Small Gallery of Customer Summer Houses We’ve Built
Explore our gallery of summer houses supplied and installed for customers across the UK. From peaceful garden retreats and hobby rooms to stylish spaces for relaxing and entertaining, discover how the right summer house can transform your garden.
Customers Summerhouses Supplied
Create a welcoming space in your garden with the Platinum Fleet Apex Summerhouse. Its 10ft x 10ft footprint gives you room to relax, entertain or enjoy a quiet retreat, while the classic apex roof adds a distinctive finish. Supplied to one of our customers, this summerhouse shows how a dedicated garden space can make the outdoors feel like an extension of home.
One of our customer's recently installed Platinum Kingsclere 16 foot x 8 foot summer house that our painter has just completed painting in Demidekk Cleantech "Sandsten" with the paint purchased from ourselves also.
A lovely photo to receive of our customer's building in their sunny garden in Woking! This is one of our Platinum Bursledon corner summer houses 8ft x 8ft and with some really good upgrades; roof and floor insulation and walls lined with 12mm vertical T&G, EPDM rubber roof, double glazed PVCu windows and door frames "White" internally and "Agate Grey" externally and painted in a Valtti Plus Kesto stain.
One of our Platinum supplier's recently installed Kingsclere 14 foot x 8 foot summer house. The customer upgraded to have the building fully insulated with double glazed PVCu windows and door frames with the building painted in Thorndown Agate Grey with Agate Grey PVCu windows and doors also. The customer also included black felt tiles for their roof and laminate floor in Light Grey Oak.
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14×8 Summerhouse Size and Uses
Why Choose a 14×8 Summerhouse?
A 14×8 summerhouse has a nominal footprint of around 112 square feet, or approximately 10.4 square metres. This size is particularly useful because the fourteen-foot length gives you generous wall space. At the same time, the eight-foot depth provides enough room for substantial furniture without the building becoming excessively deep. It can work well as a spacious garden retreat, hobby room, studio, entertaining area or garden office.
I recommend marking out the complete 14ft x 8ft footprint before ordering. Stand inside the marked area, consider where your furniture might go, and decide which direction you want the doors and windows to face. Remember that 14×8 is a nominal description, so always use the manufacturer’s exact dimensions and required base size for the model you choose.
What Can You Use a 14ft x 8ft Summer House For?
A 14ft x 8ft summer house gives you enough length to create more than one functional area while still having useful depth for comfortable furniture. You might place a sofa and chairs at one end and a desk, hobby table, shelving, or storage at the other, or use the whole room as an art studio, craft space, or home office.
The fourteen-foot dimension gives you valuable uninterrupted wall length. At the same time, the eight-foot depth makes conventional sofas, desks and tables easier to accommodate than in a shallower six-foot-deep building. If you already own furniture you want to use, measure it before deciding on the final door and window positions.
Is an 8 x 14 Summerhouse the Same Size?
An 8 x 14 summerhouse will normally describe the same nominal 112-square-foot footprint as a 14 x 8 summerhouse, with the dimensions stated in the opposite order. However, manufacturers can describe frontage and depth differently, so always check the individual product plan rather than relying solely on the category description.
This is particularly important if your garden has a restricted width or depth. Check which side of your chosen building is fourteen feet, which is eight feet, and how much additional space you need for roof overhangs, installation, and future maintenance.
Platinum and Royal 14×8 Summerhouses
Platinum or Royal 14×8 Summerhouse?
The current 14×8 selection gives you Platinum and Royal buildings to compare. That is useful because two summerhouses can have almost identical nominal dimensions while being designed for very different levels of use. A conventional summer retreat does not necessarily require the same specification as a regularly used home office or fully insulated garden room.
Platinum is worth serious consideration when you want a higher specification, greater flexibility or insulation. Royal is designed for customers who want something closer to a substantial, fully insulated room in the garden.
The correct choice is not automatically the most expensive one. It is the building whose specification matches how you intend to use it. You can also browse our complete summer houses range or compare other summerhouse sizes.
Platinum 14×8 Summerhouses
The Platinum choices currently shown include the Fleet Apex, Odiham Pent, Kingclere Apex, Highclere Apex, Twyford Pent, Winchester Apex, Winchester Pent and Winchester Transverse. The Fleet Apex and Odiham Pent are fully insulated, while several of the other Platinum buildings offer full insulation as an option.
