Painting Garden Rooms & Summer Houses in North London: Inside and Out

Garden rooms, summer houses, home offices, and garden studios have proliferated in North London's generous garden plots over the past decade. Many are well-built timber structures that deserve proper professional decoration — both to look good and to protect the timber from our variable British climate.

External Decoration for Garden Rooms

External timber on a garden room or summer house requires a microporous coating that allows the timber to breathe while preventing moisture ingress. We specify either Osmo UV Protection Oil (for natural timber finishes), Sikkens Cetol System (exceptional durability for stained finishes), or exterior oil-based eggshell (Farrow & Ball Exterior Eggshell or Little Greene Intelligent Exterior Eggshell) over an appropriate primer for painted finishes. Re-application of oil finishes is typically needed every 2–3 years; painted finishes every 4–7 years depending on exposure.

Colour Choices for Garden Buildings

Garden buildings work particularly well in dark, receding tones that make the structure feel like it belongs in the garden rather than sitting on top of it: Farrow & Ball Railings, Down Pipe, Mole's Breath, and Pigeon are perennial favourites in Hampstead garden projects. Sage greens (Little Greene Sage Derby, Farrow & Ball Mizzle) work beautifully against garden planting. Natural wood stains in mid-brown or grey tones are also popular for a more organic aesthetic.

Interior Decoration

For garden room interiors, the key considerations are managing humidity (consider a vapour-permeable internal finish) and creating a pleasant working or relaxing environment. We typically recommend the same colour family used on the exterior interior walls, with a clean white or off-white ceiling and natural timber floor finish.

We decorate garden rooms and summer houses throughout NW3 and North London. Call 020 3874 2670 for a quote.