One of the beauties of a garden room or office is that they are inherently designed to have large amounts of natural light. Often constructed with large, bifold or sliding doors that allow the sun to flood in from the floor to the ceiling and help make the rooms look larger and help flow out to your garden area.In addition to the potential of bi-fold or sliding doors, you can add skylights to a garden room if it has a sloped roof. You might also opt for custom glazing panels that can be fitted to one section of a wall. These glazing panels bring additional light into the room and add options to create exciting window displays.Of course, natural light fluctuates through the year – so what are the best ways to ensure there is sufficient lighting year-round?

Internal Lighting

The image below is The Brampton by Brighton & Hove Garden RoomsWhen winter comes and (certainly if you live in the UK) what seems like 23 hours of darkness descends, you’ll need to consider other ways to light your garden room.Most garden rooms or garden offices will come equipped with some type of ambient light source. You can choose from spotlights, recessed downlighters, track lighting. If it’s more of an industrial look you’re going for or perhaps a workshop, why not consider fluorescent tubes?Ambient light systems such as those will light the room brilliantly. The amount, type and even colour of light can be controlled by the bulbs you choose.If you create a garden office or perhaps a hobby room, you will need specific task lighting to prevent eye strain. This can easily be done with a desk or floor light as appropriate. If you are in the process of designing the room now, consider where you’ll need sockets so these can be placed during construction rather than having to get an electrician in to add them later down the line.

Light Fittings

The most popular type of lighting for a garden office is recessed downlights, although these cannot be fitted in all styles of garden room. If your garden room is suitable, then these recessed downlights, which take LED bulbs, come in several types:

• Fixed – light directly downwards

• wall washer – light directed at the walls

• gimbal – these can be rotated to direct light

• Eyeball – these can be rotated with a greater range than gimbal lights

Some of these systems will have an option for a dimmer switch so that you can adjust the lighting in your garden room even more.If downlights cannot be placed in your garden room or office, then spotlights are probably the next logical option. Spotlights are mounted on the surface and can be on tracks, fitted singularly on in groups. They will usually have a swivel function so you can direct the light exactly where you want it.To give you an idea of how many lights you may need, downlighters are placed a metre from the wall and about 1.5 metres apart.

External lighting

The below image is the Domeo 7 by Vision Garden RoomsDon’t forget the outside of your garden room will need lighting as well. The most obvious reason for outdoor lighting is so you can access the room on a dark night. You can also create a stunning ambience with coloured LED’s tucked in among plants. These outdoor lights will also be essential for enhancing an outdoor decking area. Last but not least, outdoor floodlights can act as a security device and deterrent to anyone peeking in at your equipment.

Lighting Controls

Many garden room suppliers will offer different options for lighting control. This option allows you to control the lighting remotely, such as with a key fob. This is especially brilliant on a rainy day when you get into the house and realise you’ve left a light turned on. There are also systems controlled by your smartphone which are available or even those attached to Google Home.Lighting options clearly abound; it will help to talk to your garden room supplier or a qualified electrician about the intended use of the room. They can guide you through the appropriate lighting options for your needs.