From a Thatched Summerhouse to Europe's Premium Garden Buildings Brand: The Lugarde Story
When Taylors Garden Buildings talks about selling a brand of Garden Buildings, we don't do it lightly. We've been supplying garden buildings to customers across the county and beyond for over 30 years, and in that time we've developed a fairly clear sense of the difference between a product that looks good on paper and one that genuinely holds up.
Lugarde falls firmly in the second category. But to understand why, it helps to know where they come from.
A Family Business With Deep Roots
Lugarde was founded in 1978 by a Dutchman named Bertus Wuestman — and the origin story is more human than most garden building brands tend to admit.
Bertus started out as a thatcher, working alongside his father. But customers who liked his craftsmanship began asking whether he could supply them with summerhouses too. So in 1978, Bertus built his first one — and, naturally for a thatcher, it had a thatched roof.
From that first garden building, Lugarde grew steadily through the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s, expanding its range of designs, roof styles, and building systems until it became one of the most respected names in European garden buildings.
In 2016, Bertus handed the company to his children: Andrea, who became Director and owner, and Thomas, who moved into a senior management role. The family business became a second-generation family business — which, if you've spent any time around Taylors, you'll appreciate is something we understand well.
Today, Lugarde employs around 180 people across its headquarters in Laren, Gelderland in the Netherlands and its production site in Latvia, where the proximity to the Northern European timber forests it relies on is no coincidence.
Over 45 Years of Manufacturing Know-How
There are brands that sell garden buildings, and there are brands that make garden buildings. Lugarde is firmly in the second camp.
Every component — the machined timber logs, the window frames, the doors, the floor boards — is manufactured in-house at Lugarde's own production facility. This level of vertical integration is unusual in an industry where many brands are simply assembling flat-pack kits from a collection of third-party suppliers. It means Lugarde can hold quality to their own standard at every stage, rather than hoping their suppliers do.
The result is what they call their Prima system: a patented construction method in which the wall logs slide into hidden aluminium corner posts rather than interlocking at exposed corners. It's a cleaner, more structurally sound approach — no visible screws or connectors, no awkward overlapping joints at the corners, just smooth, flush walls and a building that goes together with what customers and dealers consistently describe as almost satisfying precision.
Made to Order — Every Single Time
One of the things that genuinely separates Lugarde from the majority of the garden buildings market is their approach to production: every Lugarde building is made to order.
This isn't marketing language. There is no warehouse full of buildings waiting to be shipped. When you configure a Lugarde building — choosing your size, wall thickness, roof style, door position, timber treatment, and any internal partitions — Lugarde's factory in Latvia starts cutting and machining specifically for you.
For the customer, this means a few things. Lead times are longer than for an off-the-shelf shed (typically 7–8 weeks). But it also means you're not compromising on dimensions, not accepting a window position that doesn't quite work for your garden, and not getting a building that was sitting in a yard for three months before it arrived.
Lugarde does also offer their Select range — a collection of pre-designed, popular models produced to the same quality standards but in fixed configurations, allowing for faster delivery for those who don't need full customisation.
Designed for the Long Term
Lugarde back their buildings with a 5-year manufacturer's warranty covering construction and manufacturing defects. That figure is meaningful because it reflects genuine confidence in the product — most budget garden building brands wouldn't offer that level of cover because the product simply wouldn't sustain it.
Beyond the warranty, the longevity of a Lugarde building is built into every decision: the slow-grown Nordic spruce with its tight annual rings, the kiln-dried precision machining, the option of naturally durable larch or Douglas Fir for customers who want minimal ongoing maintenance, and the factory-applied wood oil and pressure treatment options that protect timber deep into its joints rather than just coating the surface.
Why We are Happy to Sell Lugarde
At Taylors Garden Buildings, our reputation is built on 30-plus years of honest advice about garden buildings. We're not going to recommend something we don't believe in, and we're not going to stock a brand just because it has a nice brochure.
Lugarde earns its place in our range because the quality is demonstrable rather than claimed. The timber specification, the manufacturing process, the made-to-order approach, and the family heritage behind the brand all add up to something that holds its value and its appearance over many years.
If you'd like to see Lugarde buildings in person, or have a conversation about which model suits your garden, your intended use, and your budget, we're here to help. Visit us at Woodmeadow Garden Centre, Kettering Road, Northampton, or give us a call — we've been doing this long enough to ask the right questions and point you in the right direction.
Explore the Lugarde range at taylorsgardenbuildings.co.uk