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Enhance your home with a versatile conservatory Advice from
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Create a relaxed vibe with casual seating and a cheerful rug that’s incredibly soft underfoot. Suitable for indoor and outdoor use, the reversible Halsey rug has the look and feel of wool yet is made from easycare PET yarns and won’t fade in sunlight. From £119, The Rug Seller
Warmer to walk on than ceramic or stone, this Meadow Green vinyl flooring is waterproof, slip-proof and suitable for underfloor heating. Priced at £49.99 per sq metre, Harvey Maria
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This fully glazed bespoke conservatory, by David Salisbury, is a welcome addition to a beautiful but rather dark period home
Such is the attention to detail in matching up brickwork in this Edwardian conservatory, from Stormclad, that it blends in seamlessly with the original house
ENHANCE YOUR HOME WITH A VERSATILE CONSERVATORY
Install a new conservatory or upgrade an existing one to let light flood in and add value to your home
well-designed, properly insulated conservatory adds value to your home, giving you extra space that’ s cool in summer, warm in winter and offers uninterrupted
Aviews of the garden. Incorporating one into an open-plan kitchen extension is a great idea, or you could use the extra space as a home office. If, on the other hand, your conservatory is tired but structurally sound, why not revive it with a new roof?
STARTING FROM SCRATCH
Work out where your conservatory will go – though, unless your house is particularly wide or has plenty of clearance all round, there’s probably only one obvious place – and which way it will face, so you know when the sun will hit it. You ’ll need to decide whether to separate it from the existing building with external patio doors, or to knock the exterior wall through. Think about whether you want a fully glazed structure with glass walls and ceiling, or an orangery with a lantern roof and sections of brick instead of wall-to-wall glass. Another option is a sunroom, which typically has an opaque roof so looks more like an extension than an add-on. An average conservatory takes about a month to install, including preparing the base.
CosyPanels tiled replacement roofs are long-lasting and highly thermally efficient, preventing extremes of temperature inside your conservatory. Starting at around £6,000, All Seasons Roof
Extend your living space and get closer to nature by installing a contemporary wintergarden with slim rafters and glazing strips, and wide bi-fold doors. Solarlux Wintergarden, from £2,500 per sq m, Thames Valley Window Company
A lean-to conservatory, complete with bi-fold doors and an Ultraroof – a lightweight but incredibly strong tiled roof with full-length glazing panels – throws natural light into every corner of this kitchen extension, by Ultraframe
Save a substantial sum by buying a kit conservatory to assemble yourself, or take over after a builder’s constructed the base and walls. At Conservatoryland, flatpack designs start at £4,280, with the opportunity to customise elements such as the windows and doors
‘When discussing roof options with your installer, consider the following: elevation of the conservatory (is it north- or south-facing?); ultraviolet rays reduction; solar heat rejection; visible glare reduction; insulation and ventilation. All of these factors contribute to your overall s a ys ... Our exp e r tcomfort levels so that your conservatory can be used in all seasons. Some Insulating Glass Units (IGUs) can lead to heat build-up, but choosing specialised solar-control panels will reduce that problem. ’ James Lee, Communications Director at Myglazing.com
ST YLES AND MATERIALS
Victorian and Edwardian designs with pitched, crested roofs suit most houses, and contemporary, angular conservatories with sloping roofs and sliding or bi-fold doors bring wowfactor to period homes. Along with the style, the frame material will have the biggest impact on the overall look. Timber is most suitable for older properties and, if pre-painted or pretreated, won’t need maintenance for up to 10 years. Long-lasting aluminium is a great choice for a modern conservatory as it’s strong enough to support large glazing panels, while uPVC is more affordable though less streamlined. For a seamless join with the house, try to match glazing bars, brickwork and rendering as far as possible.
UPDATING A TIRED SUNROOM
Upgrading the roof, windows or doors of your sunroom is much cheaper than buying a whole new one, helping to eliminate draughts, leaks and cracks associated with old glass or polycarbonate roofs. Alternatives to full glazing include a lantern – a lightweight solid roof, with or without skylights, or one that’s tiled with portions of glazing. Your installer will advise you on whether extra support, such as rafters, is needed. In terms of glazing, modern double-glazed windows increase energy efficiency and can be fitted with low-emissivity glass to reduce heat loss, while solar-control glass regulates both temperature and glare – perfect for a south- or south west-facing conservatory that’s prone to overheating.
