Sanctum Garden Studios Contemporary Overhang Studio Garden Room Build
ITV's “The Home Game” with Linda Barker

We were delighted to be included in the first Series (Episode 6) aired on ITV. We were really happy to have been asked to be involved and after discussions with our lovely Windermere customer (talented artist Karen Wallis), embarked on some filming sessions and conversations with the production company.

We were delighted that Karen agreed to be involved with us whilst building her Art Studio. In the show you will see Karen’s garden studio being installed alongside her house renovations. Along with 3 other home owners, their properties are valued before any renovations and then once they have been finished. The aim of the game is to achieve the most profit and be crowned the winner. The show features the installation of Karen’s Art Studio and an interview about her requirements. There is also footage of Sam from Sanctum being interviewed.

Requirements It all started with a visit to the Sanctum workshop by Karen’s father in law – he’s based local to us and he came in for a chat explaining that his son and daughter in law wanted a studio in The Lakes.

Karen then got in touch and explained that she needed a garden room to be used as an Art Studio.
The Art Studio had to have lots of light and be positioned where the garage was currently standing – slightly elevated and where the wonderful views of Lake Windermere could be taken in. We knew we had to adapt our standard Contemporary studio design to fit in with the height that Karen required – she needed to ensure her easel could fit. We also adjusted the standard sizes of our doors and windows to maximise the views and the light from the North which is so important to artists.

It was essential for Karen to be able to take in the views whilst she was working in her Garden Studio, and more importantly she needed to ensure that her easel would fit due to it’s height. We built Karen a Bespoke Contemporary Overhang Studio – 4.8m x 4m with a large overhang and lots of glazing – we added a set of bespoke width French doors ( 3.4m), a 900mm door at the rear and a large 2m full height fixed window to the side. The interior was plastered and painted and inset downlighters were added in the ceiling. Karen opted for a Light Oak laminate flooring and skirting boards and also an Air Source Heat Pump which provides air conditioning in the warm Summer months and heating in the chilly Winters. Karen loves her studio and for us it really is one of our favourites with the amazing Lake Windermere views. What a place to work!

TV Interview Q & A Here’s the tv interview which shows how we worked closely with Karen to provide her with exactly what she wanted:-

Does this location lend itself perfectly to a garden studio?

Absolutely. You really couldn’t get a more stunning view and the garden studio looks just perfect in Karen’s garden.

More so, does it lend itself to an art studio?

Karen’s art studio in this location is just idyllic. That said, we have many customers who use theirs as art studios. Most of these don’t have the surroundings that Karen has but we ensure that the right size is chosen to make the most of the customer’s individual plot.

What other uses do clients commonly have for your studios?

Many customers use their garden rooms as offices but we also have teenage dens, needlework rooms, beauty therapy businesses, tattoo studios, gyms and even a couple of man caves! Often customers just want another sitting room away from the house in the corner of their garden. Somewhere to take in a nice view that perhaps can’t be seen from the house. Was it important to utilise the view? Yes it really was. We totally understood why Karen wanted so much glazing. Were there any issues when installing the garden studio? Everything went smoothly with this installation although the height of the base did pose some challenges meaning that the team needed to erect a scaffold safely around it in order to build it safely. The old concrete garage floor had been built to slope into a drain but we were easily able to level this out using our specially designed steel base frame.

What options were available to Karen?

With our Contemporary Studios we offer a number of optional extras and Karen chose the Air Source Heat Pump and an interior upgrade to a plastered and painted finish. Karen also asked if we would add 3 external flood lights which we were happy to do. Small, exterior rooms can often be either too cold or too hot – how has this been addressed? All of our studios are really well insulated in the floor, walls and roof. We use aluminium faced PIR insulation boards which is widely used in the construction industry to help meet strict building regulations regarding energy conservation. This type of insulation also protects against heat gain in the Summer months and ensures a comfortable temperature year round. We also use ‘A’ rated window and door frames fitted with specially coated double glazed units filled with argon gas. Again to improve thermal performance. Many customers opt for our Air Source Heat Pump though as this gives the added benefit of air conditioning when it gets too hot, and additional heating when it snows!

Do you think she’s made the most of the view?

I really do – I think Karen’s got it just right and we’re delighted to have built the studio for her. Are you jealous of what she’s got here? Yes, I really am. Windermere is such a beautiful place and to have this lake view on a daily basis is incredible. Do you think this’ll add value to the property? Certainly. We heard recently from a customer in the South of England who had their house valued for re-mortgage purposes. Their chartered surveyor commented that their garden room had added almost double the amount that they had paid for it. Naturally they were very happy to share this with us!