In our post-pandemic world, working from home has become part of everyday life. Finding a space on the kitchen table or balancing laptops on, well, laps, just doesn’t work for many of us – and that is where TJK Outdoor Living steps in. Their gorgeously designed home offices and studios offer a halfway house between home comforts and the peace of a working environment. Nearly four years on from the pandemic, more businesses are seeing the benefit of hybrid working, and dumping the commute.
We last spoke to Tim Kelly for our January 2020 issue, unaware of what was about to happen in the world. Understandably, we were very interested to hear how the business has grown since then. ‘The past four years have been pretty manic, but in a good way,’ says Tim. ‘During the pandemic the demand for our builds was huge as the need to work from home increased. Customers weren’t spending money on holidays, travel or other luxuries, so it was a great opportunity for them to invest in their homes and businesses. Without doubt, our most popular request has been for garden offices. It just makes sense, even four years after everyone was working from home. Our rooms add value to properties and in the long run, save a lot of money on rents and overheads of other office spaces. They improve the work-home life balance.’ If you run a business or work from home, your social media algorithms will have been flooded in recent years with adverts for office pods and garden buildings. With competition growing year on year, we wondered how TJK have stood out among the crowd. ‘We are the only company locally that creates bespoke studios to the standard of quality that we build to,’ explains Tim. ‘Our business is garden studios. It’s what we do day in, day out and we’ve spent years developing and perfecting our builds from foundations through to finishing touches. We only ever work with the same trusted contractors, so they have perfected what they do for us – and it shows. We have had customers who have found a great deal elsewhere online on a prefab build, but then they realise that there isn’t insulation, heating or lighting packages included. These are all extras that require amendments to a build. We make sure that by the time we move out, you can move straight in. We aim to get it right from the off. We are also very transparent with our pricing. There are no hidden extras and above all else we’re not a franchise. Outdoor Living is my livelihood, it’s our passion and so we have to be good at what we do. Our customers trust us and we build lasting relationships, providing the kind of service we would want to receive ourselves.’ With 25 years in the building industry, Tim found his way into garden offices almost by accident. ‘Outdoor Living began when I built a couple of rooms for me and family members. People liked my garden rooms and starting asking if I could fit them in amongst my general building work. After several builds, the demand for garden rooms started taking over and TJK Outdoor Living was born. That was nearly 10 years ago and our team continues to grow year on year.’ The rooms Tim and his team create are not only used for home-workers, but as studios for therapists, beauty specialists, artists, a guest room and even a teenage hideaway. ‘We worked for a family in Market Harborough last year, creating a multi-functional room designed as a work space, but with a bathroom and kitchen so that it could double up as living accommodation and a space for their teens to have more independence. That build involved digging 100-metre trenches for service pipes and data cabling, and we did it during a 40 degree heat wave. We’ll never forget that one! It changed the way the family live as it’s designed for everyone.’ A garden room may seem to be the solution to a variety of problems, but what are some of the key elements to think about before taking the plunge? ‘My advice would be to think about longevity,’ advises Tim. ‘Think about what is its use now? How may this change in 5 to 10 years? Build for the long term and think about any additional services you may need to add. It sounds simple, but think about where to add your sockets, the layout and window positioning – we can advise on all this!’ For anyone interested in creating a garden room, head to tjkoutdoorliving.com to view pricing and build specifications and to arrange an appointment.
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