Studio Apartments
A studio is the single most popular thing we build in Ireland, and almost none of them are apartments in the usual sense. They are garden offices, studios, gyms, guest rooms and letting units — one well-insulated open space, sized to stay inside the 30 m² planning exemption, which is why they are also the quickest route from deciding to having.
Glasgow Timber Cabin
The Glasgow Timber Cabin is a compact and cozy 20 m² timber home, ideal for singles, couples, or as a holiday or rental retreat. Efficient, fast to install, and available in shell or turnkey versions.
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Cork Weekend Cabin
The Weekend Timber Cabin is a 25 m² studio (T0), ideal for tourist rentals, personal living, or a home office. Economical, simple, and quick to assemble.
View DetailsBoth models in this category sit comfortably under that limit, so used as a garden room they avoid a planning application in most gardens. They are also the cheapest way into a properly built timber building: solid Nordic log walls, insulated floor and roof, double-glazed timber joinery and a steel roof, with delivery and assembly included rather than added at the end.
Compare studio apartments side by side
| Model | Internal area | From (incl. VAT) | Planning route |
|---|---|---|---|
| Glasgow Timber Cabin | 20 m² | €14,500 | Within the 30 m² garden-room exemption |
| Cork Weekend Cabin | 25 m² | €17,500 | Within the 30 m² garden-room exemption |
Planning routes are indicative and based on internal area, assuming the stated use. Conditions apply to every exemption and local designations can change what is allowed — exemption figures last reviewed 18 September 2026. Always confirm your site with your local authority before ordering.
Who these suit
People who work from home
By a wide margin the most common use. An insulated room with power and broadband, twenty steps from the back door, that you can close at the end of the day — which a spare-bedroom desk never lets you do.
Anyone short of one room
A gym, a music room, an art studio, a teenager's study space. Taking one activity out of the house is usually worth more than it sounds, and cheaper than moving or extending.
Owners looking at rental income
A compact studio is the smallest viable letting unit. The turnkey version arrives with the bathroom plumbed and fitted, so the remaining work is your electrician certifying the installation.
Choosing the right size
The practical question in this category is 20 m² or 25 m², and the honest answer depends on whether the room has one job or two. A single-purpose office or gym works very well at 20 m². Once you want a desk and a sofa bed, or a gym and storage, the extra five square metres stop being a luxury.
Both sizes stay inside the garden-structure exemption, so there is no planning reason to choose the smaller one. The constraint is usually the garden itself: the exemption includes conditions on siting and on how much open space is left, which on a narrow plot bites sooner than the floor area does.
Studio Apartments — FAQs
Can I sleep in a studio cabin?
This is the question to ask before ordering rather than after. Used as a garden room — office, studio, gym, store — a cabin of this size falls inside the 30 m² exemption. Used as living or sleeping accommodation it is a different planning case, and below the 32–45 m² auxiliary-dwelling range, so permission would normally be needed. Confirm your site with your local authority.
Will a studio be warm enough to work in all winter?
With the right specification, yes — and this is the most common winter workspace we supply. Floor and roof insulation are standard; for daily winter use we recommend adding the wall insulation kit. A small, airtight, insulated room heats in minutes, so intermittent heating is realistic.
What does a studio cabin cost in total?
The published from-price includes the building, delivery anywhere in Ireland and assembly by our own crew. Add the wall insulation kit for winter use, and electrical work, which is quoted separately by the electrical contractor we work with because it has to be certified by a registered electrician.
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Not sure which model fits your site?
Send us the garden dimensions, the access and how you plan to use the building. We will recommend a model and send a written quote for shell and turnkey versions.
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