This makes Platinum particularly worth considering if your 14×8 summerhouse will become a regular garden office, studio or hobby room. Always compare the individual building specification, as important differences in insulation and construction can exist even among products within the same overall range.
Royal 14ft by 8ft Summer Houses and Garden Rooms
The current 14ft by 8ft selection also includes fully insulated Royal garden rooms such as the Bletchley, Buckingham, Denham and Marlow. I regard these as a different proposition from a conventional seasonal summerhouse because they are designed to provide something much closer to a properly insulated additional room in the garden.
If regular colder-weather or year-round use is your priority, compare these Royal choices with the fully insulated Platinum models. Consider how often you will use the building and which features will provide practical value before choosing your specification.
Insulation, Offices, Hobbies and Studios
Should a 14×8 Summerhouse Be Insulated?
Whether insulation is worthwhile depends mainly on when and how you intend to use your building. For typical spring and summer leisure use, you may decide full insulation isn’t necessary. If you expect to work, paint, craft or spend several hours inside during colder months, insulation becomes considerably more useful.
Insulation does not produce heat; it slows heat transfer through the building. Heating, glazing, ventilation and the construction of the floor and roof also affect comfort. If you need extended-season or year-round use, compare the full specification and explore our wider range of insulated summer houses.
Can a 14ft x 8ft Summer House Be Used as a Garden Office?
Yes. At around 112 square feet, it provides useful space for a substantial garden office. The fourteen-foot wall gives you room for a good-sized desk, shelving and cupboards, while the eight-foot depth normally allows comfortable chair movement and potential space for additional seating or another workstation.
If the building will only be used occasionally on pleasant days, a conventional timber summerhouse may be adequate. For regular year-round working, I would pay particular attention to insulation, glazing, heating, ventilation, electricity, lighting and internet connectivity alongside the basic floor dimensions.
A 14×8 Summerhouse for Hobbies, Crafts or a Studio
This is a particularly good footprint for hobbies because fourteen feet gives you substantial linear space for workbenches, desks, shelving or storage, while the eight-foot depth means you still have useful working space in front. Artists may prioritise natural light, whereas model makers, crafters or collectors might value uninterrupted wall space more.
That is why I recommend deciding how you intend to use the room before choosing the final glazing arrangement. Extra windows are not automatically an advantage if they remove wall space needed for shelving or cupboards.
Construction, Roofs, Bespoke Options and Storage
Why I Look Beyond the Photograph
After working with garden buildings since 1979, I know that two attractive-looking 14×8 summerhouses can be surprisingly different when you examine their actual construction. Photographs show style well, but they don’t tell you everything about timber quality, framing, floors, roofs, doors, glazing, or joinery.
No single specification tells the whole story either. Good cladding needs suitable framing behind it, substantial doors depend on proper joinery, and a solid floor needs adequate support. I recommend comparing the complete construction rather than assuming one impressive headline measurement automatically makes one building better than another.
Why Timber, Framing, Floors and Toughened Glass Matter
Our applicable summerhouse ranges use quality redwood timber, solid wooden floors and toughened glazing. These core parts interest me more than many decorative extras because they are part of the structure you will rely on every time you use it.
I encourage customers to inspect the details that are easy to overlook online. Feel the floor, open and close the doors, check the window joinery, and examine the framing and roof construction. Those details often tell you much more about a garden building than its paint colour or attractive photography.
Apex, Pent or Transverse 14×8 Summerhouse?
The current 14×8 selection includes different roof styles and layouts. Apex buildings offer a familiar, traditional garden-building look, while pent designs provide a cleaner single-slope profile that works particularly well in contemporary gardens. Transverse models offer another roof and frontage arrangement.
I would choose partly based on appearance and partly on the site. Consider surrounding fences and buildings, where you want the entrance, which direction you will look when sitting inside and how the glazing affects your furniture layout.
Can a 14 x 8 Summerhouse Be Made Bespoke?
Yes. Bespoke changes are available on selected buildings and may include alterations to dimensions, doors, windows, height and layout. With fourteen feet of length to work with, changing a window or door position can make a considerable difference to usable interior space.
