior of the garden home. This is perfect for homeowners who might be regularly entertaining guests and want uninterrupted, fluid access between the inside and outside areas of the garden room.
- Highly secure – Bifold doors provide great security, with high quality locking systems and tough aluminium frames that are extremely hard to break into. You can rest assured that your garden building is as safely secure as possible.
- Many configuration options – The bifold doors can be configured to include fewer or more panels depending on your needs, so the design can fit any type of garden room you want to create.
- Easy access – You can incorporate traffic doors into bifold door systems, which will open individually without the entire set of panels. This allows you to simply obtain ventilation and easy access when required. Bifold doors can also have low thresholds so won’t cause a tripping hazard.
- Very stylish option – Bifold doors offer a refreshing alternative to usual sliding or French doors, and their design, colours and glazing can fit into any type of home aesthetic.
Cons
Interrupted view – Each pane of glass in a bifold door system has its own frame, so when the doors are closed this can slightly interrupt your view and obstruct natural light from entering the room.
Potentially intrusive stack – Bifold door panels will stack to one stack when fully opened, and this could protrude into your garden room and potentially limit your accessible/usable space inside.
Before choosing a bifold door, there are also a few practical considerations. Primarily, the amount of panels you will need will depend on the size of your Garden Retreats pod. The more panels, the bigger the outward stack, so be aware of your space requirements. Additionally, you will want to consider your colour options to pick the perfect design that harmoniously suits your garden room’s character, and also, the character of your home.
Patio doors
Patio doors are another classic and stylish door option for your Garden Retreats pod.
Pros
- Most spatially efficient – Patio doors function by sliding one panel behind the one next to it. This means there are no protruding panels and the door system occupies as little space as possible. This is perfect for smaller garden rooms where space is at a premium.
- Optimal view and light – Sliding patio doors consist of one individual frame dividing the panels, which provides a great open view and allows the biggest amount of natural light to fill the room.
- Strong security – The security of patio doors is of a similar level to bifold doors. They have an excellent locking system and sturdy construction to prevent any break-ins.
Cons
- Reduced entrance space – Due to one panel having to reside permanently on one side of the door, patio doors do not offer the huge, easy-flowing space that bifold doors do at their entrance. This can lack the fluid feel between the interior and exterior of your garden room offered by a bifold system.
- Less ease of access – Due to the sliding function, patio doors can pose a nuisance if constant access is necessary. The sliding motion of the weighty door is not as simple to access as the bifold traffic door.
Similar to bifold doors, a patio door system has its own practical considerations. Firstly, you will need to think about whether a shorter entrance space is right for you. If you plan on flowing between the inside and outside often, such as for events, the stationary panel might prove imposing.
The design and colour plans for your Garden Retreat should also an important consideration. Sliding doors are often better suited for contemporary homes, as their modern design can look out of place in more traditional houses.
The Garden Retreats pod
Your choice between bifold and patio doors is one of the many great features offered by the custom Garden Retreats pod. Our bespoke garden pods offer a modular system of three individually-priced sizes that you can combine to great a truly unique space for your home. If your situation changes, you can add more pods at a later date for extra space and can even take your Garden Retreat with you if you move to a new home.
Our pods are the perfect solution for a variety of applications, from remote working and homeschooling to personal gyms and pet grooming salons. They are easily fitted onsite for swift and quick installation in a matter of days, unlike the weeks or months it can take for alternative garden buildings and home extensions like a conservatory or orangery.
We use premium fibre glass and carbon fibre for our pods instead of traditional timber, creating a lightweight but incredibly strong structure that will not deteriorate or expand over time. Composite cladding means your pod will suffer no condensation and requires zero maintenance—no replacing, repainting, or repairing needed. Our materials require 75% less energy for production and transportation than steel, and we offer a 25-year warranty.
You also have a choice of Italian luxury vinyl wipe-clean wall and floor tiling for a simple, hassle-free but beautiful design that will look good for years. If you want even greater space, we offer optional decking and a roof terrace—complete with its own spiral staircase—to make your pod stand out. Once again, these can be installed at a later time if needed.
All electrics are included internally, including sockets with USB ports, internal and external spotlights, a hook-up point for mains, and smartphone-controlled heating. Garden Retreats pods boast industry-leading British warm roof systems with a U-value of 0.18, so thermal efficiency is guaranteed.
Frequently asked questions
Are garden rooms safe and secure?
Every Garden Retreat is fitted with industry leading locks that are Secure By Design (SBD). SDB is the official police security initiative that works to improve the security of buildings and their immediate surroundings to provide safe places to live, work, shop and visit. Every Garden Retreat is as safe as your main house so you can leave valuables in it and not be concerned about a thief having easy access.
Will my garden room keep me warm in the winter and cool in the summer?
Every Garden Retreat contains insulation to the latest standards. Our rooves achieve 0.18 U-value and with EPS insulation in all walls and floors, our Garden Retreats outperform other buildings in the heat or the cold.