How to keep your garden room cool in summer

We’ve all seen those picture-perfect summer in the garden photos online – the lifestyle shot of a family dining in their garden studio; the luxurious work-from-home set-up featuring an iced beverage in the garden office; the friends gathering in the garden pub for an afternoon of summer fun. Less often pictured are the exasperated faces of people trying to concentrate and relax in a space that feels more like a greenhouse than a getaway. 

The truth is, when it comes to hot weather, keeping your garden room cool and comfortable can be a struggle. Luckily, we’ve compiled a list of the best cooling solutions for garden studios and summerhouses, giving you the easy-breezy and smart ways to chill your garden room. 

1. Make sure it’s insulated 

Often when we talk about insulation, it’s in the context of keeping warm. However, the benefit of an insulated garden room is that it not only retains heat in the winter months, but it can also keep heat out. 

Adding insulation to the walls, floor and most importantly, the roof, will help to make your garden building more heat resistant. When it comes to selecting the best insulation for your garden room, we use high-performing materials designed for optimal heat flow resistance. Unlike unlined buildings, which can vary in temperature and be difficult to regulate, our insulated designs offer a far more comfortable, usable space in all seasons.

2. Invest in opening windows and blinds 

Although it might seem counter-intuitive, a common tip for keeping rooms cool in a heatwave is to keep windows, curtains and blinds closed. The same can apply to your summerhouse or garden studio. Investing in some thermal blinds or smart shades can be a transformative solution, especially if your garden studio has multiple tall windows. 

If you want to go the extra mile, you could set up your blinds on a motorized roller for remote or even automated opening and closing. If you make use of timer features available on some models, you can have your garden room ‘wake up’ by itself, opening the blinds at a particular time of day, or closing them at night. 

A key garden room ventilation solution is to have at least two opening windows, to facilitate air flow and stop your garden room from becoming a sauna. 

 Does double glazing make garden rooms cooler? 

In short, yes! Double glazing gives added insulation to keep your garden room warmer in winter and cooler in the summer. 

To ensure your double-glazed windows perform at their best, care needs to be taken during fitting and installation. Our expert joiners craft our windows by hand, giving extra care and attention when fitting frames and sealing edges to prevent unwanted drafts or moisture ingress. 

3. Add air conditioning 

Luckily you won’t need an industrial sized air conditioning unit for a small summerhouse or garden room, but a little extra help can go a long way. 

You can opt for a built-in air conditioner, or if your garden building is fitted with electrics then a portable air conditioner or fan can work, too. Crane garden buildings offer both electrical packs and air conditioning units as optional extras at design stage, so you can be confident that your garden office or summerhouse will be habitable throughout the year. 

One stand-out quality of our garden room air conditioning units is that they can be controlled via an app, so you can instruct the air conditioner to begin heating or cooling from the comfort of your own home! 

4. Consider the position and surrounding landscape 

Where you place a garden building can help to make it easier to regulate the temperature during the hottest parts of the day. Areas with lots of trees and shrubs are the ideal spot for a garden studio, as they can provide shade and cool the immediate surrounding climate. 

Another option is to install a pergola for some extra shade over the building. Encourage climbing foliage around your pergola and you will create shade to cool your building at times of the day where the sun is hottest. 

5. Choose your colours wisely 

The colour of your garden building can significantly affect how much heat it absorbs from the sun. Lighter paint colours such as white, cream, pale grey, or sage reflect sunlight, which helps to keep the exterior cooler and reduce heat transfer indoors.  

In contrast, darker colours like black, navy, or deep brown absorb more heat, which can raise internal temperatures, especially in summer. This doesn’t mean you have to avoid dark shades altogether, but if cooling is a priority, opting for a lighter exterior can make a noticeable difference. 

Now you know how to keep your garden room cool in the summer, you’re ready to welcome the sun with open arms! Planning ahead and making intentional choices with your colour schemes, décor and building design will mean you can enjoy your relaxation space all year round – even on the hottest days. 

We hope you enjoyed our tips to stay cool in your garden office this summer. You can reach out to the Crane team to discuss your garden building visions and we will help you bring them to life. Simply call 01760 444229 or email us at sales@cranegardenbuildings.co.uk.