Johanna’s garden room dream started coming true at an auction: “All is well at the summerhouse”

“Whenever my friends step inside the garden room, they often take photos and remark on how beautifully it’s decorated. Sometimes I have olive trees, herbs, or summer flowers on display. In winter, when we enjoy mulled wine there, I bring out the sheepskins.

I enjoy decorating the garden summerhouse and coming up with different table settings. I often host dinner parties there, because I feel summer is all about eating and grilling outdoors. In the summerhouse, you can be outside while staying protected from mosquitoes and rain.

Johanna often tells friends who attend running events that auctions give her the same kind of adrenaline rush. She found the windows, which formed the basis for the summerhouse’s design, at an auction.

Johanna enjoys decorating the summerhouse for all kinds of occasions.

I spent a long time dreaming of building a summerhouse in the garden. Over a decade ago, at an auction, I came across some old windows and instantly knew they’d be perfect for my project. I asked my father for help, since he had also helped build our house. He drew up a plan for the summerhouse around those windows.

We wanted the back wall to be solid, so it would offer privacy and shade. On scorching days, we spend a lot of time by the adjacent swimming pool. When it’s really hot, it’s nice to have lunch in the summerhouse, because it’s cooler inside.

I built the summerhouse with my husband and my father. I went to a glass shop for the panes and had to watch YouTube tutorials to install them with old-fashioned putty. At one point, I remember saying that if I had known how much work it would be, I might never have started. Now, I’m so glad I did.

Johanna loves giving old items new life. She turned an old electric ceiling lamp into a candle chandelier. She believes creating the summerhouse herself was worth the effort, because there’s nothing else quite like it.

According to Johanna, her family finds it amusing how she often has to pick up her furniture discoveries from the most unexpected places. She once had to retrieve a firewood box from a tiny attic with no ladder after finding it on a buy-and-sell page.

Johanna dreams of extending the room’s use from early spring to late autumn.

Construction on the garden room began a year after we found the windows, and it took the entire summer to finish. We worked on it whenever we had the time, and we didn’t rush furnishing the interior either. The first time we spent an evening there was on the last weekend of August.

In addition to the windows, many of the room’s furnishings are items I’ve repurposed. I’ve always loved old furniture and decorating with it. I remember going to an auction with my grandmother when I was little. I bought a chair for my room and painted it blue. My color palette has changed since then, but my passion for decorating has remained.

Almost all the furniture in the summerhouse was found at auctions or on buy-and-sell sites. My family jokes that I always end up picking up pieces in far-off places, but once we get them home, they agree it was a great find. When I spot a piece of furniture, I see its potential right away and know exactly where I want it. Whenever I buy something, I already have the perfect spot in mind.

Some of the most memorable moments in the summerhouse have been the times we’ve gathered there with friends. Our Midsummer parties and late-summer crayfish parties have been truly unforgettable.

The garden room is my place of calm. Our main house is quite large, so it’s wonderful to go somewhere smaller, where there isn’t a pile of dirty laundry or dishes behind the wall. When I’m in the summerhouse, there’s nothing to stress about—all is well. I also love being close to nature. In that moment, I can truly relax.

I’m still dreaming of adding a small wood-burning stove, so we could use the summerhouse even longer each year.”