Garden office vs side return extension

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DH and I both wfh. We live in a traditional 3 bed semi and have 3 DC aged 5, 3 and 18 months. We bought the house in a fixer upper state 4 years ago and have extended the house by adding a large family space/kitchen diner extension, as well as slowly modernising the rest of it and doing a lot of the work ourselves.

The house itself is in a nice road, close to amenities/school and has a large garden, however we are aware that there is a ceiling price for the road and at some point we will need to decide to either further extend to add additional bedroom space or need to move (decision likely to be in 4 or 5 years.)

We would like to add an office space. DH preference is to build a garden office at the end of the garden, which would be on the current plot where we have 2 garden sheds (therefore losing this storage space.) He has costed this out and to self build it will be £10k (this would be finished) and he is more than capable of doing this.

I feel we would be better placed investing this money in the house by building a side return extension at the back of the garage which would house a small utility room and separate office space. A builders quote for this was £16k approx. Thus we would not lose any storage space in the garden ...although access to the garden would be via the garage and through the utility space which would not bother me as long as we have hard wearing floor.

From a practical point of view, I think the novelty of a garden office will wear off with the reality of traipsing up the garden to answer the doorbell (we have a lot of deliveries) make a cup of tea/lunch etc. I also think it would be useful to have an office connected to the house, as we have DC.

I'm interested to hear thoughts about the value of a building a garden office vs adding a small side return extension as per above, as if we were to sell up in a few years, what do you think would be considered more valuable?

How big is the side return? 16 k sounds very cheap to me. Also would you be loosing tear access?

For me extra house/utility/home office etc I'd pay more for. A garden office I wouldn't.

I think an extension is better as long as the office is an adequate size and it doesn't detract from the rest of the house. I'm in our garden office at the moment. I have to do the sprint of hope every time the doorbell goes! It's OK and gives us the extra room, but I have no illusions it was very much the quick and cheap solution - it was only about £6K.

Have you got a drawing of the side return extension idea? Finding it a little hard to visualise.

Garden offices do look smart. Could you get a garden office with two rooms? One as an office and the offer for storage?

Very similar position - H and I both WFH with 3 children. We have already extended (a 3 bed semi) double storey out to the rear to get a 4th bed / ensuite / large kitchen diner but also looking for office space. We've been through various scenarios - probably can't justify the cost of any of them at the moment sadly, but I think you're absolutely right that an extension will add more value than a garden office. This is what everyone has said to us.

All I would say is to think carefully about your long term plans. Our neighbours have a single storey rear & side extension and when they wanted to build above it, found the foundations weren't good enough and they'd have to reinforce them to extend above, or demolish the existing extension and start again. They ended up going up into the loft. If you have already added a single storey rear extension, it may well be worth considering the extra cost of going double storey now.

P.S. the other thing I would say is your quotes for the extension / garden office sound really cheap. I'd check what they include.

we have a garden office. DH used it for a couple of years when the kids were little and he was working at home but needed no noise.

but for the last 5 years, it has just been used for storage.

you can save loads on your budget if you shop around - there are a few online services who will design and budget the costs of your project for you - also we saved loads kitting our build out by going on ebay !

We have a 3 bed semi with an annex. The annex already existed when we bought the house; we wouldn't have chosen to build it otherwise. We are planning an extension because we need more living space in the actual house. Our extension will include a utility room as well as a big kitchen/diner/family room. The advantage of our annex is "overspill" space since we don't have much in the main house (yet), we don't have a garage or any other storage so we've mostly used it for that, but it is also helpful as a home office / guest room (it also has plumbing and a shower room). However, it is a pain that it's separate from the house and we haven't used it much as a result. It's helpful for storage and to have an office that's separate from the house if you have a house full of children and want to be undisturbed! But if I had to choose between annex or extension I'd definitely choose an extension.

In your case you already have an extension but if I were you I'd want a utility room and storage space as well as an office, and I do think it would be helpful to keep these within the main house if you can.

Is the garage connected to the house
If so could you convert it to an office instead of building on to it?

