Zen Sanctuary · Premium garden retreats
Premium garden rooms. More space, more light, more considered.
Elevated garden living with premium finishes, architectural detailing and optional wellness features.
From £45,000including VAT
Indicative starting price. Final cost depends on size, specification, optional features and site requirements.
Indoor-outdoor living
A room, a terrace and a garden, designed as one.
Corner glazing, covered thresholds and decking blur the line between inside and out. Use it as a lounge, an office with a view, a place to entertain, or simply the best seat in the garden.
Optional wellness
Add wellness, if you want it.
A Sanctuary doesn't have to include any wellness features. If you'd like them, these can be designed in as optional additions and are quoted after consultation.
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Integrated sauna
A sauna room within the building, specified to suit the space and electrical supply.
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Outdoor shower
A sheltered shower on the terrace, subject to water supply and drainage.
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Hot tub
A hot tub set into the deck or terrace, subject to a suitable base and electrical supply.
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Ice plunge
An ice plunge with a suitable base, services and safe surfaces around it.
Specialist elements depend on your site, electrical capacity, water supply and drainage. We don't make medical claims; anyone with a health condition should check with their GP before using a sauna, hot tub or ice plunge.
Questions
Prefer something simpler? See the Zen Studio, available in five popular sizes.
Can you add a sauna, hot tub or ice plunge?
Yes, as optional extras on a Zen Studio or Zen Sanctuary, subject to the specification and your site. A sauna needs the right heater, ventilation, moisture control and electrical supply. A hot tub or ice plunge needs a suitable base, power and safe surfaces around it, and sometimes water supply and drainage. Each is quoted after consultation, and we'll set out what suits your space in your quotation.
Anyone with a health condition should check with their GP before using a sauna, hot tub or ice plunge.
Do I need planning permission for a garden room?
Often not, but it depends on your property and the design. In England, many garden rooms can be built under permitted development rights for outbuildings, without a planning application, as long as they meet a set of conditions. The main ones are:
- Single storey, and not in front of the principal elevation of the house.
- No more than 2.5 m high overall if it sits within 2 m of a boundary. Further from the boundary, up to 4 m with a dual-pitched roof or 3 m with other roofs, and eaves no higher than 2.5 m.
- Outbuildings and extensions together cover no more than half the land around the original house.
- Used for purposes incidental to the house, such as an office, gym or studio, not as separate living or sleeping accommodation.
- Any raised decking or platform no more than 30 cm above the ground.
Different rules apply to listed buildings, flats and maisonettes, and to homes in national parks (including Dartmoor and Exmoor), National Landscapes (formerly AONBs), conservation areas and World Heritage Sites. Some homes also have permitted development rights removed by an earlier planning condition or an Article 4 direction.
We check this at your site assessment. If you'd like formal certainty, you can apply to your council for a Lawful Development Certificate, or make a planning application where one is needed. We can help you with either. This is general guidance, not legal advice.
Will my garden room need building regulations approval?
Many don't, but some do. As a general guide for detached outbuildings in England with no sleeping accommodation:
- Under 15 m² internal floor area: usually exempt.
- Between 15 m² and 30 m²: usually exempt if the building is at least 1 m from any boundary, or is built substantially of non-combustible materials.
- Over 30 m²: building regulations approval is normally needed.
Separately, electrical work must always meet the building regulations, and new circuits are normally notifiable, so the electrics are installed and certified by a qualified, registered electrician. Adding a shower room, WC or sleeping space can also bring a project into building control. We confirm what applies to your design before you commit.
Begin here
Your garden, at its most beautiful.
Tell us about your home and garden. We'll design a Sanctuary around them and quote it individually.
We design and install across Devon, Cornwall, Somerset and Dorset, subject to site access and scheduling. Further afield? Ask us. Larger projects are considered case by case.