To buy a summerhouse?

[furrytoebean]

We have a medium sized garden and at the bottom of the garden we have space for a small summer house 6ft by 8ft (or we could move the shed and get a bigger one).

We don’t have tons of money however we could do it without going into debt if we don’t go on holiday abroad next year.

For some reason I have woken up desperate for a summerhouse, I imagine myself reading in there with the rain against the roof, eating my supper in it in the summer months, meditating in the morning wrapped in a blanket.

I’ve never thought about one before but it’s taken over my brain!

Am I just have a blip or is a summerhouse the answer to the prayer I never knew I prayed?

Or will I use it once and never go in it again and wish I had gone on holiday?

Buy it if you fancy it!

We had one when I was a child and various friends have them.
I have never ever known one to be used as anything other than storage after the novelty wears off!
So I wouldn't, sorry!

My in laws have one that they use to have tea in when people visit and as Santa’s grotto at Christmas. It’s lovely but I think they only use it when they have visitors.

There's one in our garden. I like it, We have cups of tea there in the morning in the summer, the kids use it as a play house, I imagine it will be used as an extra living room when they're older and have friends over, but not entirely sure it's worth the money. They're crazy £££.

We’re getting one in a few weeks so my husband can use it as an office. We are considering it an extra room as our terraced Victorian is very small. Still, it almost sounds like you are in love with the idea of one rather than the reality?

We have one, brick built to the tune of £8k... it was kind of done on a whim as we had 90% materials left over from building an extension. The plan was for it to be my office... it's literally full of crap... can't get in the door because it's been used as a dumping ground for the past 8 years.

My parents have one and get lots of use of it on dry(ish) days. I’d rather go on holiday.

Do they not tend to get rather damp and spidery?

We got one last year, its 3m x 3m and cost about £3k (hundreds of bits to paint and assemble) and it sits in the corner of the garden. We’ve put a garden sofa in there and I love it ...its peace and quiet when the sport is on and I frequently go out there and read or snooze in the summer. Its also clutter free so very calming.

I have just finished ours and I LOVE it!

My parents have a HUGE one - they use it a lot, particularly for entertaining. It makes things like BBQs easy if the weather's not great. Theirs has outdoor heaters but they don't work very well tbh.

Ooops, posted too soon.... I was going to upload a pic. Ours is a small garden but I needed an office/own space away from kids. It has totally made the garden. There's a lovely big sofabed on the other side but it's a bit identifying as are some personal pics on the walls.... but it's a great space. An extra bedroom if we need.

We've done it on a budget. £3K for the studio, £1K on the base and build, £2K on painting and internally insulating/cladding it. I know a friend with essentially the same thing that paid £30K 😳

My parents have one. It’s not huge, but it’s used most days, just as you describe. It’s quite lovely sitting there in the early morning sun wrapped in a blanket, sipping coffee and listening to the birds sing. I will add my dads a very keen gardener and handyman, so has spent a lot of time making it a lovely place to be.

Mine is tiny, we built it from a flat pack kit - a glorified shed really but I have carpet tiles, electricity, lights, a book shelf and I absolutely love it.

We had one when I was a child and I would love to have one now, but our London garden is too small. It was used by me to play in, by my mother as somewhere to read without interruption of 'Muuuum....!', then later as a hang out place for my friends in the teenage years. It was used as storage of summer chairs in the winter but never became a dumping ground. It fitted in perfectly, very romantically, with its surroundings - the grounds had been beautifully designed by the previous owners and only now am I realising how well it was done

I often think I would like one...but then I remember we call the shed the "spiderhouse" for a reason. I fear a summerhouse would just be a vacation home for the creepy crawlers.

We have one, it was built two summers ago by a company who prefabricated it in their workshop and then came out to erect it.
The only thing they had to do on the day was put in the glass on the doors and windows. It is made from wood, sits on a base on top of my gravel, is about 8 ft x 8 ft, has double doors so you can open up the entire front. I furnished it with narrow roller blinds on all the windows with voiles hung in front of them, wood effect tiles on the floor, and a comfy rattan garden furniture set inside with throws and cushions, a small coffee table, a rug, some standard lamps and an oil heater, a TV/DVD machine for the kids etc. We got an electrician out to run power to it from our house, it was really easy and they just sunk the cable under the ground to the summerhouse. I would recommend getting power or you wont really use it.
Its a great den for the kids but beware it is very tempting to store junk in it. They tried a sleepover in it a few weeks ago but it was still too cold so they had to come in at 4 o'clock in the morning!
Ours has never got damp or spidery but I sealed every nook and cranny with clear silicone after it was erected, and I painted it with cream paint inside and out so it is really comfy and clean.
It will be useful if I ever get around to having a summer BBQ in the garden. All in all it cost about £1400 for the summerhouse with delivery and assembly, and extra for the furnishings/paint, then extra for an electrician to come out to power it.
I like ours, its a useful space for the kids with their friends.

We have one, the children love it and spend lots of time out there. A set of rattan furniture, a rug, table and some floor cushions make it comfortable. Best of all, no spiders seem to come in there.

I love mine. Dh was the one who thought we should have one and I was the one who wondered if it would ever get used.

We furnished it with a rug and a pair of patio sofas and I love it. I'm always out there if the sun is shining. Even in early spring and late autumn, if the sun is out it gets lovely and warm. I've listening to the birds or the rain on the roof.

Go at the end of the winter and look for ex display models if you want to save money.
And go to garden centres at the end of the summer when they are selling off their furniture.

We bought one this year and I love it, it's even got a name plaque! The Ginnery.
I've used it loads during the recent crap weather just as somewhere to go and sit with a drink and a book totally recommend it

@loobylou1976 what company did you use? That's an amazing price!

We have a bbq cabin so can use all year round it’s awesome

I love mine. No-one is allowed to store anything in it. It has some rattan sofas, a little set of drawers and a coffee table. There are blankets in there, all my seeds, garden books. It’s a little sanctuary. It’s used for reading, sleeping, escaping.....

It depends ... if you mean the shed type then in my opinion a complete waste of money in this country, will indeed be damp and spidery in no time. If you mean a proper insulated one, then that's great and only you can know if it's worth the outlay.

I had one a while ago in a previous house and although I loved it I don't think I ever went to sit in it once. Not once. It looked nice for selling the house though! Total waste of money otherwise.