TREND FORECAST
Biophilic design – a desire to connect with nature and bring the outside in – is a strong trend in conservatory interiors. Think unfussy, Scandinavianinspired furniture, accessories in pale, neutral shades to maximise light, and the introduction of more adventurous plants. ‘The pandemic has altered attitudes on what our homes mean to us. We’re becoming more aware of the connection between our surroundings and our wellbeing, ’ explains Karen Bell, Creative Director at David Salisbury, a conservatory and orangery designer and manufacturer. ‘A conservatory with a significant proportion of glazing is a great way to blur the lines between indoors and outdoors, bringing in natural light and extending views. ’
Fill your conservatory with plants and watch them thrive from the comfort of cosy rattan seating. Westbourne set, comprising a sofa, two armchairs and coffee table, £1,299, Dobbies
An essential feature in an orangery, a roof lantern is eye catching from the outside and allows you to gaze up to the heavens above. Orangeries are priced from £1,800 per sq m, Thames Valley Window Company
If you’re worried about being overlooked by neighbours, a sunroom featuring a solid roof fitted with skylights is a practical alternative to all-over glass
The DuoLight Top Down/Bottom Up thermal blind is made of hollow pleats that create an insulating barrier. Its dual-cord system lets you raise the blind from the bottom, lower it from the top, or float it anywhere in the window, from £30.55, Blinds 2go
COSTS AND RED TAPE
Most conservatories won’t need planning permission unless it’s a listed building, in a conservation area, or the structure is very big or close to your property ’s boundary. Apply for building regulations approval if the conservatory is larger than 30 sq m, or if you ’re building a new opening into the house, installing new plumbing or replacing a translucent roof with a solid one. When finding an installer, get recommendations from previous clients and ask for detailed, written quotes. According to ratedpeople.com, a small uPVC conservatory costs around £10,000 including installation. New roofs start at about £4,500, and you ’ll pay £30,000+ for a larger timber or aluminium-framed conservatory.
WHAT TO BEAR IN MIND
Conservatories are bright, versatile and often more cost-effective to build than other types of extensions, but they ’re not for everyone, so it’s important to recognise their drawbacks as well as their benefits. Lack of privacy can be a major issue if your home’s overlooked by neighbouring houses, so go for a solid rather than a glazed roof, a dwarf wall instead of full-height glazing and add blinds or shutters, which also help to block out strong sun. Even when fitted with solar-control glass, a conservatory can get extremely hot in summer, so include opening windows, roof vents and an electric fan to improve air circulation. Likewise, adequate heating – underfloor, portable or radiators – is vital for year-round use.
USEFUL CONTACTS
•Visit labcfrontdoor.co.uk for practical tips on all aspects of building or upgrading a conservatory • Myglazing.com is a comprehensive consumer advice website run by trade authority, the Glass and Glazing Federation • Pilkington.com gives the lowdown on different types of glass and their suitability • Find an approved local installer for a conservatory, orangery or replacement roof at ultraframeconservatories.co.uk
beer work-life balance
Ria’s space does double duty as a dining room and home office
Ria’s more productive now that she is surrounded by the sights and sounds of nature as she works
The dining room table in the multi-tasking conservatory now doubles up as desk. The rattan egg chair, a freebie find on Facebook Marketplace, gives views of the garden a fresh perspective
An entire wall of the L-shaped conservatory, inherited from the previous owner, opens up onto the large raised deck via bi-fold doors
One of the few complaints about the conservatory is that it isn’t quite warm enough in winter – a problem that’s solved by cranking up the heating in the adjacent room
A spacious uPVC-framed, east-facing conservatory was a big selling point for Ria Roe and her husband, Dion, when they bought their 1960s house in a Derbyshire village. ‘The previous owner was a conservatory installer and built it himself, ’ says Ria, an administrator. ‘It opens out from both the living room and the kitchen, and is raised above ground level with dry storage underneath, all-over glazing and bi-fold doors leading onto a timber deck. It was in absolutely perfect condition – all we’ ve had to do is clear the gutters. ’
Ria and Dion decided to use the space as a dining room, and bought an extending table from Oakfurnitureland and three chandeliers from Dunelm to hang above it. ‘We always ate in the conservatory as it’s so nice to sit and look out at the garden and the green fields beyond, and last year I decided to set up my office in here as well, ’ continues Ria. ‘I’d been commuting into Leicester but, after my son Harley was born, my employer asked if I wanted to work from home to save on travelling time, which was ideal. To start with I worked in the spare room, but it was dark and didn’t feel quite right, so I moved down into the conservatory. We live in a rural area surrounded by trees and wanted to create the feeling of working outside, without actually being outdoors, ’ Ria adds.
‘All the windows open up for fresh air, and it really feels like I am outside with nature. I’m much happier working in here – I love the sunshine and hearing the sound of rain on the roof, and it’s the perfect viewpoint to watch Harley playing outside when he gets a bit older. We still eat in here all the time and, when I’ ve finished for the day, I pack up my laptop and screen into a box which goes under the stairs. ’
Ria was so pleased with her new office set-up that she entered Wickes’ first ever Home Office Awards, and was recently judged by TV property experts Phil Spencer and Ben Hillman to be one of five shortlisted winners. ‘Now all I need to do is update the conservatory with new flooring and possibly underfloor heating – I’m planning to put the vouchers I received as a prize towards it!’ she says.