If you already know where your sofa, desk, table, cupboards or hobby equipment will go, plan those positions first. We can then explain which models offer the flexibility you need to make the room work around you, rather than forcing your furniture around a standard design.
Can a 14ft x 8ft Summer House Include Storage?
Selected summerhouses can incorporate an additional shed or separate storage room. At about 112 square feet overall, a combination building can still provide useful leisure or working space while giving you somewhere for garden tools, furniture, bicycles, or hobby equipment.
Think carefully about how much of the building you want to devote to storage. If a combination building interests you, explore our summer houses with shed storage and compare alternative footprints if necessary.
Bases, Professional Fitting and Display Sites
A Good 14×8 Summerhouse Needs a Good Base
One piece of advice I have repeated for decades is that even the best garden building needs the right base. Your summerhouse should stand on a firm, flat and level foundation appropriate for the exact building. An unsuitable or uneven base can affect how the structure sits and may cause problems with doors and windows.
Do not prepare your foundation simply from the description “14×8”. First, obtain the manufacturer’s exact required base dimensions for your chosen model. Our summer house base guide explains the main foundation options. Our garden building services page explains additional help available.
Professional Fitting Included
Professional assembly or installation is included with the applicable 14×8 summerhouses displayed, subject to the individual model, delivery area, suitable garden access and the required prepared base. I consider this an important part of buying a substantial timber building because proper assembly is a significant job in its own right.
If your garden has narrow passageways, steps, high walls or anything else which might affect delivery and installation, please contact us before ordering. It is much easier to resolve practical questions beforehand.
See a Summerhouse Before You Buy
When I started in the garden building business in 1979, customers naturally inspected buildings before buying because there was no internet. Online research is enormously useful today, but seeing representative buildings in person is one of the best ways to judge construction and value.
You can stand on the floor, operate the doors, examine the timber and framing, look at the glazing and get a proper sense of the internal proportions. You are welcome to visit our Surrey garden building display site between Guildford, Woking and Ripley. We cannot display every model and size, so contact us first if you are travelling specifically to inspect a particular building.
Over 45 Years of Summerhouse Experience
My Garden Building Experience Goes Back to 1979
I’m Robin Antill, founder of 1st Choice Leisure Buildings. I left school at 15 and in 1979 started my own business, trading as Marina Sheds. I was involved hands-on with making, selling, delivering and supplying timber garden buildings, and that practical experience still influences the way I assess buildings today.
I sold Marina Sheds in 1990, although unfortunately I did not receive all the money I was due from the sale. It was a difficult business lesson, but it didn’t end my involvement in the garden building industry.
From Marina Sheds to Titan Garden Buildings
By 1992 we had expanded beyond traditional sheds and added summerhouses, garages, garden rooms and log cabins. Marina Sheds no longer properly described what we were doing, so that broader direction led to the name Titan Garden Buildings.
My son Craig joined me in 1992 after studying carpentry at Guildford College from 1990. His carpentry training brought practical woodworking and timber-construction knowledge into the business alongside the experience I had already gained from manufacturing, retailing and dealing directly with customers.
Why Craig and I Formed 1st Choice Leisure Buildings
We sold Titan Garden Buildings in 1998. In 2000, Craig and I decided to take a different approach. Instead of manufacturing everything ourselves and being limited to our own products, we wanted to retail carefully selected, quality garden buildings from other established manufacturers. That decision led to the formation of 1st Choice Leisure Buildings.
I still think that independence is valuable. Someone wanting an attractive 14×8 summerhouse for relaxation doesn’t necessarily need the same specification as someone planning a fully insulated garden office. Offering Platinum and Royal ranges means we can compare different solutions rather than trying to make one manufacturer’s product suitable for everyone.
Craig now runs the day-to-day business, and I support him and the team whenever needed. You can read more about my background, Craig and the development of the business on our About 1st Choice Leisure Buildings page.
What More Than 45 Years Has Taught Me About Summerhouses
The first lesson is that size alone does not define a building. Two 14ft x 8ft summer houses can occupy almost the same amount of garden while having very different timber, framing, floors, roofs, doors, glazing, insulation and overall construction.
