Working from home in a log cabin in summer is mostly good, with one caveat.

Let’s get straight to the caveat. The heat of the sun’s rays! My log cabin is a small home office; thats’s how I designed it and that’s how I wanted it. The cabin is cosier in winter and fits better into the gardenscape. It has a lower roof than standard with a reduced height door.

The small size and low roof of the cabin, combined with the double glazed door and windows mean that as soon as the sun comes out the cabin acts like a green house with temperatures inside soaring. On overcast days (in the UK we get our share of these) the temperature in the cabin is fine. And in winter the warming effect of the sun on the glazing is a great benefit.

However, the heat in the cabin when the summer sun is out gets to be a little uncomfortable. One way to alleviate this is to fit blackout roller blinds on the windows and doors. This deflects some of the sun’s heat and gives less glare when working at a computer screen inside.

A good tip is to fit blinds that are around one inch wider than the glazed area of the windows of the cabin; this will make working inside more comfortable as less direct sunlight will penetrate. Also, choose tilt and turn windows. These windows are great for controlling the air circulating inside the log cabin; you can open them on the tilt and get the breeze.

Fit a Cabin Hook to the Log Cabin Door

In summer you can, of course, have the log cabin door wide open. To stop it banging in the wind fit a cabin hook and eye to a post. Drill pilot holes into the cabin door and put a drop of sealant into the pilot holes prior to screwing on the cabin hook to prevent water ingress into the untreated wood.

I guess if we had a really hot summer you could get a desk fan or oscillating fan for the log cabin. Or why not go the whole hog and fit an air-conditioning unit? When it gets that hot in the log cabin though, that’s surely a signal to stop working and go outside and enjoy the summer!