Glasgow garden room specialist opening doors to Edinburgh hub

A rapidly expanding Glasgow-based firm specialising in bespoke luxury garden rooms is opening an Edinburgh hub to meet “booming” demand for more space at home – and doubling the size of the business.

Outside In Garden Rooms founder Mel Russell (right) with sister Wendy Isaac, who is joining the business. Picture: contributed.

Outside In Garden Rooms says it has already built a “wealth” of such facilities, with uses including home offices, gyms and storage to additional space for teenagers, bars and even home cinemas, at properties all over Scotland from Glasgow and Edinburgh to Aberfeldy and Glencoe.

The business was founded in 2018 by Jordanhill entrepreneur Melanie Russell, and saw enquiries from across Scotland surge when lockdown began. It says the move into the Scottish capital has been prompted by a need to meet rising demand on the east coast.

Outside In Garden Rooms says it provides versatile space solutions for homeowners, “without the need for planning permission in most cases and, due to the high level of insulation, are usable all year round”.

Ms Russell, also the former co-owner of agency Tictoc Digital, commented: “We were very excited by the growth of our business pre-pandemic, but there’s no question that lockdown has brought a huge increase in enquiries and orders for our garden rooms. Despite supply chain challenges, we continue to manufacture and deliver a top-end product.”

The Edinburgh hub will be run by Ms Russell’s sister Wendy Isaac, who joins the business after almost 30 years working in the film and television industry.

Ms Russell added: “Working with Wendy is an amazing opportunity to really take our business to the next level as we’re both incredibly driven and organised people. The expansion into Edinburgh through our new hub will double the size of the business and is a significant step for Outside In Garden Rooms as we seek to better serve the market on the East of Scotland and beyond.

"It means we will be able to take that same quality of product, service and delivery to an even bigger audience. We are all very excited about it.”

Ms Isaac: “There is a huge opportunity for Outside In Garden Rooms in Edinburgh and its surrounding areas, and having a hub in the capital means clients will be able to more readily access the information and support they need to make their garden room plans a reality.

The company is already looking ahead to its next move, and is searching for a location to expand its manufacturing capabilities between the Glasgow and Edinburgh hubs to service an even larger geographical area.

Around 39 per cent of its clients use their building as an office, 27 per cent opt for multi-purpose use (eg gym/office/storage), 13 per cent use it as an indoor space to enjoy the garden, 10 per cent as a studio, 7 per cent as a gym, 3 per cent as a guest room and 2 per cent deploy it as a workshop.

Outside In Garden Rooms in March of last year said it was investing in a new warehouse to “turbocharge” its trajectory, having seen turnover near £300,000 in the first full year of trading.

Other firms in Scotland with a similar offering include Armadilla, which designs and makes luxury accommodation pods.

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