Bring The Beach To You

If you’re a beach lover, then consider using your summer house to recreate the feelings that being by the sea on your holidays creates. Whether you love classic British seaside resorts, or the peace of a quiet beach hut, then that can be your inspiration.

To create the feel of a coastal resort in your back garden, use brightly coloured paint, bring in striped deck chairs, framed vintage-style prints advertising your favourite seaside resorts – and top it all off with coloured festoon lighting to recreate the look and feel of the prom.  

If you’re after a peaceful beach hut, then opt for ice-cream, pastel shades, and decorate with bunting, sea shells and nautical accessories, as well as driftwood inspired ornaments. 

If you’re a watersports fan, and you’ve got equipment to store, use that as part of your décor – paddles, scuba gear, wetsuits and even surfboards (if your summer house is big enough!) can look amazing on the walls of your summer house. We can just imagine spending time in the summer house on an evening planning our next big surf trip! 

Your Country Retreat 

Do you love escaping to the countryside, going on walks, and seeing the wildlife? While your summer house won’t be able to completely recreate those experiences, you can definitely take inspiration from ‘chocolate box’ country cottages – whether that’s from one you’ve visited yourself, or one you dream of owning in the future. 

If your own little country escape is on your mind then plenty of pretty flowers is likely to be first on your shopping list. Climbing plants such as wisteria, roses, and jasmine will not only make your summer house look beautiful, but they’ll smell fantastic too. 

Inside your summer house, be inspired by the ‘cottagecore’ trend – look for chintz prints, rustic furniture, and pretty curtains. Accessories like baskets are perfect – we’d use this oval wicker laundry hamper basket to carry our book, cup and flask of tea (and a packet of biscuits!) and maybe a blanket for out to our summer house on those chillier afternoons. 

Encourage wildlife to visit your garden by adding our Hanging Teardrop Wildlife Sanctuary boxes to your summer house. This set of three has a bird box, butterfly home and a bug hotel, which will help to increase the number of creatures that will want to make your garden their home. 

Your Spare Room 

When you have guests to stay at your house, is it a bit of a squeeze? Consider using your summer house to create a space that overnight guests can stay in. Assuming that you’ve insulated your summer house sufficiently, your summer house can easily become your spare room. Plenty of pillows, blankets and duvets are essential for comfort of course, but curtains are key – assuming your guests don’t want the neighbours seeing them getting changed in the morning!

You’ll need to make sure the summer house has a lock on it, to keep your guests safe. If it is going to become a permanent spare room, then you might want to add a TV, and a small desk – maybe even a kettle and a mini fridge, so they don’t have to cross the garden in the early hours to make their first coffee. 

Once you’ve decorated and made the place warm and cosy, then you’ll need to consider add battery operated lanterns to create a cosy feel – this window lantern with timer LED candle provides a traditional look.

Your Perfect Home Office 

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, the work from home situation has changed dramatically. While a huge number of us were forced to start working from home during the initial lockdown, many of us are planning to continue working from home in the longer term, even if it is only on a part time basis. And there are so many great reasons to do so – but this is where the summer house home office comes into play, since space in the home can often be at a premium, especially when there are children living at home. 

If your summer house is a temporary home office – or maybe you’re taking advantage of being able to work outside during the summer house during the summer months – and it isn’t possible to have a desk as a permanent fixture, then a foldable, adjustable table is a great addition. Our bamboo laptop table is not only beautiful, it is easy to store, since it folds completely flat – and it works perfectly as a mini picnic table, should you fancy taking your lunch out onto the lawn!

Add a ladder shelf, or a narrow storage unit for any office supplies, and add plenty of greenery to create a feeling of peace and calm. If you’re not particularly green fingered, then opt for faux plants – you won’t need to worry about keeping them alive through hot summer days or cold winter nights! 

If you plan to continue working in your home office through the winter months, you’ll need a heater, and other ways to create a cosy feel, including a great outdoor floor rug to stop the cold from coming up. 

An Outdoor Fitness Studio

Since the lockdowns that COVID-19 forced, many of us have found other ways to exercise – and those of us who are traditionally gym-goers have been finding ways to recreate the gym experience at home. If you’ve got a summer house, then using it for an at-home gym is a great way to use that space, especially if you have a bit of space to work up a sweat outside too. Add a workout machine or two, some weights, and an area for stretching – and you’re onto a winner. 

If you’re a yoga enthusiast, then we can’t think of a much better way to create that feeling of zen than practicing in your summer house, whatever the weather. If your summer house has doors that open wide, you’ll be able to really enjoy the experience of practicing in the summer rain – without getting soaked through. Practicing outside on your lawn can be a wonderful experience too, so ensure the ground outside your summer house is sufficiently level, and make sure you have an extra thick mat so you can enjoy your practice. 

