Year Round Uses for Summer Houses


Buy a summer house in Suffolk or Essex, and you can be as creative as you like about where to put it: in an unobtrusive corner of a garden, on a terrace, or close to your house, it will unleash a world of imagination. They appeal to any age, from toddlers to adults, because they are so versatile, and whether you want a quiet moment to yourself, to create your own hobby or games room, or simply want to entertain, a summer house will act as a glorious extension to your home.

East Anglian based timber merchants, Nelson Potter, sell all you need to create the perfect garden including summer houses, sheds, timber garages, workshops, log cabins, decking, fencing and patio furniture. If you are buying a summer house this year, we’ve outlined the most popular uses below, and included some examples of our products in each category to help you decide on a design.

Buy Summer Houses
  Click here to see our full range of timber garden buildings and summer houses.

Entertaining – A summer house with a veranda makes the perfect entertainment zone. If you invite friends round for a barbecue, you can keep the salads, crockery and condiments there, and the ice bucket too. It’ll also make the ideal retreat for drinks when the weather turns cooler. Just put some chairs or cushions out for a cosy feel and you can entertain well into the evening. It works well in the daytime too, as you can enjoy a chat on the veranda when the sun’s out. We have a range of summer houses suitable for entertaining, including our Summerhouse (Including Veranda) with sizes from 8’6” x 8’ (including 8’ x 30” veranda) to 12’6” x 10’. If you don’t want a veranda, the Georgian Pyramid Summerhouse (sizes from 8’ x 8’ to 12’ x 8’ is ideal.

Children’s Playroom – Hidden behind a hedgerow and reached only through an archway of roses, summer houses add a certain magic to a garden: it’s what children’s books are made of. Only their imagination is the limit as they can turn it into an oversized dolls house, a play zone, and invite their friends over – and some children even use it for sleepovers. While any of our summer houses will be suitable for this purpose, our Alpine Summerhouses and Alpine Bay Summerhouses are ideal and sizes start from 8’ x 6’ right up to 10’ x 10’.

Relaxation Space – After a hard day’s gardening, if you want a quiet place to retreat to with a cup of tea and a book, most summer houses fit the bill.  While some gardeners are happy to have a small space for a couple of chairs, others would like to go all out and put a day bed in their summer house. For a true Zen retreat, you could even create your own meditation corner. Our garden buildings that would suit this purpose include the Pentagon (Corner) Summerhouse (with sizes from 6’ x 6’ to 8‘ x 8’), the Summerhouse (with or without veranda) and the Tanalised Octagon Summerhouse (sizes from 8’ x 6’).

Hobbies/Games Room/Workshop – This could be your very own home from home, where you can enjoy favourite hobbies, such as painting, arts and crafts, or even have a train set set up. If you don’t have room indoors, summer houses make great hobby zones and workshops. They are ideal breakout spaces for teenagers too, where they can play music, strum guitars and compete with their friends at table football. Ideal summer houses for hobbies include the Tanalised Alpine Summerhouse (sizes from 6’ x 8’), although the smaller, Multi Summerhouse (size 8’ x 8’) makes a great workshop.

Office/Writers’ Corner – As more people work from home now, many summer houses are transformed into office space. It is an option for those who find home offices too distracting, particularly if children are around, or well meaning friends drop by during office hours. If you have a small house or bedsit with a garden, you might not have room for a desk indoors, so a summer house could provide the answer. Our summer houses that make ideal offices include the Georgian Pyramid Summerhouse and the Cabin Summerhouse (sizes 6’ x 6’ to 10’ x 8’).

Dinner for Two – You could turn your summer house into a place of romance and woo your partner with a candlelit meal for two. Decorate the table with flowers, candles, vintage crockery…not forgetting the bottle of fine wine and two glasses. Summer houses that match this purpose include the Pentagon (Corner) Summerhouse, the Tanalised Octagon Summerhouse, and the Summerhouse (Including Veranda).

Buy Summer Houses in Suffolk and Essex – Click here to see all our wooden garden buildings and summer houses at Nelson Potter East Anglia.

Related articles:

How Garden Buildings Maximise Space and Make the Most of Your Outdoors

How Timber Sheds are the Perfect Essential to Keep Your Garden Neat and Tidy This Autumn

< Return to blog