Sauna entryway in order

8 stylish cottage sauna entrances—sauna room decorating ideas for a functional changing room

Storage benches and long coat racks make perfect additions to the changing room of your sauna cottage. These sauna room decorating ideas also incorporate old wooden benches and DIY shelves and countertops that can double as serving tables.

Author Anna Aromaa

Images A-lehdet Photo Archive, Manufacturers

January 20, 2025Lue suomeksi

To ensure your sauna’s changing room is easy and enjoyable to use, it’s essential to think about good storage solutions. An L-shaped storage bench, which can be constructed from birch plywood and planks, optimizes a narrow changing space. A bench with a lid conveniently serves as both seating and a surface to put items on. A sturdy old wooden bench is also a good option.

Above the bench is a great spot for more storage space: a wall cabinet about 60 centimeters high is ideal for sauna changing room storage solutions. You can then install a long wooden coat rack on the opposite wall for hanging towels and clothes.

Alternatively, you could build a floor-to-ceiling cabinet frame at the end of the changing room to complement functional sauna bench seating, and replace the cabinet doors with linen or cotton curtains hung from a ceiling rail.

1. Cozy atmosphere

The changing room of an old sauna building, featuring green log walls

The walls of the changing room in this old sauna building are painted green with interior paint. A good choice for these kind of solid log walls is an ecological log and panel paint, such as Coloria. The L-shaped bench is built from old logs. During summer, you can replace the sheepskins with custom-cut foam cushions and sew removable linen or cotton covers for them.

2. Multi-purpose space

There’s storage space under the lid of the sturdy box bed

Carpenter Taito Koponen crafted this custom guest bed from boards and finger panels. The lid of the sturdy box bed conceals storage space. The thick mattress is covered in Marimekko’s ‘Kurjenpolvi’ fabric. The ‘Stockholm’ mirror makes the changing room feel more spacious.

3. Rustic and relaxed

Blue-gray towels in a changing room with log walls

Individual hooks work better on a textured log wall than a continuous coat rack. The blue-gray towels complement the colors of the impressive log wall.

4. Weathered surfaces

Wooden bench, pine-paneled walls and floors in the changing room

Pine-paneled walls and floors only improve with age. The bench is built on a sturdy wooden bed frame topped with a pine surface. The old bench provides a handy spot for placing items on. The round rug is an excellent choice for this square-shaped changing room.

5. Small but airy

A wall-to-wall built-in countertop installed in a compact sauna entrance

This compact sauna entrance features a wall-to-wall built-in countertop. The gray door frames blend in with the gray-stained plank floor. A stain that highlights the wood’s grain, such as Tikkurila’s Parketti-Ässä, works well for this purpose.

6. Repurposed

A white-painted paneled changing room with a tub hanging on the coat rack

This small washroom was revitalized by painting the brown wall panels and ceiling white. The zinc basin hanging on the old coat rack doubles as a bathtub for little children. The upside-down barrel makes for a clever tabletop.

7. Dark ambiance

Black paneling makes a bold statement in the changing room. You can achieve a similar look with Cello’s pre-finished finger paneling. The old wooden coat rack painted black seamlessly blends into the matching wall. The old dresser got a fresh update with wooden handles.

8. Lightly furnished

A narrow, white changing room with folding furniture

The narrow changing room of this new lakeside sauna features convenient folding furniture that’s easy to carry outside for cooling off. You can replace individual wall hooks with a wall-to-wall wooden coat rack, which you can build yourself. The gray plank floor adds substance to the white sauna cottage.