The second lesson is to buy according to what you actually need the building to do. There is no benefit in paying for features you will never use. Still, a relatively straightforward seasonal summerhouse shouldn’t be expected to perform like a fully insulated garden room. Match the specification to the intended use.
Frequently Asked Questions About 14×8 Summerhouses
How big is a 14×8 summerhouse?
A nominal 14×8 summerhouse provides approximately 112 square feet of floor footprint, equivalent to about 10.4 square metres. Exact internal, external and required base measurements vary between buildings, so always use the manufacturer’s detailed dimensions when preparing your garden.
Is a 14ft x 8ft summer house a good size?
For many gardens, it is an excellent medium-to-large size. The 14-foot length provides substantial wall space, while the 8-foot depth accommodates conventional furniture more comfortably than narrower buildings. It can work particularly well for relaxing, hobbies, entertaining or a garden office.
Is an 8 x 14 summerhouse different from a 14 x 8 summerhouse?
Usually the terms describe the same nominal 112-square-foot footprint with the dimensions written in a different order. However, manufacturers can describe frontage and depth differently, so always check the individual building plans before preparing the site.
What can I fit inside a 14ft by 8ft summer house?
The exact arrangement depends on doors, windows and furniture, but there is normally room for substantial seating, desks, tables, shelving, storage and hobby equipment. Its proportions also allow different zones, such as relaxation at one end and a working or hobby area at the other.
Can I get a fully insulated 14×8 summerhouse?
Yes. Fully insulated choices are available in this size, including selected Platinum buildings and Royal garden rooms. Several other Platinum models also offer full insulation as an option. Compare the complete walls, floor, roof, and glazing specification based on how you intend to use the building.
Can I use a 14×8 summerhouse throughout the year?
That depends on its construction and how it is equipped. A suitably insulated building with appropriate heating, glazing, and ventilation can be much more comfortable in colder weather than a conventional seasonal summerhouse. Choose the specification based on how often and when you intend to use it.
Can I use a 14×8 summerhouse as a home office?
Yes. At around 112 square feet, it provides plenty of room for a desk, office chair, and storage, with potential space for another workstation or seating depending on the layout. For regular colder-weather use, also consider insulation, heating, glazing, ventilation, electricity and internet connectivity.
Can a 14×8 summerhouse be made bespoke?
Selected models offer bespoke options which may include alterations to dimensions, doors, windows, height and layout. If a standard model is nearly right but a door or window conflicts with your furniture plans, ask us what can be changed before ordering.
Can a 14ft x 8ft summer house include storage?
Yes. Selected designs can incorporate a separate shed or storage area. This can be useful if you want one building to provide leisure or office space alongside somewhere for garden tools, bicycles, furniture or hobby equipment.
Does a 14×8 summerhouse need a base?
Yes. A suitable firm, flat and level foundation is essential. Don’t assume the base must measure exactly fourteen feet by eight feet; confirm the exact dimensions for your building before starting foundation work.
Do I need planning permission for a 14×8 summerhouse?
Many domestic summerhouses can fall within permitted development rights, but this depends on factors including the property, overall building height, position, proximity to boundaries, garden coverage and intended use. The 14×8 footprint alone does not determine whether permission is required. Read our summerhouse planning permission guide and check with your local planning authority where appropriate.
Is fitting included with these 14×8 summer houses?
Professional fitting or assembly is included with the applicable buildings shown, subject to the individual product, delivery area, suitable garden access and the correct prepared base. Always check the individual product information for the precise fitting terms applying to your chosen summerhouse.
Advice Before Buying a 14×8 Summerhouse
My Advice Before Buying Your 14×8 Summerhouse
After working with timber garden buildings since 1979, my advice is straightforward: decide what you genuinely want the building to do, mark the 14ft x 8ft footprint out in your garden, plan your furniture and door positions, compare the actual construction and make sure the correct base is ready. A 14×8 summerhouse is a very versatile size, but the right specification depends on how you intend to use it.
Craig, the team and I are here to explain the differences rather than automatically steer you towards the most expensive building. Tell us what you want from your summerhouse, and we can help you compare Platinum and Royal choices, insulation, bespoke options, storage, bases, and professional fitting.
Robin Antill
Founder, 1st Choice Leisure Buildings
From £4931