We didn’t realise just how much we’d appreciate purchasing a summerhouse for our back garden a few years ago.

The kids were still very young and we questioned on whether it would be a good investment – I mean, would we actually get use out of it? What would we use it for? I’m delighted to introduce VIP as my first guest writer on Home and Horizon.

After all, he put in a lot of graft when it came to laying the foundations and doing the research for the summerhouse files! So it’s over to you VIP (all in his own words)…

In the beginning…

When we moved into our forever house around 10 years ago it was, what some people call, a “do-upper”. Pretty much every room needed, at the very least, a little TLC and some, many would argue, a trip to the vet to put them out of their misery. There was the case of the mysteriously placed light bulbs; nearly every room had one naked little light in one quarter of the room leaving the remaining three quarters in perma-gloom or desperately needing a lamp.

There was the usual questionable carpeted bathrooms where the previous owner was content not only with carpeting the floor but also parts of the walls. There was the enigmatic dining room, lined as it was with timber-clad walls that put one in mind of a sauna from a 1970s adult movie but which also grimly foretold of hidden horrors which might lurk beneath which would be slowly revealed like the plot of some made for Netflix true life crime drama.

That is to say nothing of the kitchen which, large and roomy though it was compared to our previous Mr Kipling slice of a galley kitchen, wheezed and purred because of the collection of museum eligible white goods that had been left by the previous owners and which now competed in terms of decrepitude and CO2 polluting-powers. These were the compromises that we were more than happy to endure to upsize in an area where we might reasonably be expected to be able to afford no more than a clearing in the woods. Jet black ceiling and coving you say? Pass the primer.

The first few years living here was a procession of building works and making do- and that was the experience of many young families we were happy to note from our friends. This house also had another jewel in its crown; an enormous garden. As estate agents are wont to proselytize, this was a garden full of mature trees (some the sort of thing you might see in a Country Park) and laid to lawn.

Some 120 foot (-ish) of real estate that we would soon eagerly fill up with the usual detritus of living with two small children; balls, hoops, water pistols, trikes, guns  etc… We soon started another losing battle over storage of said items with a series of different garden ‘solutions’ which promised to hide these effects but most days in summer it did look like a Toys R Us lorry had jackknifed in our backyard.

Those were balmy, heady days and I think we look back fondly on them- just now as I desperately try to coax our 11 year old computer to back up the photos from our first few years here, I cannot resist looking at the old pictures and videos whilst being decidedly dewy of eye. There was a place, however, where we did not go. In all glorious 120-ish foot of garden, the final 30-ish foot remained a secretive seldom-investigated lair. Whereas the rest of the garden had at least hinted at purpose; greenhouse, shed, smashed up path etc.. here was an altogether less easy to categorise part of the garden.

 

Maximising on space

It had long been the plan to do something with the space at the end of the garden. It had just seemed too much of a project; fully 30 foot by 30 foot of discarded bric-a-brac which, once disturbed, would have to be cleared. The promise of a couple of cases of beer meant that I was able to hire the more able bodies of two work colleagues and the loan of a couple of wheelbarrows and the hire of a skip meant that the area might be soon cleared.

The contents of the end of the garden were interesting; two bicycles, a basketball hoop, innumerable cans and jars, a door, a ‘smaller door’ and the farewell of a family of rats that we saw disappear into a neighbour’s garden. This was a big area that was now revealed- probably twice as big by itself than our previous garden. What to do with the space now? It seemed like a waste of effort doing all that just to leave it fallow or to fill that up too with the kids’ paraphernalia.

For some time now we had collectively, well as a couple I mean, started to fetishise things that we like to look at but cannot afford. It had started (and continues) with new cars. Usually around Christmas time, we visit a car dealership in the area (you have to stagger it or they rumble you) and we fantasise about buying a new car. It’s only once we talk to the eager staff that the scales fall from our eyes and we realise quite how much money this purchase would entail.

We then skulk away for 11 ½ months until we have quite forgotten how much it costs and the cycle recommences. We were a little like that with summer houses. As parents of young children, you get quite expert at day trips out that are a) free or b) near free and which contain some opportunities for youthful letting off of steam and middle-aged sitting down and drinking lattes. Not far from our new house was an excellent garden centre; replete not only with everything green and flowery but also everything you need to keep it that way; watering cans and garden tools- sure…but also outdoor bars and hammocks and other such objects of lust that would not have troubled me in years gone by.