Extension definitely if you can stretch to it.

It will add much more value to your house and will be much more practical, especially if you get a utility room as well.

In fact I'd doubt you'd even get back your investment on a garden office - they are a bit marmite in property terms.

Tbh I think garden offices are a bit "last resort" if you've got no other option and I think as a trend a bit overblown as they have so many downsides (keep having to go to the house for the toilet/drink/answer the door/additional heating costs etc - though I appreciate some of those things can be overcome).

Thanks for the replies and comments. Feedback is very useful and appreciated! I have attached some plans we have drawn quickly for reference.

To answer a couple of points:
We have considered converting the garage and would lose the storage space which is pretty full (as are the sheds) therefore prefer to keep the garage as is.

We are currently using the box bedroom as an office space however, within the next year we will need this back as a bedroom space for DC3 who still sleeps in our room.

We considered making the lounge into an office but it is useful to have a separate family room. We also used this when we first moved in as an office temporarily and found it was far too noisy and too easy for small DC to just "pop in"

The ground floor kitchen diner extension we have done has a pitched roof.

If we were to extend and add bedroom space in the future then we would be committing to staying in the road as we would exceed the ceiling price. This option would also not give us equal bedrooms spaces for 3 children, therefore my personal preference is to stay in existing house for another 5 years or so, then move.
Ballpark costs we have for underpinning the garage and extending over and or loft would be minimum 40k upwards which we cannot afford right now.

Plans attached:
Option 1 (far right image) - This is the current ground floor house layout and the proposed Garden office option (self building this @ 10k cost all in) We would lose existing shed storage (shown in option 2 and 3)

Option 2 - Side return extension approx 16k via builder (there would be additional costs incurred as this is not to final fix which we are able to do ourselves)
Access to garden through garage and via extended space.

Option 3 - Larger side return extension which would also re-site the existing WC in plan 1 and free up the space for storage.
Cost approx 21K. As per above option there would be some additional costs.
Access to garden as above in option 2.

Having a utility and office attached will add more value. Garden offices, if done correctly, installation, plastered, electricity etc add quite a lot of value up to 5% of the property value.
I like the idea of both. The garden office appeals with young children so to work quietly without interruption. The doorbell wouldn’t bother me. Happily leave deliveries in the porch. I also like the idea of my work staying away from the main house to remove myself from it. Garden office has the added benefit of being used as something else as the family grow and evolve. How big would the garden office be? Sorry I can’t see the pictures.

Also in the current environment garden offices are very appealing!!

I would want the toilet out of the family room, so something like the middle diagram makes most sense to me, I'd only go for a utility as the room to pass through to the garden though, I wouldn't want to be walking through an office.

Just to say, don't go bifold mad in an office/study. If video conferencing you want space for screens, good lighting/background for Teams calls but control the heat/glare on your screens with blinds. Probably Venetian blinds.

I would extend to the side with the office looking out on the garden. Utility would act as a buffer. Utility would be a big selling point for me too. (Though can you nick some space from the garage?)
May be coloured by friends (and neighbours) who have garden rooms which are barely used ...... We went into the loft instead and it's used every day.

I have a garden office and I love the space it gives me away from the rest of the household. It is easy to shut yourself off there with no interruptions and less distractions e.g piles of laundry or children wanting things. I have a mini fridge and coffee machine up there and only reappear at lunchtime . Also if you get a ring doorbell it solves the delivery issue. One thing I would say is that to make sure it is properly insulated and heated so it is usable all year round. I have a heater on a timer so it is warm before I start work.

I think your quotes for both options seem quite cheap but it may be becuase you are doing a lot of the work yourselves. Our garden room was almost £20k but it is built to the same spec as an extension would be. We have had estate agent advice that the outlay would be recouped if we resold.

Having worked in our annex during lockdown, I do like being separate from the house - for the peace and quiet and mental separation. It's not much of a commute but at least i am walking through the garden

Option 3 - move the toilet to the laundry area, don't bother with bifold doors in the office just a window with a desk that goes under it