Whether it’s for escaping reality and enjoying the peace and quiet with a good book, or for hosting summer parties with friends and family, a summerhouse is a great environment in which to relax and be close to nature. You can transform your summerhouse into whatever you want – a studio for writing or painting, a games room for the kids, or simply a space to take a breather from gardening.

The beauty of summerhouses is you can create any theme you want. If you’re using it for escapism, try capturing the essence of your favourite place – perhaps a beach look with nautical decor, or why not turn it into a tropical hideout with an array of plants and a small water feature. Be inventive and see where your imagination takes you.

Country chic
Pastel shades in blue or green have a calming effect, and can be painted with intricate flowers and leaves. Alternatively, let nature take its course outside with climbing plants such as wisteria or Campsis radicans, which displays fantastic red flowers in the summer. Window boxes with flowers and your favourite herbs will create a lovely scent around the summerhouse, and a simple table decoration of a few garden flowers can be changed every few days to keep a fresh look.

Wicker chairs and a folding wooden table are ideal furnishings, as they can easily be moved outside on sunny days. Accompany the chairs with light coloured cushions in floral patterns and either dress the table with a white or cream cloth, or leave it bare for a more natural look.

An artist’s escape
For those creative souls out there, your summerhouse may be your personal studio. Writers, artists and musicians often need a natural environment to be able to fully express themselves, and can sometimes find inspiration from nature’s sights and sounds.

As with most masterpieces, you have to start with a blank canvas. A white room with a simple desk and chair placed next to a window is a great starting point. From there you can add books, photos, mood boards and anything else that will help your creativity flourish.

An unlined curtain or blind can help to shield you from the sun, while still letting in enough light for you to work. And if you’re the type to work into the night, a desk lamp is a must-have.

Kid’s corner
Families with young children may decide to build a summerhouse as somewhere to keep memories that children can return to when they are older. Marking children’s heights on a wall as they grow up not only lets you see how fast they grow, but their cousins and friends can join in too – perhaps with a competition as to who will be the tallest by the time they’re a teenager!

Pinning up pictures and displaying creations that the kids have made at school is a great way to show them how proud you are of their work – and it’s funny to look back on when their artistic skills may have improved with age.

Keeping children’s books and toys in the summerhouse means they have a little retreat too, and it can also be the perfect place to host a birthday party. With fun and games set up in the garden, and food and drink laid out inside, kids will love showing off their summerhouse to their friends.

There’s loads of inspiration online and you can keep it as simple or as complicated as you like. Get cracking now and you’ll have plenty of time throughout the summer to enjoy your summerhouse retreat.