A Haven For Your Hobbies 

If you, or your partner has a hobby that requires a bit of peace and quiet to truly enjoy (especially if you have children!) then why not make your summer house a retreat for exactly that? If that hobby is painting or sewing, take it out to the summer house to make the most of the daylight. 

If you add a good sized table, if your hobby is board games, jigsaw puzzles or model trains, then you can use the summer house to immerse yourself fully – without needing to clutter up the house. 

A Multi-Purpose Potting Shed 

If your summer house needs to fulfil several different functions, including being your potting shed, then why not make that the theme? Look for rustic furniture that is easy to sweep clean, and use trowels, secateurs and so on as part of your decoration. Retro tins like this seed packet storage box, blue metal fishing box or this housekeeper cleaning caddy set are great for hiding away smaller bits and bobs like twine, trowels and forks, and gardening gloves.

Since you’re keeping your space flexible, add seating benches that have storage, allowing you to hide gardening equipment away when they’re not being used. If you plan your storage carefully, you’ll be able to use your summer house as a dining space, working out, or other hobbies – it really is up to you. 

Styling Your Summer House  

Once your build is complete, and you’ve decided on your theme, before you can really enjoy your summer house, you’ll need to decorate, both outside and in – which many (including us!) consider to be the fun bit! 

Colours For Your Summer House 

When it comes to choosing colours for both the interior and exterior of your summer house, there aren’t any real hard and fast rules, so you can pick the colours that you love! However, generally there are two main approaches that homeowners tend to take – either natural shades, so that your summer house blends into the garden, or bright and bold shades to make your summer house really pop against the background. 

Perhaps more important than the colour that you choose for your summer house is the treatment that you use on the wood (and other materials you have used). The right type of finish will increase the longevity of the materials, and help to keep your summer house watertight and free of damp for longer.

Add Stepping Stones 

We already mentioned how you’ll need to add a way to get to your summer house, and stepping stones are an attractive – and less costly way to create a path! Depending on the type of stone you choose to create your stepping stone, they can really draw the eye along your garden, to make your summer house the focus of the space. Be sure to use stones with plenty of grip, to avoid any potential slips or falls in wet weather. 

Planting 

In most gardens, it goes without saying that you’ll want to add plenty of plants and greenery around your summer house, and plants can help to absorb rainwater – so it is a good idea to do so. If you’re concerned about the roots of any plants or bushes causing problems for the foundations of your summer house, then use planters. These will contain the roots of your plants completely, meaning that you won’t need to worry. We have a huge range of pots and planters to suit any type of summer house, with many suitable for both indoor and outdoor use – you can see the full range here. 

Decking For Alfresco Dining 

If you enjoy eating outdoors through the summer months, then adding a little decking to your summer house can complete your space and give you a little more time on summer evenings to enjoy the weather. A small table and chairs is all you need – and maybe an ice bucket to keep those summer drinks cool! 

Summer wouldn’t be summer without several barbecues, would it – and if you’re only barbecuing for one or two, or you don’t have much space, then a tiny barbecue is perfect for your needs. Our bucket barbecue is available in both silver and black, is lightweight and portable, which is simply perfect for a small garden that doesn’t need a permanent barbecue setup. 

Add A Hammock 

Lazy summer days give way to lazy summer evenings with a cool beverage in hand when you’ve got a comfortable hammock to relax in. If you’ve created a veranda outside your summer house, then consider attaching sturdy O-rings, so you can clip your hammock to it. If you don’t want a hammock as a permanent feature, or you don’t have the right uprights to add O-rings to, then find a fold-up hammock with a stand. Whichever type of hammock you choose, we can see plenty of long, luxurious hours spent in this type of setup!

Choose Inside/Outside Furniture

Choosing furniture that can be used both inside and outside your summer house is a good idea. It means you can leave your furniture out during the summer months, without worrying about rain showers spoiling the finish on your table and chairs. That means if you’ve had a leisurely dinner on the patio outside your summer house (and that dinner continued into a couple more glasses of wine than you expected!) you don’t have to worry about moving it until morning. 

In addition to that, even if you’ve insulated your summer house perfectly and you’ve added heating, there’s still a risk of damp – so choosing hard-wearing outdoor furniture, with soft furnishings for comfort means that you don’t need to worry about that.

Add Lighting 

Even if you don’t have electricity in your summer house, there are some incredible lighting options that don’t require power! Many types of outdoor lighting now have USB rechargeable batteries built in, and battery powered lighting is much more efficient than it used to be to be, since many models use LED bulbs, which use very little power. 

