A Perfect Family DIY Garden Room with @Lifewithmalamutes

Receiving an Avon Log Cabin from Dunster House meant that Emma and Shane could make use of the space in their garden to build a DIY garden room to relax in all year round.

@lifewithmalamutes document their day to day life with their gorgeous pets and sweet new-born baby. They own two beautiful Alaskan Malamutes called Phil and Niko, and a ragamuffin cat called Milo. Emma and Shane have also recently given birth to a beautiful baby girl, Mia.

In preparation for the birth of Mia, they converted the spare room into her nursery, which meant that they lost that extra space.

Choosing a Log Cabin for a DIY Garden Room

The couple went for the Avon W3m x D3m Log Cabin that they converted into a summer house/lounge area. This particular log cabin has a wall thickness of 28mm. However, we do offer a range of wall thicknesses, including 45mm and 62mm insulated.

The Avon Log Cabin comes with 4mm toughened glass, whereas most competitors use 3mm horticultural glass, or even Perspex and styrene. 4mm toughened glass is a great safety feature as the glass crumbles rather than shatters. Perfect for families with small children and pets.

Designed to be under a height of 2.5m, you typically won’t need planning permission to build most of our log cabins. So you can construct it anywhere you want in your garden. Some exceptions may apply though, so it’s best you check with a local authority if in any doubt.

Find out more about Building Regulations and Planning Permission.

Building a Log Cabin DIY Garden Room

All our log cabins are designed for the DIY customer, so come with detailed pictorial instructions to help you along the way. You don’t need anything more than your simple tools such as a drill, spirit level, hammer(s) etc to fully construct your DIY garden room.

Shane initially had a couple of family members helping him out to get the foundation of the log cabin correct. It is really important when constructing a garden building that the structure is perfect. So we do suggest getting a couple of people (or your dogs) to help you out. The logs of the cabin have a very deep tongue and groove. This means that they interlock into one another easier and engage with one another better.

Find out more information on How to Build a Log Cabin Base.

Once the main foundation is built, you can go on to see how Shane is putting on the roof shingles and flooring, single handedly. All our log cabins come with all the necessary fixings, roof and flooring as standard. Having everything included means you do not have to worry about getting any of the components wrong.

It took Shane and Emma roughly 3 days to get their DIY garden room up, with the helping hand of Phil and Niko. Emma and Shane were not able to document treating the cabin as the Manchester weather wasn’t on their side.

The pair have really transformed their Avon Log Cabin. They have painted the outside in rich oak stain and the inside in a beautiful crisp grey. When designing the interior of the garden room, they chose to kit it out with gorgeous grey rattan furnishing to match the colours of the inside*. Now the log cabin is ready and set for those glorious summery days in the garden with the family and pets.

Watch @lifewithmalamutes journey from receiving their Avon Log Cabin, to easily installing it in their garden, and adding the finishing touches to create their DIY garden room.

Life with a Log Cabin

Seeing Emma and Shane’s transformation is what we love about our garden buildings. They are such a versatile blank canvas that you can create whatever you like.

Are you in need of some extra room, or just simply want to make the most of your garden? Then, head over to our log cabins page and make your DIY garden room dream a reality.

Want to build a garden room, but in need of some inspiration? Well, you can honestly create your log cabin into anything you want. What about an office space for working from home? Many of our customers that have an aspiration to start their own business use their log cabin to build a garden office. Whether it be a beauty salon, hairdressers, dog parlour, etc. Want to create an area outside the house to chill out, watch a movie or play fun games with the family? Turn your garden room into the ultimate cinema/games room where you and the kids can spend some quality time together. Take a look at our Customer Inspiration Gallery for more ideas.

Watch the video below to see the finished result of Emma and Shane’s DIY garden room.

*We recommend consulting with suppliers of externally purchased products to ensure their suitability before adding modifications to a Dunster House garden building.