The Transforming Garden House With Sliding Walls

Fun Stuff / March 9,2017

A Dutch man has proved that you don’t need a degree in architecture to design an absolute winner of a garden shed. With a seemingly endless wish list from his mother, Caspar Schols set out to build the perfect prefab garden house in his parents backyard, a place where his mother could paint, meditate and feel away from home in her own garden. A special place where she could enjoy entertaining outdoors, accommodate extra guests, or simply sleep under the stars. Aside from going above and beyond all expectations which he has clearly done, we’re pretty sure he’s just taken out the prize for ‘son of the year’ too, all in one fell swoop.

Sitting on the edge of a pond at their Eindhoven home in the Netherlands, the transforming Garden House comprises of a double-glass-and-beam inner shell, nestled within a traditional-looking exterior of wooden walls and a metal roof. With the glass and beam structure set upon runners, the interior walls can be easily wheeled inwards and outwards to create different layouts, catering for any weather type, mood or occasion. During the cooler months, the Garden House can be fully enclosed and is heated sufficiently by way of a small Norwegian wood stove, and when it is warmer both walls can be extended out so that guests can enjoy the open air, furniture and all, thus truly experiencing outdoor living. The pavilion aso contains a small bed which makes for a perfect place to put up guests, who are sure to be in for a unique treat during their stay.

At its smallest, the structure measures 6-metres long by 4-metres wide, but can be expanded to almost 12-metres long when needed. Made of mostly Douglas fir wood, the Garden House was built and designed almost entirely by Schols who has no formal architectural training, and took just over 6 months to construct with a little help from some family and friends. “I was looking for a design with a lot of flexibility, if possible; a design that has the flexibility of clothes,” says Schols of his design inspiration. “You should be able to get away with and change layers of the house almost as easily as changing clothes when desired. The house should allow for the freedom to adjust it to any wish and weather type at any moment.”