Covered timber deck and glazed pavilion at Orchard Leigh

Orchard Leigh · Rodborough Hill, Stroud

A timber pavilion made for year-round life between house and garden.

A warm, high-performing replacement for a cold Victorian garden room, designed to feel naturally connected to both the original stone house and a much-loved garden.

Status: Completed 2022
Brief: Garden room replacement, selected fabric retained, site oversight
Location: Rodborough Hill, Stroud
Materials: Timber frame, cedar deck, sedum roof and high-spec glazing

The Story

Garden rooms do not have to be cold, and additions do not have to feel bolted on.

Orchard Leigh is a prominent house on Rodborough Hill, just outside Stroud. Its Victorian garden room sat unhappily between a beautiful stone house and a garden the clients had spent years making. It was too cold to use for much of the year and felt visually disconnected from both.

The clients wanted a genuinely comfortable room and a more generous route from the house into the garden. They also asked to retain selected elements of the existing structure for sentimental reasons. Those pieces were carefully worked into the new scheme, allowing the addition to feel continuous with the life of the house rather than like a wholesale erasure.

The new pavilion uses a high-performing timber frame and extensive garden-facing glazing. Its sedum roof softens the view from the house above, while a covered cedar deck extends the living space into the garden. The result is a room that works in winter and opens almost completely in summer.

Long view from the existing house into the new timber pavilion — A continuous view from the existing house into the new garden room.

Living room opening onto the garden beneath exposed timber rafters — Exposed timber rafters draw the eye through the room and out towards the garden.

Interior showing original stonework, timber structure and dark joinery — Original stone, warm timber and dark-toned joinery bring old and new together.

Garden elevation of the low timber pavilion against the original stone house — The low garden elevation sits quietly against the original stone house.

Sliding glass doors fully open between the pavilion and covered deck — With the glazing drawn back, the pavilion and covered deck become one generous room.

A room for every season

A high-performing timber frame, a planted roof and a threshold that almost disappears.

Sustainability was not treated as a separate gesture. It shaped the comfort, materials and long-term usefulness of the room from the beginning.

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Thinking about how your house could connect more naturally with its garden?

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