7 Modern Summer House Ideas You’ll Love
14 April 2022

7 Modern Summer House Ideas You’ll Love

When deciding on the modern summer house ideas that’ll work best in your garden, you’ll certainly never be spoilt for inspiration.

Whether you want a family space that you can use all year round, somewhere quiet you can retreat to, a productive workspace or gym, or a garden bar, there’s so much you can do.

With 7 completely different garden room ranges available in over 60 sizes, we thought we’d catch up with our garden room design team for some inspiration.

So, here are seven inspiring modern summer house garden ideas to help you plan and design your ideal garden room.

  1. Bring a lost corner to life

Most, if not all gardens, have what landscapers call ‘dead space.’ Often, this is a corner or a narrow area that has, by default, become redundant. Also known as a ‘blue zone,’ this rather awkward space has no identity unless you give it one.

As one of our favourite corner summer house ideas, contemporary small garden rooms can transform these otherwise lost areas into inviting outdoor living spaces.

This Ultra garden room below perfectly frames the narrow garden of this stunning terraced home. It may only be 3.2m by 3.2m, but this contemporary compact artist studio gives the garden a real sense of style while creating the illusion of space.

Garden room in garden corner

 

  1. Make the most of your view

If you’re lucky enough to have a fantastic view from your garden, there’s no better way to admire it than from your own contemporary garden room.

If you’re looking for scenic modern summer house ideas, you’ll love this incredible Affinity Garden Room overlooking the coast. Nestled along a cliff edge, yet far back enough for safety, it’s the perfect place to unwind and inspire creativity. Bi-fold doors open out onto a decked area while floor-to-ceiling glazing wraps around the front-facing aspect to make the most of this panoramic view.

Garden Room with a view

Careful attention has been paid to the interior décor ideas too. We love the coastal blues, whites and creams reminiscent of the ocean.

Garden Hobby Art Studio

 

  1. Add structure to small gardens

It can be challenging to give a small garden a refined structure. But, if you are limited on space, as many homeowners are, you’ll love these modern summer house ideas.

You need to think carefully about maximising your area, and a great way to do this is with a contemporary small garden room.

Look at how the owners of this Key Studio have paired their contemporary modern summer house with sunken white-wash walls, seating and planters. This perfectly symmetrical and practical design makes full use of the surrounding courtyard.

Outside garden structure

To make your small garden room even more welcoming, it’s a good idea to frame your modern summer house with decking or a garden path to marry style and function.

See how the garden room owners below have created a natural flow between their patio area and outdoor office space.

Key studio with structure in garden

 

  1. Embrace the power of colour

Whether it’s the tones of the wood you choose or painted finish, colour is important when it comes to modern summer house ideas.

It all depends on what you want your garden room to do. If you want it to make a prominent design statement, you may like the contemporary clean and crisp architectural lines of the Ultra garden room.

Or, if you want your garden room to blend in with its surroundings and take on a more traditional character, the Suffolk Barn or Temple Folly are good options. Both are available in a wide variety of hand-painted 15-year colour stains, from chalky hues and greens to bold blacks.Cream Suffolk Barn

 

  1. Bring your interior to life

The great thing about modular modern summer houses is that they are a blank canvas inside, meaning you can theme yours however you wish.

Lately, we’ve seen some wonderfully confident interior décor ideas that SMART owners have shared with us. Notice how both designs below make use of colour but in a completely different way. One owner has gone for a flamboyant Asian theme inspired by their travels. Notice how greens and reds within the summer house furniture match the hues of the printed screen.

Asian Interior Design

The other owners have gone for more of a minimalist contemporary design with the strikingly colourful tiger artwork gracing the crisp white wall. We love how the yellow accents within the rug are a nod to the mustard within the painting.

Minimalist Garden Room Interior

 

  1. Zone a bigger garden

Just as a small garden can be a challenge, so too can a larger garden. Having lots of space means that you must give more thought to zoning your space.

One of the most popular modern summer house ideas for big gardens is to use the full width of the garden to create a dual-purpose living space.

Take the owners of this 8.6m by 3.6m contemporary Belle garden room that spans the tip of their garden. There’s a fully kitted-out music room to the left and a family room. The summer house interior has been carefully thought through as there’s a partitioned central wall with connecting interior door and two stunning sets of bi-fold doors.

Belle Large Decking Area

  1. Frame your space

When considering modern summer house ideas, your entrance is also important. Far from a muted design detail, the ‘frame’ of your contemporary garden room is what gives it its unique identity.

If, for example, you are looking to make a bold design statement, the contrasting black lines of the Ultra with the softness of cedar will not disappoint.

Framed Ultra Range

You may, of course, be looking for something that’s less bold yet still as beautiful. A lot of this will come down to your existing garden design.

The owners of this fabulous Belle small garden room have gone for a softer entrance to mirror the rest of their garden. We love how their summer house furniture and interior décor ideas work seamlessly with the ‘shale’ blue hand-painted finish.

Belle Framed Entrance

As with the owners of the Ultra garden room, both have framed their entrance with potted plants on a small, decked area to invite people in.

 

Start Your Garden Room Journey Here

We hope you’ve enjoyed exploring our summer house ideas inspired by our community of SMART garden room owners throughout the UK.

These are just a few summer house ideas. There are a lot more to discover within our downloadable brochure, which is home to over 80 real-life installations, complete with full specifications and design options.

Another good idea is to use our configurator to create your very own garden room. Using your laptop, PC, or tablet, you can select your preferred range, play around with different dimensions, choose exactly where you would like your doors and windows, and specify your internal and connected external space.

Once you’re ready to view your design in your own garden, you simply download our AR app from the App Store or Google Play and drop your 3D design into your phone’s image of your garden. Honestly, you’ll absolutely love bringing your summer house ideas to life.

It doesn’t matter where you are in the UK, as our team will deliver and build your chosen design wherever you live.

Don’t just take our word for it, though. We believe that the best form of validation is what our clients have to say about our designs and service, so please check out our Google reviews.

You’ll soon find that we’re a friendly and knowledgeable team, and since we manufacture all our garden rooms ourselves, there’s no question we cannot answer. So please feel free to give us a call to chat through your summer house ideas today – we’d love to hear from you!