Solar powered lighting has come a long way too, particularly if you buy from outdoor lighting specialists. Those super-efficient LEDs mean that as long as the solar panel is in the sun for long enough, you can have similar levels of lighting to if you were using mains powered lights.

Add An Awning

If your summer house is tiny, you can extend your summer house into the garden. Depending on how much you have in your budget, you might consider options such as:  

• A simple triangular ‘sail’ type awning to provide additional sun protection – these can be found for as little as than £20 in many cases, but are typically best used in good weather
• A sturdy parasol, or umbrella 
• A fixed, retractable manual awning, that can be attached to your summer house
• A gazebo that can be erected outside your summer house to create a whole additional room

These aren’t the only options, of course – you may decide to add a permanently fixed pergola outside your summer house, which means you can add and remove sun shades as you prefer.  

Things To Consider Before Building A Summer House

Although we’re huge fans of the end result (sitting outside in the summer, enjoying our lovely summer house!) there’s a lot to think about when you’re taking on a summer house project. These are the answers to some of the most commonly asked questions, although if you have more, you’ll almost certainly find the answers to your question online.

How Much Do Summer Houses Cost?

This is a really difficult question to give a straight answer to, since it depends on lots of different factors, including: 

• The preparation of the area and any foundations, base or drainage that are required
• The size of the summer house
• The amount of additional insulation required
• The electricity installation costs (including a tradesman if necessary)
• Summer house installation costs, if you’re buying from a specialist company

Where you are in the UK will make a difference to the cost of a summer house installation too. However, as a ballpark figure, Checkatrade estimate that the average cost of a summer house is around £8,000 overall. Current approximate pricing for different types of summer houses are: 

Basic timber cabin in garden – around £3,000

Prefabricated timber summer house – around £7,500

Concrete building on a new concrete foundation – around £10,000

Custom timber summer house – £25,000

If these figures are outside your budget, and you have time on your hands (and possibly a bit of storage as you gather your materials) then it is possible to create a summer house using reclaimed items like wooden pallets, sheds, and other items. These types of items are frequently being given away (or are found relatively inexpensively) on websites like Gumtree and Facebook Marketplace. 

If you’re planning a DIY summer house build, you’ll need some tools, and ideally, some knowledge – although YouTube and Pinterest are amazing resources if you’re starting out with no knowledge or skills! But no matter your skill level, be sure to make detailed plans before you get started, so you know you’ve got the right amount of materials and equipment. 

Do I Need Planning Permission For A Summer House? 

Generally, summer houses and garden rooms won’t require planning permission. Those that do, tend to be bigger structures. However, your specific circumstances may differ, and before you go ahead and install a summer house, it is a good idea check with your local planning department, since they will be able to advise you about any specific legislation that applies to your property.

Perhaps even more importantly than checking with planning departments, before you start your summer house build, be sure to consult with any neighbours. If they lose light to their garden, or there are other potential causes for complaints, then you’re likely to be able to resolve those issues amicably if you do so ahead of the build taking place. Your neighbours may have thoughts about your summer house that you might not have considered – so it might end up working even more in your favour. 

What Type Of Summer House Is Right For Me? 

While budgets for summer houses can run into the thousands, they really don’t have to. Depending on how you want to use your summer house, it doesn’t have to be a traditional build – as long as you don’t break planning regulations (or, of course, you get planning permission!). 

We’ve seen some incredible summer house projects using shepherd’s huts, tin sheds, repurposed shipping containers, and even greenhouses turned into a dreamy space for use in summer evenings. We love the idea of using a vintage greenhouse for summer dinners that turn into late night drinks – just add solar powered lighting to enjoy the warm evenings as the sun goes down, and stash a blanket or two to one side in case it cools off. 

What Base Do I Need For My Summer House?

Again, there are a lot of variables to consider here, including the type of ground you’re building on. There are three main ways to create foundations for a summer house: concrete, paving slabs, and timber decking. There are advantages and disadvantages to each method, and it will depend on the type of ground you have, and any necessary drainage required too. Be sure to do plenty of research, or consult with a professional before you start work.

Can I Get Electricity To My Summer House? 

You can, and generally it is a pretty straightforward thing to have implemented. Assuming you’re not a qualified electrician, getting a professional to do the job is the best way forward. Regulations introduced in 2005 state that electrical work must be completed in accordance with IEE wiring regulations and BS 7671, and any work should be completed by an operator that is approved by the Electrical Competent Person Scheme.

If you don’t need electricity in your summer house on a regular basis, then you might decide to use solar lighting, or buy USB rechargeable lanterns to give you enough lighting on the summer evenings that you decide to spend in your summer house.

How Can I Insulate My Summer House To Use Year Round?

