Contents
Beach Hut Overview
A beach hut is the perfect place to relax and adds a dash of that great holiday feeling to any garden or outdoor space.
This guide has thirty three different photos which should provide plenty of inspiration to help you customise your log cabin, summer house or garden shed in the style of a beach hut.
This Guide is split into the following sections and has useful ideas whether you’re buying a log cabin to convert into a Beach hut, or you have an old shed you want to make look good…
- Choosing a Beach Hut Design
- Colourful Design Ideas
- Striped Beach Huts and Beach Sheds
- Pastel Coloured Beach Huts
- Weathered Beach Sheds
- Decorative Touches
Choosing a Beach Hut Design
Apex Roof and Windows?
There are no hard and fast rules for beach hut design, but there are some common themes which can help add authenticity to your beach hut.
An apex style roof is an essential feature, this helps ensure a long life on the beach front and should be incorporated into your garden beach hut.
Single or double doors are fine, and the presence or absence of windows is also up to your preferences. Although if you hope to enjoy your garden in all weather you should probably choose a hut with windows, this will allow you to retreat inside when it rains and still benefit from natural light.
Colour Scheme Choices – Pastel, Stripes or Bold Colours?
You may have asked “how do you paint a shed like a beach hut?”
Well, you need to be adventurous, moving away from brown stained wood is the first step. Whether its pastel, striped or bold colours, something which stands out is the defining feature of any beach hut.
Choose a main colour, or colours (if striped) and then decide on a contrasting colour or differing shade to sue for the gable and the window and door frames.
Putting together a colour chart is worth doing. Your local D.I.Y. shop should be able to help you out with the specific colours, just be sure you’re happy with the combination before you splash out.
Consider A Front Veranda to Provide Shade
A veranda is a fairly common feature to give some protection from the sunshine. You’ll come to appreciate it in the midday sun during the summer months.
Is It Worth Elevating The Beach House?
Along the coastline it’s common to see beach huts a few feet above the sand to protect against high tides. Doing this in your garden is possibly more effort than its worth, but if you’re willing to take on the extra time and expense involved it’s a step which can add authenticity.
If you can buy a beach hut which includes this feature then you’ll save yourself a headache and be assured that the design is suitable.
Adding a Base of Pebbles or Sand?
If you’re going the whole hog, you could also add a sandy area or maybe a pebbled area around the base of the entrance. This can be a great way to bring the beach to your back garden.
You should also consider adding a wooden border to prevent the materials slowly spreading across the rest of your garden. This makes mowing the lawn a less daunting proposition. You could even create a pebbled pathway through your garden to the entrance of the beach hut.
Thirty Three Garden Beach Hut Design Ideas
Below are some of the best painted beach huts from Whitstable, Hove, Cape Town and Melbourne. Across the world, these humble buildings serve as a focal point for relaxation and enjoyment.
Colourful Design Ideas
If you’re looking for some beach hut paint ideas, there’s plenty of inspiration to be had here.
An absolute riot of bold primary colours is on show with these beach huts in Cape Town, South Africa.
There are about 82 “beach boxes” of varying gaudiness in Brighton Beach in Melbourne. If you’re ever in Melbourne and fancy a visit these directions from Josie should help.
This Australian flag themed beach hut would appeal to a certain barbeque mad demographic, taken at the iconic Brighton Beach in Melbourne.
Striped Beach Huts and Beach Sheds
Stripes have always been a mainstay of the British sea-side and this collection of huts and sheds should provide some inspiration if you plan on sprucing up a tired old shed.
Either vertical or horizontal is fair game, the choice being dictated by the direction of your planks and logs.
If you’re Swedish, or a fan of Boca Juniors then this blue and yellow beach hut in Southwold could be just the paint-job you’re looking for.
This is a pretty stand out paint-job. You can find this gem in Holkham in Norfolk. If I were to guess i’d say the owner is a fan of dolly mixtures.
This imposing pink striped beach house is one of several to rent on the Australian coast near middleton, worth visiting if in the neighbourhood…
Pastel Coloured Beach Huts
If you want a soothing colour for your garden beach hut or summer house then a gentle pastel colour is worth considering.
Decorative gables with a deeper shade than the main colour seem to be a common feature of pastel painted beach huts.
The middle hut in this row made the news after it sold for £270,000. Mudeford Sandbank is obviously in high demand.
Weathered Beach Sheds
A weather beaten hut on the beach has a certain kind of appeal. No other building seems to wear a dishevelled look with such panache. The flaking paint and dried out wood tells the story of a hard life exposed to the harsh summer sun and lashed by salty winds during the winter.
Replicating this in your back garden can be done by painting and then A) waiting a few years… or B) going at it with sandpaper and a scraper.
Decorative Touches
If you want to leave visitors in no doubt over the beach theme, a well placed nautical themed object should do the trick.
The examples below are chosen to stand out against the background, thereby drawing the eye. If you don’t have any boating paraphernalia lying around just pop onto ebay and see what you can find.
Lifes good at the beach sign. Credit – Andrew Huggett @ flickr
If you plan on hosting some garden drinks or a barbecue, having a stunning beach hut as the backdrop will be a great talking point.