When you are choosing a summerhouse, you are sure to be impressed by the range available with various choices of shapes and styles. You will need to weigh up a myriad of options to choose the right model, design, colour, and materials, as well as making decisions on the interior, whether you would like to add double-glazing, insulation, or electric power. But perhaps the first and most significant consideration will be the size of your summerhouse. In our blog, we explore the decision-making process and look at some of the options for summerhouse sizes from petite and bijou to expansive and spacious.
The top three considerations you should assess when deciding on the proportions of your summerhouse are:
- The size of your garden
- The planned location for your summerhouse
- How you expect to enjoy it.
How does your garden grow?
A summerhouse should complement your outdoor space without dominating it, so if you have a smaller garden, select a summerhouse with a more modest footprint. You will benefit from choosing a model with the appropriate proportions that will fit seamlessly and add to the aesthetic appeal (and potential saleability) of your property. A corner summerhouse can fit snugly into an under-used or less accessible space, enabling you to enjoy your garden more widely. If you have a large garden, you may wish to choose a more significant garden building to make a statement by creating a striking feature, or to enable extensive use for your preferred purposes.
Location, location, location
Think about whether you expect to be able to see your summerhouse from inside your home. Choosing a garden building of the right size will create the perfect aspect from the windows of your home, adding extra appeal to the attractiveness of your garden.
While you will not usually need planning permission for a summerhouse, some restrictions apply, and your summerhouse should not exceed 50 per cent of the total envelope of your property. We explore this aspect of decision-making in our blog post on the rules around permitted development.
Enjoying your summerhouse
If you choose a high-quality premium summerhouse, you can expect that it will last for many years and provide endless enjoyment. As well as looking stunning and providing an attractive feature within your garden, your summerhouse will deliver invaluable extra living space effectively linking your home with its outdoor space.
A setting for all seasons
A beautifully crafted summerhouse can be enjoyed all year round and just not just in the spring and summer months. When the sun is out, you can throw open the doors and windows of your summerhouse and take advantage of its natural warmth to bask outdoors. Add a rotating base to a smaller model and you can effortlessly turn your summerhouse to face the sun, or shelter from the breeze. In winter, your garden building becomes a cosy hideaway for relaxing with friends and family and can be decorated with lights and sparkles to provide the perfect entertaining venue at Christmas. When deciding on the size of your summerhouse, don’t forget to leave some space for a Christmas tree!
Space to spread out
Be sure to choose a summerhouse that provides a comfortable amount of space for the way you intend to enjoy it. A small model is perfect for relaxing with a coffee and a magazine as you take a break from the gardening. If your vision extends to a dedicated space for work, study, or a hobby, think about any equipment you might need and whether your chosen summerhouse model, shape and size will accommodate a desk and chair, lighting, and any storage. Scotts’ summerhouses offer optional modular wooden seating with internal storage so you can pack away the trappings of industry and create a more relaxing space at weekends.
Depending on your choice of activity, you should consider the shape and layout of your summerhouse alongside its dimensions. An octagonal-shaped summerhouse is perfect for relaxing and entertaining, or you may prefer the lozenge-shaped layout of the Scott’s Sun Ray Garden Room, which lends itself to an exercise workout or yoga practice.
Think about who will be enjoying your summerhouse with you. Perhaps it will become a special place to call your own where you can relax in peace and quiet, undisturbed. A small summerhouse can create the perfect haven in your garden for a mindful moment and provide a real boost to your wellbeing. Summerhouses are also ideal for socialising although you might want to choose a larger model to accommodate the whole family, or to make room for friends and neighbours.
It is a good idea to futureproof your requirements by selecting a summerhouse that will meet your needs in the years ahead. Maybe you are planning to become self-employed and need a hub for your new business. Or you might find yourself working from home more often and in need of a dedicated home office space. You may enjoy it differently after you have retired from work or need extra space for children and grandchildren in the future.
Summerhouse size options: some examples
To give you a feel for the different summerhouse size options available in the Scotts range, here are some examples to help you visualise our models in your outdoor space.
Smallest
Our smaller summerhouse models are built on an octagonal footprint which delivers a highly decorative aesthetic. Our Balmoral and Baltimore models are both 2m at their widest point and measure just under 2m at the eaves. The key difference between these models lies in their windows and doors. We also offer a small corner summerhouse, the Newhaven, which, at 2.2m fits with ease in an irregular-shaped site within your garden.
Mid-sized
Take a step up in terms of size and choose from our 2.4m or 3.0m Burghley summerhouse model. Also octagonal in shape, the Burghley model offers generous space for entertaining, or room to spread out if you enjoy crafting, painting, and drawing. Alternatively, you could position the larger 3.0m Newhaven model in an under-used corner to maximise use of your outdoor space.
Larger
To take advantage of a more extensive footprint, you might consider the largest of the octagonal Burghley models which, at 3.6m, allows plenty of space to add furniture for hosting guests and entertaining in style. The Scotts’ Sun Ray Garden Room, available in three sizes (3.4m, 3.9m and 4.4m), is the largest model in our range and connects you to your garden by adding highly flexible living space. This model has the widest doors within our range that can open out onto a patio, decking area or lawn so you can take the party outdoors on warm summer evenings.
Shape up
If you require a very specific size, shape and stye of summerhouse and cannot see a model in our range that fulfils your vision, talk to our design team and allow us to create your very own, bespoke garden building. Whether you are looking for greater height, wider windows, or more floor space, our expert craftspeople will be standing by to respond to your brief with enthusiasm.
Step inside
There is no replacement for seeing one of Scott’s premium hardwood summerhouses in person to enable you to really appreciate the space that each model offers and help you to visualise your preferred shape and size in your own garden. You can see our summerhouses on display at selected garden centres and other exclusive venues in England, including our Thrapston headquarters in Northamptonshire. This is also the place to review ex-display summerhouses that occasionally become available for sale. Check out our website or contact us for more details.
Tips for choosing your ideal sized summerhouse: a checklist
- Consider the size of your garden and choose a model to complement its shape and proportions
- Think about how and when you plan to enjoy it and what furniture and equipment you need to accommodate
- Make a list of items you would like to store in the summerhouse
- Sketch out a rough plan on graph paper with each square representing 10cm x 10cm or 20cm x 20cm and then measure the contents to create a scale representation
- Request the floor plan measurements so you can check out the dimensions in detail
- Take account of the base size which will take up a small amount of additional space around your summerhouse
- Visit a showsite and step inside a display model
- Draw up a wish list and ask Scotts to create your very own bespoke garden building.
The Scotts team has years of experience in helping our customers to choose the right summerhouse for your garden so contact us to talk through the options. We will be able to set you on the right track towards finding the ideal size of garden building that is certain to return giant rewards.