Summer house

A summer house or summerhouse has traditionally referred to a building or shelter used for relaxation in warm weather. This would often take the form of a small, roofed building on the grounds of a larger one, but could also be built in a garden or park, often designed to provide cool shady places of relaxation or retreat from the summer heat.

It can also refer to a second residence, usually located in the country, that provides a cool and relaxing home to live during the summer, such as a vacation property.

In Scandinavia

Especially in Scandinavia, sommerhus/sommarhus is applied to summer residences (as a second home), which rather than simple shelters can be larger dwellings such as cottages.

Sommerhus (in Swedish: sommarstuga or lantställe), in Norwegian hytte, is the term used in the Scandinavian countries to describe the popular holiday homes or summer cottages which are often located near the sea but can also be in attractive areas of the countryside. Most of them are timber constructions, often suitable for year-round use. Increasingly they have additions such as saunas, heating ovens, fireplaces or attractive gardens. Increasingly, English speakers call them summerhouses. A Swedish "sommarstuga" is traditionally painted with a special red colour called "falu rödfärg and has white trimmed corners, windows and doors."