When investment consultant David and his family moved to a new home just outside of Harrogate, they were keen to look into the possibility of having a garden room built. They’d never previously had a big enough garden to consider one, but the new garden had a spot that seemed ideal. The family decided that a garden room would be a great way to introduce more flexible living space, which was especially welcome now their two sons had become teenagers.
David and family took their time making sure they found the right style of garden room and the right company to build it. After speaking to some local and national companies, they decided they loved the look of cedar-clad garden rooms. From there, it seemed an obvious choice to get in touch with Horto.
‘Really from the first moment I chatted to Ellen she was incredibly helpful and gave me a positive feeling,’ David says. ‘Then, when Gary and Ellen came for the survey, it straight away became apparent that this would be different from buying from a big national company.’ Even on that first visit, David realised how much of a personal service Horto was offering. They were hoping to fit in a garden room of five by four meters, but, as it would be a bit of a squeeze, Gary suggested designing a garden room with a custom footprint, all for the same cost. ‘So Horto were offering up suggestions and solutions which were very helpful, whereas other companies just didn’t seem to have the flexibility to tailor it to fit.’
The whole family found the building process exciting and enjoyable, which was significantly helped by how friendly Gary and the team were. David was very pleased to find that the cost they were quoted was the total cost they paid; no nasty surprises or hidden extras. Nothing was too much trouble, even when it was something that hadn’t been done before. ‘We wanted to have a Virgin TV connection wired in,’ David says. ‘Gary got straight on the phone to an electrician and made it happen.’
Those little touches have made all the difference to the finished space, which really is wonderfully multi-purpose. During the day, David uses the garden room as a workspace. In the evening, he, his wife and his sons take turns enjoying the space. Some days David uses it to watch football with his friends, on others, the boys use it to play on the Xbox with theirs. The space is perfect for socialising, hosting sleepovers and even pool tournaments. After six months, the garden room has become very much an established part of the family home.
When asked, David said there was absolutely nothing he’d do differently if he were to do it again. ‘We are incredibly happy with it. It’s so well done, it’s so well made, you look around and it’s all perfect.’ In fact, David’s only gripe seems to be that he hasn’t yet managed to convince his wife to build a second garden room to use as a home gym. What can we say?! We can absolutely understand the temptation.