One part of the garden centre was an ode to wood; a snaking path of decorative bark led between the summerhouses. Painted in jaunty pastel hues or more business -like slate greys, each summer house was mocked up as a legitimate domestic or business space; one had sinks and was decked out like a hairdressers; more than one had a rocking chair angled wistfully towards the double open doors, indulgently looking at the no-doubt beautifully maincured garden, G&T in hand.

This was the solution to our patch at the end of the garden. We definitely had the space and this was the ideal way of reclaiming and utilising all that dead area. In the intervening years, however, our little kiddiewinks were no longer so little. The trikes and buckets and spades were gone…well they were still there. They just weren’t being used. We would have to admit it- our needs had changed. Would the summer house be able to change to match that?

Summerhouse prep

Preparing the area would be the next step. Thanks to longer summer days and school holidays, a base was created that would be suitable to house the summer house that we had opted for. There are a number of different ways of making sure that your outdoor building won’t sink or slip away but we opted for a concrete slab. It was a lot of work but it looked the part and definitely was up to the job.

We also opted to have it installed rather than having a go ourselves and I am glad that we did. I would consider myself to be reasonably handy but it is great to have the peace of mind that having something constructed by experts brings. Within seemingly a few hours, a beautiful new addition was made to the end of the garden. Now facing the back of our house was an attractive pavilion fashioned out of wood and glass; it had double doors and double-glazed windows- just like a real house. Once it was complete, we both eagerly padded round inside. Underneath the boards was insulation and, although it wasn’t cold outside, you could feel it under your feet. This was our new home from home and we were excited to kit it out.

Our new summer house was actually the single largest space ‘in our house’ and so we did what they are always on about on the telly; we zoned the space. One side would be the cinema/chill out area and the other would be the office/craft area. In reality, this zoning would take some time as it was a case of saving up for new additions, but over the coming years our summer house would have an integral role in entertaining our family. One of the first things we did was to protect the outside and so the whole family scaled ladders to liberally apply wood protection. The wood that our summer house was made from was already pressure treated but this gave us an opportunity to personalise it too!

Kitting out such a huge space was a little daunting actually. We let friends and relatives know that we were on the hunt and soon we were inundated with offers; a plump, comfy red sofa from a friend; some bookcases from a different friend; my mum was getting rid of her leather electric reclining sofas…the list goes on. In one of my handier feeling moments, armed with some hairpin legs (not my own, you understand, but metal ones) I made an L-shaped crafting table with matching bench. A hunt around an antiques yard in Margate yielded a filing cabinet- perfect for storing crafting materials and the like. My first project, however, was going to be turning our summer house into a cinema.

Having saved some money from taking second-hand furniture and being a bit of a dab hand on eBay, would soon mean that this space was one that we were going to be using year-round. Years before, my wife had bought some apple boxes with a view to creating something attractive for the garden, no doubt, but these were going to be re-purposed as an equipment stand. Judicious online purchases of a 5.1 channel receiver amp and speakers were made, attached to the walls surrounding the cinema space in readiness.

Summerhouse tech

A black Friday deal on a 4k projector later and a bargain basement remote controlled electric screen (all 120” of it) meant that the project was nearing completion. In tandem with the reclining leather seats and the birthday gift of a popcorn machine, the cinema was pretty much ready to be inaugurated. This was something that I had dreamt of as a kid and while I did have to keep protesting that this was for my kids, it certainly did not go unappreciated by yours truly.

More additions found their way into the space (an unused Stella Artois fridge- nearly 20 years old now; an ice-making machine which was a wedding present) making this a one stop shop for entertaining. A wire basket sat in the corner, full of blankets so that you would be kept nice and cosy in the event of a winter evening’s nip. Not that this was usually a problem. Modern-day summer houses make use of insulation just as much as modern houses and we had already installed heating which meant that even winter evenings were pretty toasty.

That was about four years ago now and the space is still looking pretty fresh. It has been the venue for many a memorable family night and, possibly more memorable for our kids, for time spent with their friends. Nothing quite eclipses the novelty of a night spent in the cosiness of an outdoor building like a summer house; Halloweens in particular have been a favourite and both myself and my wife have enjoyed watching this now familiar building at the end of the garden glowing, knowing that something petrifying was being watched and firm memories were being made.

When we cast our minds back to the renovations and changes that we have made to our little house in the just over ten years since we have moved here, it is hard to think of one that has made such an impression and which is so enduringly loved even now. A night out in our own cinema (even now when the real ones are sadly still closed) is a real luxury and one that we still look forward to every weekend.

You might also like…

• Garden Shack: From Bike Shed To Garden Bar
• 7 Easy Ideas To Stay Warm In Winter
• New Porch Decor On A Budget

A Pin For Your Garden Board

*This was a collaborative post with Summerhouse24