Since there are huge differences between different types of summer houses, it is well worth putting in the effort to find the right solution for whichever type you have. If you haven’t installed your summer house yet, then planning for insulating it as you do the build is the best time to do it. If you’re buying from a summer house specialist, then they will be able to advise you accordingly, and install at the same time, if they’re completing the installation for you.

If your summer house is already in place, there are kits that are available for insulating summer houses against the cold both from below, and above – and most of these types of kits are quick and easy to install, and take less than a day to complete the job. 

Done well, insulation can be green too – quite literally! Adding a green roof to your summer house means that not only will you be able to make your space warmer in the winter, but it’ll bring more wildlife into your garden (which is great for your plants!), and it’ll help to absorb rainwater too. If you’ve already got your summer house in place, green roofs can be retrofitted, or you can plan them as you start your build. With the right type of plants on your green roof, you won’t need to mow, or deadhead the plants, and the insulation can last for decades. 

Once you’ve got your build complete and you’ve got insulation in place, you can help keep the place warm through the cooler months by adding outdoor rugs to the floor, ensuring your windows and doors fit well. If the windows are single glazed, then secondary glazing kits are widely available, and can help to keep the warmth in, and the cold out, through the colder winter months. 

Do I Need To Secure My Summer House?

This decision really is up to you, but we think it is a wise idea. Even if you only have second hand furniture and gardening tools that aren’t worth a lot, it is better to be safe than sorry. If you’ve installed electricity, added any technology, or you have equipment stored that is worth money, then certainly, you’re going to need to add a decent lock to your summer house door. Similarly, if you, or your guests, are going to be sleeping in your summer house, then a lock is essential – as is ensuring there’s a hook, so that the key to the main house is easily found, in case of late night or early morning ‘calls of nature’! 

Is Location Important?

There’s quite a bit to think about when you’re considering a summer house installation – especially if you have a big garden, with plenty of ground. Although you might have a particular location in your garden in mind for your summer house, you’ll need to think carefully about whether it is the best location. 

Terrain will be the first thing to consider – unfortunately, you can’t just put your summer house onto the ground! Your summer house will need to be on a level surface, and you’ll need to be able to put a good foundation in. 

Drainage is the next consideration, since the majority of summer houses are made from wood, which soaks water up, causing rot and mould – neither of which are good news. Unless you can create great drainage, the lowest point in your garden isn’t the spot for your summer house, and if you’re putting your summer house on clay soil, then you may need to add gravel under the foundations to keep your house from moulding. 

Accessibility is up next – you’ll need a path to your summer house, otherwise you’re going to potentially end up with additional cleaning to do when there has been rainy weather. If the summer house is going to act as a boundary between different sections of the garden, then you may need to look at adding a path past the summer house too. 

Natural light is a key consideration too, since you’re likely to be using the summer house primarily in the summer! Think about when you’re more likely to use the summer house – whether that’s with your morning cup of tea, or with a glass of Pimm’s in the evening. This will help you to decide whether to angle the summer house towards the east or the west, and to get the best light for your space.  

Centre Stage 

Even if you have a tiny garden, you can add a summer house and make it the main feature of your garden. Planning your garden is key when using a summer house this way, especially if you want to be able to grow plants, fruit, and vegetables too. Using hanging baskets and vertical planting arrangements means that you can fulfil those ambitions, while adding raised beds with wide edging to provide additional seating space means you’ll be able to continue to use your garden for parties and gatherings without needing to store additional chairs. 

Next To A Water Feature

There is a lot of evidence that being around water is incredibly calming, and listening to natural sounds such as running water is really good for the mind. If you’re lucky enough to have a natural water feature in, or near your garden – whether that’s a shoreline, a stream or river, or a pond – then that is a perfect location for your summer house, since it’ll give you even more vacation vibes! If you don’t have a natural water feature nearby, then consider the next best thing – a garden water feature. 

At The Edge Of Your Property

Are you lucky enough to have an extensive garden? If so, add a little hut on the edge of your property as a rustic little hideaway. With a couple of comfortable chairs, your little space can be a great place to enjoy a glass of something cold – and if you add a bench with some luxurious cushions, you can have an at home staycation spot to enjoy the elements, without the drive home if the weather turns.

Final Thoughts

Wherever you decide to locate your summer house, having one in your garden is a great way to be able to use the space for longer throughout the year – and potentially even year-round, if you do it right! Whether you decide to get a professional company in to complete your build, or you take on the project yourself with a barely-there budget, perfect planning will be the key to endless sunny days spent in your new summer house, from the foundations to the finish. Once you’ve completed your summer house build, and it is time to decorate, be sure to check out our range – we’ve linked to many throughout this post, but we have hundreds more items that are simply perfect for summer houses.