The Green Room
The Green Room design and build self-contained garden annexes from Corby, Northamptonshire, with one, two and three-bedroom layouts. Most are built under the Caravan Act with a Lawful Development Certificate, and one fixed price covers the survey, application, foundations, utility connections, kitchen and shower room.
The Green Room
The Green Room design and build self-contained garden annexes from Corby, Northamptonshire, with one, two and three-bedroom layouts. Most are built under the Caravan Act with a Lawful Development Certificate, and one fixed price covers the survey, application, foundations, utility connections, kitchen and shower room.
The Green Room
The Green Room design and build self-contained garden annexes from Corby, Northamptonshire, with one, two and three-bedroom layouts. Most are built under the Caravan Act with a Lawful Development Certificate, and one fixed price covers the survey, application, foundations, utility connections, kitchen and shower room.
Introducing The Green Room
The Green Room build garden annexes as permanent homes, whether for a parent who wants to stay close, an adult child who needs a place of their own, or owners planning ahead for later life. Run by Brian Connellan in Corby, Northamptonshire, they began specialising in annexes after building one in their own garden for Brian’s father-in-law, and have since completed more than 100 across England and Wales.
Their range is arranged by bedroom count, from the 44sqm one-bedroom Carlton Lodge to the 81sqm three-bedroom Burlington Lodge. Every annexe is made to order, so where none of the lodges quite fits, the team adapts the layout and size to suit the garden and the person who will live there.
Every project starts with a free site survey and is quoted as one fixed price for the finished annexe, including the planning application.
Contact The Green Room
Gallery
Design
Most projects begin with one of The Green Room’s lodge layouts, which is then adjusted in size, room arrangement and window positions to suit the plot and the occupant. Where a garden calls for something different, the layout is drawn from scratch around it.
Kitchens come in three forms: a compact kitchen with a sink, hob and fridge-freezer for a smaller annexe, a hideaway kitchen that folds out of sight when not in use, or a full-size fitted kitchen for someone who cooks every day. Shower rooms are usually walk-in, and a level-access tray, fold-down seat and grab rail can be added for an occupant who needs them. Cladding, window and door colours are chosen from their finishes range, so the annexe can be matched to the house or designed to contrast with it.
Layouts
One-bedroom annexes range from around 26sqm to 76sqm, each with a separate bedroom, a shower room and an open-plan living and kitchen area. Two-bedroom layouts are typically 55 to 70sqm, and three-bedroom designs such as the Burlington Lodge add a smaller third room that works as a study, hobby room or single bedroom. Larger footprints leave space for a separate utility, which keeps laundry, coats and shoes out of the kitchen.
Where the occupant uses a wheelchair or walking aid, layouts can be planned with wider circulation space, comfort-height toilets and sockets and controls within easy reach, depending on the site.
Approval Process
Most Green Room annexes are built under the Caravan Act, which means the building meets the legal definition of a caravan and can be moved in no more than two sections. Used alongside the main house, it then does not need full planning permission, and The Green Room apply for a Lawful Development Certificate so the council confirms this in writing before work starts. Where a project does not suit that route, they prepare a Full Householder Planning application instead, with Building Regulations approval where it is required. The drawings, structural calculations and council fees are part of the fixed price, and the team handle all correspondence with the local authority. They also advise that letting the annexe separately, or as holiday accommodation, can change its planning status.
Service
The Green Room offer a turnkey service. After the survey and the approval, their own team lays the foundations, digs the trenches and connects the annexe to the main house’s water, electricity and drainage, then builds and fits it out with the kitchen, shower room, flooring, heating and lighting. Work on site typically takes four to six weeks. The rooms are plastered ready for the owners’ own choice of colours, and with the flooring, heating and services in place, the annexe is otherwise ready to move into. Every annexe has a 10-year guarantee, with an optional insurance-backed policy through the Independent Warranty Association.
Structure
The floor, walls and roof are made from 172mm Structural Insulated Panels (SIPs) with a polyurethane core. The Green Room quote U-values of 0.16 for the walls, 0.12 for the floor and 0.10 for the roof, so the annexe holds its warmth through the winter and is economical to heat all year round. Heating is either underfloor or Wi-Fi controlled ceramic radiators that can be set and monitored from a phone.
Outside, fibre cement lap cladding and A-rated windows and doors keep maintenance low. The roof is either a flat EPDM membrane, which keeps the building low in the garden, or a pitched slate-effect roof, which gives a vaulted ceiling inside and makes the living space feel taller than its footprint.
Site Challenges
Annexes sit on screw piles or reinforced concrete pads. Screw piles need far less digging than a slab, which helps where the ground slopes or there is little room for machinery. The Green Room also shape the building around awkward plots: the Cottesmore Lodge was laid out for a long, narrow garden, and the Starling Lodge extends partly alongside the house to fit a restricted one. Levels, trees and access are assessed at the site survey, and any extra groundwork is set out in the quote before work begins.