ModernGardenRooms

Time to Update Your Painted Summer House? Here Are Some Tips

16th August 2021

So your painted summer house is looking a little tired. It’s not surprising that a wooden structure that spends all year outside is no longer looking its best. Over time, paint can fade and flake, turning what was once beautiful into a bit of an eyesore.

Nobody want a scruffy-looking wooden building at the bottom of their garden, so it’s time to give it a facelift. 

You don’t need to be an expert at DIY to freshen up the look of your garden. You only need some basic equipment and the will to put in a bit of physical labour. This means, you can quickly turn your painted summer house from drab to dazzling, with only a small amount of effort.

Tips for Improving Your Painted Summer House

When you’re on a mission for home improvement, you might as well go all out. If you’ve got to spend some time on a project to make it look passable, it’s sensible to spend a little longer making it look amazing. Not only will you be proud of a job well done, the extra effort could pay off by making the summer house look fresher for longer.

Before you start – clean your painted summer house

A really thorough clean inside and out will be a great starting point for improving your summer house. It’s likely you’ll be adding a lick of paint to the outside (and possibly the inside). This means you’ll need a clean base to start. 

For a very thorough job, get a bucket of warm soapy water and a scrubbing brush. The best method is to scrub every inch of it. You might want to hose it down after if things get particularly soapy.

This might seem like a lot of effort, but if you don’t pre-clean, you’re bound to end up accidentally embalming some deceased insects in your paint work. 

Choose your paint

While you’re waiting for your summer house to dry (and it will need to be completely dry before you paint) it’s time to choose what you’ll be painting it with.

There are plenty of budget brands out there that offer lots of beautiful colours, but in some cases this can be false economy. Spending more doesn’t always equate to better paint, but the superior outdoor paint always does cost more. Look for a paint with an in-built weather shield, so the first rain doesn’t come along and wash off all your hard work.

Once you’re got your paint, it’s time to use it! Cover your summer house in 1-2 coats and let it dry.

Apply the finishing touches

After all your hard work so far, it would be silly to stop there. Give the project the finish it deserves by accessorising your painted summer house. The tradition is coloured bunting, but if that’s not your style, a string of solar powered outdoor lights will look just as good. 

Potted plants either side of the summer house will give it a welcoming feel, and you can always lay down stone steps to pave the way. 

There’s no sense having your summer house clash with all the other wood in the garden, so it might be worth painting the surrounded fences the same colour too. It can be a big job, but the end result will definitely be worth it.

7 Painted Summer House Ideas For Your Garden Building

13th August 2019

You have your dream summer house but you’re feeling like it’s missing something. It’s a bit lacklustre and you want to brighten it up and personalise it but what do you go for? Here are 7 painted summer house ideas:

Country Cottage

This look can be achieved with soft pastel colours and to be honest, you can go for whichever shade suits you best. Think creams, greens, off whites, light greys, baby blue, soft pink or warm yellow. To really make your summer house stand out, paint the main woodwork in your chosen colour and then paint the window frames, the door frame and any pergolas in white. This will create a little more interest to your garden build and make your main colour ‘pop’. 

Big and Bold

If you like colour this is the summer house idea for you! Just go as big and bold as your heart desires. Bright pink? Why not?! Striking green? Yes! Sunshine yellow? It will most definitely make you smile! Honestly, just go all out and you could even choose to paint each wall a different shade, do the inside bright too, have a different coloured door and frames or what about a brightly tiled roof? And if you are truly bold, perhaps you will have the courage to even clash those colours too?!

Vintage

To achieve your vintage painted summer house you will want soft tones, ones that will immediately make you feel calm and relaxed, colours that will draw you in and ones that will complement each other beautifully. Paint shades of pastel greens, soft creams, light greys, taupe and perhaps even a dark turquoise will all create a stunning vintage look. The key here is to not overdo anything, everything needs to tie in seamlessly, which includes the inside. Softness is key.

Striking Greys

If you want a painted summer house idea that will stand out in your garden then a striking grey is the colour for you. This will have to be a dark grey, a rich grey and one that will most definitely last the test of time in order to keep that look. With this theme, you will want the whole of the exterior to be painted in this one colour, this includes all frames and doors too. This may seem a little daunting to begin with but once it is finished you will soon see how having this bold grey will make your summer house the main focal point in your garden.

Beach Hut

This has to be one of our favourite ideas. Beach huts are just so striking, aren’t they? Most of us are drawn to them at the beach and the variety of colours and designs make everybody smile. This painted summer house idea is also probably the most fun. The possibilities are endless. Stripes are a must, aren’t they? But how many colours do you go for? I mean 2 is pretty, 3 is interesting but what about a different colour for each wooden panel? Now that would be really fun! You can also choose to go pastel, to go nautical, bright and bold, vintage, very girly or very masculine, light or dark because everything can work with this theme. 

Red Barn

This is another fun idea: an American style red barn. That iconic bright red with white lines and door frames, grey/brown timber beams inside and a grey slate roof. If you are after a building that will capture people’s attention and will create a talking point, this is the painted summer house idea for you. 

Natural Wood

And for the more natural look, how about simply varnishing the exposed wood and create a log cabin in the woods look? Rustic, real, timber, browns, greys and rugged all come to mind in order to complete this theme. Our biggest tip would be to invest in a good, hardy varnish that will last in order to keep your desired look for years to come.