Garden Office Sizes: Small, Two Desks, or Room to Meet

One desk needs 6 to 9 m², which costs €6,700 to €10,500. Two desks need 12 to 16 m², €13,390 to €16,720. A desk plus a meeting table needs 16 to 20 m², and a large garden office of 24 to 25 m² is €17,150 to €28,000. Two things cap the size: every garden building together can't pass 30 m² without planning permission, and 25 m² of open garden has to be left.

Pick the size from what happens inside it, then check it against the garden.

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6 to 9 m²one desk
12 to 16 m²two desks
30 m²the most without planning, all buildings together

Size by what it's for

Use	Size	Typical footprint	Our price, put up
One desk	6 to 9 m²	3 × 2 m to 3 × 3 m	€6,700 to €10,500
Two desks	12 to 16 m²	4 × 3 m to 4 × 4 m	€13,390 to €16,720
A desk and a meeting table	16 to 20 m²	4 × 4 m to 5 × 4 m	€15,200 to €22,000
Office plus store or gym, two rooms	15 to 24 m²	5 × 3 m to 6 × 4 m	€13,390 to €17,950
A large office or studio	24 to 25 m²	6 × 4 m or 5 × 5 m	€17,150 to €28,000

A desk and chair beside a daybed under a wide window, inside a timber-lined garden office — A desk under the window and a seat beside it. This much fits in about 9 m².

A small garden office

A small garden office is 6 to 9 m². It is right when one person works in it and the garden is tight. Put the desk on the long wall, the door at one end and the window on the wall you face. Anything under 3 × 2 m stops being an office: the chair hits the wall behind you.

Two people working at a small table in a timber-lined room with a wall of glass — Two people at work in a timber-lined room with a glass wall. Two desks want distance between them as well as floor.

A garden office for two

Two people on calls need distance, not just floor. At 4 × 3 m the desks sit on opposite walls, back to back. At 4 × 4 m there is room for a shelf unit between them, which helps with sound. If both of you are on video all day, think about a dividing wall and two doors.

A large garden office

From 20 m² an office takes a desk and a table for four, or a desk and a sofa. At 24 to 25 m² it can be split into two rooms. Past that, do the sum: an office of 25 m² and a 6 m² shed is 31 m² of garden buildings, which is over the limit and needs planning permission.

What the garden allows

Measure the back garden and work out its area.
Take off the office you want.
What is left has to be 25 m² or more of open space.
Add up the floor area of every shed, garage and greenhouse already there, plus the office. The total has to be 30 m² or less.

If both sums work, and the office is behind the house and under 3 m high, it needs no planning permission. The office sizer on this page does the same check in four taps.

Sizes, priced

What	Typical cost	What moves the price
A one-desk office pod, 6 to 9 m²	€6,700 to €10,500	3 × 2 m up to 3 × 3 m. Insulated timber, put up. Base and power extra
An office for two desks, 12 to 16 m²	€13,390 to €16,720	4 × 3 m to 4 × 4 m. The insulation, the doors and the glass
A 20 m² office, 5 × 4 m	€15,200 to €22,000	Triple glazing and thicker insulation sit at the top
A 24 to 25 m² office	€17,150 to €28,000	6 × 4 m or 5 × 5 m. How thick the insulation is
A two-room building, office plus store	€13,390 to €17,950	5 × 3 m to 6 × 4 m, with a dividing wall and a second door
Fully fitted, 12 to 16 m²	€25,250 to €27,500	Insulated, wired, lined and floored, ready to work in

Our price guide for Ireland. Ask whether VAT is in the price. Many list prices leave it out. Ask what the price includes: the base, the cable from the house and the inside finish.