With summer on the horizon, customers’ minds are turning to their outdoor space. And trends in interior design products and services are now spilling into the garden; homeowners want to maximise the space and value their home has to offer both inside and out. This has led to the rise and rise of the log cabin which gives the consumer extra living room at a fraction of the cost of moving house.
The expansion of the market has been accompanied by growing demand for cabins that fulfil not only practical but also aesthetic needs. Contractors are being asked to supply solutions that revive a redundant area of a property, serve as a functional space and result in a garden that offers more value in terms of the amount of time the homeowner can spend in it – but the solution also has to look good.
The versatility of a log cabin is a major selling point for merchants, DIY and garden centre retailers. Anything from a home office, gym, sauna, sitting or dining area, children’s play room, garage, music or artist’s studio to a simple potting shed or storage space is achievable with a wide range of log cabin products and accessories.
For customers in need of additional living space, a cabin equipped with all the comforts of the main house can be used all year round and provides an ideal way to get more use from the garden in the winter.
Of course, if the cabin is used as a home office, modern facilities are a must. Merchants will find that the cabins market provides lucrative opportunities to cross-sell products. For example, a sizeable cabin may require foundations, giving the merchant the perfect opportunity to recommend other products they stock. Also, the consumer is likely to need professional help which provides the opportunity to recommend contractor partners. Similarly, accessories such as flooring, under floor heating, lighting, decoration, exterior preservative treatments and even decking can be promoted on the back of initial interest in a cabin.
Of course, a log cabin does not have to be restricted to domestic use, as the Cockenzie and Port Seton in Bloom Society (CPSBS) found when it applied for Millennium Trust and Supergrounds funding to create a space that could be shared with the pupils of the Cockenzie Primary School. A Finnforest Helsinki log cabin provides room for the the CPSBS during the day, and after-school activities for pupils in the evenings. CPSBS chairperson Marlene Love said: “The cabin needed to be child-friendly and provide enough space for working comfortably. The Helsinki was ideal for our varied needs; it has double-glazing, underfloor heating and an upper level where we can store items.”
For the merchant, DIY or garden centre retailer, the thought of selling such sizeable products can be off-putting. But by partnering with a reputable supplier the worries can be removed. As well as providing the range of log cabins to suit any size and style of garden, they can deal with the logistics of home delivery, and supply cabin kits complete with simple to follow installation instructions and reassuring environmental certification.
