Guest Post: Kitting out a summer house – the ultimate chill-out space 

This summer has been fantastic this year with temperatures soaring up and down the country. This was bound to bring people out into their gardens to soak up the sun whilst they can. However, the sun can sometimes get a bit too much for some people, so it would be nice to have a place in the garden to appreciate the warmth without being stifled by it.

This is where a good quality summer house comes into play as they can help provide a place to enjoy the sun, as well as act as a social hub for you when entertaining guests throughout the summer. The versatility of garden summer houses means you can while away the day with a good book in your hand or sit around watching TV with your family.

Make the most of the sun

The sun can generally warm even the most cantankerous of souls but sometimes the heat can get a little too much so people can often find themselves sheltering away in the house until the midday heat has disappeared. This seems a bit of a waste of the amazing summer we are having, especially when you can quite easily take advantage of it instead.

By installing a garden summer house you can have a focal point on your patch which will take in the heat from the sun without giving you the harmful UV rays. It can provide a place of solace when you feel yourself burning up, or simply a venue for you to enjoy some of the finer things in life from watching the cricket with your friends having a beer or two, to curling up with a good book.

What can go in the summer house?

As I suggested above, the great thing about getting a garden summer house is that they are so versatile you really can use them for absolutely anything you like. Personally, I prefer to have mine as an entertainment room, so it is housed with a flatscreen TV, a pool table, mini fridge to stay hydrated during the warmer months and a stereo so that when I spend time in the summer house I have absolutely everything I could want.

I think the addition of some comfortable seating is absolutely key in the summer house. If you just have some stiff, horrible old chairs in there you won’t want to be spending too much time in the building. However, starting with the chairs, you can then decide what you want to do with the rest of the room. Such as bring in a couple of shelves to put your favourite books to enjoy while lounging in the summer’s heat.

Or for the parents out there, there’s always the option to have the summer house as a chill-out zone for kids who need to escape the heat for a bit. A cool place to sit and read, or play, or even take a nap gives kids that sense of independence from the main house without letting them wander too far from your watch.

Get the right summer house

It’s all well and good saying that you should get hold of a nice summer house, but with so many different shapes and sizes available these days it pays to look around and see what sort would fit your garden best. Indeed, Waltons has a wide range of garden summer houses for you to peruse through.

You’ll want one that is big enough to hold all of the things that you wish to put in the summer house, but not so large that it takes over the garden space as a whole.

I wonder if I should build a summer house and turn it into an office to escape the kids and hubby when i have loads of work to do?