Customer Story: The Central Park Sanctuary, a Custom Octagon Greenhous

Verified customer build · Photos sent by the customer · Planned with World of Greenhouses

Our customer in Alabama calls his garden the Central Park Sanctuary. For it, we built a 12x12 octagon Garden Shed Greenhouse unlike any standard model: glass on all seven walls, one open room and no floor.

Custom 12x12 octagon Garden Shed Greenhouse in Alabama with windows on seven walls, white trim, dark shingle roof and cupola, set on a crushed-stone pad with solar spotlights

The Central Park Sanctuary greenhouse, set on its gravel pad.

We Solve for What You Need

He didn't want a standard build. He wanted glass on every wall, one open room and no floor. Instead of saying no, we worked with him and the builders to engineer it, and the building is just as strong. If you have a layout in mind, we'll find a way to build it.

Windows on all seven walls. The standard Garden Shed Greenhouse has a solid-walled shed side. His has windows on every wall except the Dutch door wall, so it is glass nearly all the way around.
No dividing wall. He left out the interior wall that splits the building into a greenhouse side and a shed side, so it's one open octagon room under the cupola.
No floor, with no loss of strength. The model normally includes a floor. We replaced it with a 4x4 octagon frame on 4x4 runners, so the building sits directly on a crushed-stone pad.

Planning It Together, at No Extra Charge

Before anything was built, we went back and forth with the customer and the builders on drawings until he could see exactly how it would work. The builders replaced the floor with a 4x4 octagon frame sitting on 4x4 runners, and the standard walls attach right to that frame. All of the extra engineering and drawings were done at no extra charge, because we want every customer happy, and he was.

Builders' floor layout drawing for a 12x12 octagon Garden Shed Greenhouse: 5'2" sides, 12'5-3/4" across, framing 16" on center — The builders' 12x12 octagon floor layout.

Floor layout marked in red showing the custom solution: a 4x4 octagon frame on 4x4 runners in place of the floor, with the standard walls attaching to the frame — The markup we used with the customer. Red shows the 4x4 octagon frame and the runners below it, which replaced the floor.

Matched to His Garden

His grounds already had a white pergola and a columned gazebo with a cupola. We helped him choose colors and details for the new building, white trim, a dark shingle roof and its own cupola, so it looks like it was always part of the garden.

Alabama garden grounds with lawn, stone garden wall, white pergola, columned gazebo and the white octagon greenhouse at left — The Sanctuary grounds: the new greenhouse (left) with the existing pergola and gazebo.

Existing columned garden gazebo with a copper-topped cupola and weathervane that the new octagon greenhouse was matched to — The existing gazebo the new building was matched to.

Custom octagon garden greenhouse with the top half of its Dutch door open, showing the potting bench and fan inside — The Dutch door, top half open for air.

How He Uses It

An L-shaped potting bench under the windows holds seed trays, supplies and hanging baskets.
Two swivel bar chairs give him a place to sit and enjoy the view.
Box fans and an evaporative cooler keep the air moving in summer.
A solar panel and a portable power station run the electronics, with no wiring from the house.
Solar spotlights light the outside, so the building glows at night.

View from inside the custom octagon greenhouse through walls of double-hung windows to the lawn and garden pergola — One open room, with glass on every side.

Inside the custom octagon greenhouse: one open room with a gravel floor, L-shaped wood potting bench, swivel bar chairs, fans and an evaporative cooler — Gravel floor, L-shaped bench and summer cooling.

Potting bench in the custom octagon greenhouse with storage crates, seed-starting supplies, a portable power station and a solar panel on the gravel floor — The potting station, with solar power on hand.

Double-hung grid windows on the custom octagon greenhouse above the wood potting bench, looking out over the lawn — Windows on seven walls.

Custom octagon garden greenhouse lit up at night by solar spotlights — Lit up at night.

Model: Garden Shed Greenhouse 12x12. We also carry gazebos and pergolas and other outdoor structures if you're planning a whole garden like this one.

Have a build in mind that isn't standard?

Text a photo of your yard to 732-806-7959. We'll work out the windows, layout, floor and finish with you and the builders. See more real customer photos.