Conservatory ideas – 12 wonderful ways to boost light and space

Looking for conservatory ideas? Our love affair with conservatories can be traced back to the botany-mad Victorians, who would retire to their ‘glasshouses’ to cultivate rare and exotic plants.

Since those days, design, technology and engineering have come a long way, making the once-traditional conservatory one of most flexible rooms in the modern-day home. Efficient heating and air conditioning systems, plus heat-control glass and insulated window treatments ensure the space is comfortable year round, making a conservatory suitable for a home office, play room, dining room, or to use as a relaxed living space.

Here, we bring you conservatory ideas, both traditional and modern.

If you are looking for home addition ideas with a view of the garden but a deep connection to the house, a conservatory should be high on your list. Careful styling and clever color choices can transform a conservatory into a true restful retreat from which to enjoy the glorious garden views. 

‘This space boasts super large double doors on both the rear and side aspects that ease out into the garden for a harmonious indoor/outdoor lifestyle,’ says James Upton, Managing Director and Designer of Westbury Garden Rooms.

If adding a conservatory would require planning a home addition, consider adapting shed ideas or a greenhouse to your needs instead. 

While most people use their greenhouses for horticultural reasons, as you would expect, many are using their greenhouses in a more multifaceted way introducing living, relaxation, dining and lifestyle elements into their greenhouse or garden room use. The same goes with sheds.

While these spaces may be too warm for some, you do have the added benefit of being able to set your greenhouse right in the middle of your backyard or garden, so you can feel fully enveloped by nature.

Many house styles lend themselves naturally to classic white conservatories. These white frames not only look beautiful from the outside, they help bounce light around. While uPVC frames were popular for many years, painted wood is becoming a stronger choice. 

‘Traditional sustainable hardwoods are recommended,’ says Mark Wild, designer at Malbrook. ‘New ultra efficient eco glass specs will also future proof the new extension to add value to any home.’ Add further interest with decorative frames, such as gothic arches. 

Why have one conservatory when you can fit two? Double up on your conservatory ideas by building two styles to achieve the best of both worlds. In this elegant project, there is a classical orangery on one side, incorporating full panel sliding sash windows within a framework of decorative pilasters and entablature. 

‘The main orangery provides a living room from which to enjoy spectacular views of the garden. Adjacent is a more solid construction housing sliding doors and a roof lantern, which provides a formal room for dining,’ says Lisa Morton, Director, Vale. 

Oak conservatories are a wonderful choice, especially for homes in the country. ‘Oak has been used for construction for centuries due to its remarkable beauty, strength and durability,’ notes Jonathan Stackhouse, Planning Manager at Prime Oak. 

‘A timeless material that matures gracefully over time that also offers a sustainable eco-friendly solution, designed to be enjoyed for lifetimes to come. Today oak still provides unrivalled quality and a well-maintained oak building would add value to any property, regardless of its age. To help maintain and keep the building looking new, we recommend an oil based waterproof coating, usually to be reapplied 1-2 times a year, as required.’

A conservatory is the original room with a view, so it makes an excellent choice for a home addition in a panoramic setting.

'This room was intended for dining, housing  greenery and gazing out at beautiful Lake Geneva,' says Evan Cohoe of Conservatory Craftsmen, about this Minnesota home. 'This is technically an orangery. In the summer the plants live on the patio terrace. In the winter the plants are pushed in. This is the way the Victorians used orangeries also.'

Historic homes can often benefit from the addition of a light enhancing conservatory, as they often feature small windows resulting in dark rooms, but ensure you are careful.

 ‘A successful orangery design on a period home should not over-dominate the appearance of the existing building but be visually subservient to it,’ says Jonathan Stackhouse, Planning Manager, Prime Oak. ‘Oak framing utilizes traditional construction and carpentry methods which local authority planners often welcome in period settings.’ 

This project from Julius Bahn also carefully matched the new roof to the existing roof tiles in order to blend harmoniously with the existing home.

One of the most common reasons to build a conservatory is to boost the amount of light that enters a home, and exactly how much extra light you want will depend on the intended use of the space. 

‘Orangeries with roof lights are ideal for kitchens as they provide a controlled amount of light through the roof and an opportunity to focus this above a kitchen island or dining table; whereas a conservatory, with its typically fully glazed roof will be the ideal design for plants to thrive,’ notes Karen Bell, Sales Director at David Salisbury.

Adding blinds into your conservatory not only adds an extra splash of beauty to the space, but will also help the space to be as functional as possible. 

‘As your conservatory is likely to be the brightest room in the house, you’ll need blinds that adequately cut out enough sunlight to ensure the room is habitable in summer and on those blindingly sunny winter days too,’ says Leah Aspinall, Head of Design at Blinds 2go.

‘Another consideration is the heat. As conservatories tend to be mostly glass, they can get extremely hot in the summer months and cold in winter without adequate window coverage,' she says.

From modern box to traditional conservatory, a glass-walled addition will boost your living space, brighten your home and provide a greater connection between indoors and out.

There is now a huge variety of high performance glass available, designed to improve energy efficiency and control solar glare. The type of structure and direction in which it faces will dictate what type of glass is most appropriate. ‘A north-facing conservatory will have a different glass requirement to a southwest-facing one, simply because it is exposed to less direct sunlight,’ says Lee Vaughan, managing director of Breckenridge Conservatories.

A conservatory doesn't have to be an addition, it can also be a freestanding structure. Building a conservatory out in the garden allows it to double as a potting shed or greenhouse. 

The defining feature of a conservatory paints this option as a bit of an add-on as opposed to integral part of the building. A conservatory should have a lockable door to the main house and not share heating and plumbing services. But most conservatory specialists are happy to build conservatory-style extensions that flow with the main house and which have connected services that can support a kitchen, and certainly a comfortable living, dining or office area.

'Years ago, homeowners simply had a conservatory bolted to the back of their homes as sunrooms for use during warm weather,' says Paul Schofield, Apropos' technical sales manager. ‘These days, conservatories and other glass-heavy home additions are a fully-integrated part of the home thanks to improved thermal ratings, so homeowners can use and enjoy them all-year round.' 

Conservatory structures are usually made of uPVC, wood or aluminum, with all three available in a huge range of colors.' The choice is mainly aesthetic,' adds Paul, ‘although aluminum is particularly strong, yet light and is also resistant to corrosion, unlike wood which will require maintenance.'