CASE STUDIES:

The Dungeons & Dragons Office

What started as a bit of “daydream fantasy shopping” for Cate and Dave soon became a practical way to create much-needed extra space at home.

After visiting an Arctic Cabins show site, they fell in love with the distinctive Scandinavian-inspired design and eventually chose a 10m² Arctic Bar for their garden.

Today, their cabin has more than earned its nickname of “Air D&D, aka The Gnome Office.” During the working day, it gives Kate and Dave a separate garden office for meetings and confidential calls. Outside work, it transforms into an atmospheric Dungeons & Dragons gaming room, a place to entertain friends and a cosy family space that their daughter, Molly, loves just as much as they do.

How does the Arctic Bar work as a garden office? 

For Kate and Dave, having a separate home office in the garden solves a very real problem.
Both have jobs involving meetings that sometimes need to remain private, which made sharing one office inside the house difficult.

“We both have jobs that require us to have confidential meetings, and with only having one office in the house, we both can’t be in there at the same time. Having the cabin allows another place to take meetings.”

"When you go in there, it's just like taking a break from the rest of the world. Even if you are working in there, I'm sat in somewhere that's nice. I can have the fire on while I'm working if it's a bit chilly. And even if we're not using it as an office or entertaining people in there, the little one loves going in there to play. It's difficult to get her out of it!"

Why did you choose an Arctic Cabin?

Kate and Dave hadn't initially set out with a firm plan to buy a cabin. A visit to the Nottingham show site was originally more of a chance to have a look around.

“We went to have a look around just kind of fell in love with them straight away. We liked the way they looked. They’re a bit 'hobbity'.”

“It’s like that break from everything and being able to sit down. The smell and the overall environment makes me relax a lot and forget about everything else. It almost feels like you’re on holiday because it’s so different from being in the house.”

That distinctive look immediately appealed to them, but as their need for additional workspace increased, the idea began to make practical sense too. Rather than creating a space with just one purpose, they began thinking about everything they could use their cabin for, from working from home to spending time with family and hosting their regular Dungeons & Dragons sessions.

What makes a garden cabin ideal for gaming?

For anyone unfamiliar with Dungeons & Dragons, Dave describes it simply:

“It's a tabletop game where effectively one person is telling a story and then the players are in that story trying to navigate their way through it.”

Before getting their cabin, the group would play around a normal long table at a friend's house. It worked, but once they moved their sessions into the Arctic Cabin, the whole experience changed.

“Being in the cabin brings a lot more atmosphere to it. You’ve got the wooden environment that just lends to that medieval fantasy. The dungeon master (DM) often sits there and he will just adjust the LED lighting on the fly. So you'll walk into a room and then all of a sudden all the lights will change to match what's about to happen. ”

"In the cabin you've each got your own section. There's enough space on the seat to put your legs up because you can play for quite a long time. And in the winter, we can put the fire on, but in the summer we've got our little fake fire. It's got much more DND atmosphere."

The bar wasn't originally chosen specifically for D&D, but after their first game inside the cabin, they quickly realised how useful it was. Their Dungeon Master took one look at it and decided it was the perfect place to run the game. The raised bar area gives their DM his own space while everyone else gathers around the main cabin, with character sheets, dice, laptops, miniatures and, crucially, plenty of snacks.

“There’s enough space on the seat to put your legs up because you can play for quite a long time.”

“We can fit a lot of people in there and still have enough space for plenty of snacks and dice, and we have laptops and things to take notes. Even with 6 or 7 people it still feels really spacious.”

For them, their Arctic Bar has become a dedicated tabletop gaming room in the garden without being limited to gaming when the dice are packed away.

Thinking about creating your own multifunctional garden building?

Whether you're looking for a garden office, a dedicated D&D gaming room, somewhere for hobbies, a family hangout or simply more space to enjoy at home, an Arctic Cabin can be designed around the way you want to use it.

Get in touch here, download a pricing brochure, or visit one of our show sites to step inside and explore the different cabin sizes for yourself.