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tommyflan

POLL: Conservatories and garden rooms - yay or nay?

Tom Flanagan
8 years ago

Perfect for summer dining, conservatories and garden rooms blend indoor-outdoor living pretty seamlessly. But whilst many would be happy to invest in one, for others a garden is more than enough!

So, would you like a conservatory or do you think it's a bit too much fuss? Vote and tell us how you feel!

A Living Room Orangery · More Info


Yay!
Nay!
Featured Answer
  • winterfloods
    8 years ago
    Our conservatory is 15 years old and we wouldn't be without it. True, on a warm day like today in the UK, it is hot in there but it has automatic vents which help with airflow when we're not there and it's easy to open lower windows/doors to allow more air when we are at home. But it'll come back into it's own again this evening as we can sit in there all evening enjoying warmth. And on a dark evening I love to sit in there looking up at a clear sky.

    We installed underfloor heating for occasional use in winter but it was damaged when the house flooded so we added radiators later but they're only set at a level to give us a frost-free storage area for plants brought in from the garden requiring winter protection.

    It gets a lot of use as it leads off a heavily used room; very good light levels for reading in the gloomier days of the year.

    As you can see it is painted in a colour that helps to blend it into the garden scene.

    We are planning to replace the roof glazing later this year with a more up-to-date system and, if we were starting from scratch again, we might choose a more contemporary style. But this has repaid the investment tenfold.

    Comments (121)

    • PRO
      OakenStone Design Planning Build
      7 years ago

      When so many of our clients want them, how we could we not like them!

    • PRO
      Cadplan Architecture Ltd
      7 years ago

      it looks light and airy

    • PRO
      JT Home Improvement
      7 years ago

      It ultimately depends on the space and location, but the essential factor to get right is the ability to control the temperature. Don't overlook the importance of additional ambient heating underfloor, opening roof lights, insulation etc.

    • PRO
      Couture Gardens
      7 years ago

      as a landscape designer in England I find clients can enjoy their gardens from their conservatory 365 days of the year

    • PRO
      Alexandra Hollingsworth Garden Design
      7 years ago

      As a garden designer I find a garden room allows clients to grow tender plants in an environment that's somewhere between outside and indoors.

    • PRO
      Graham A.Pavey Garden & Landscape Design
      7 years ago

      It connects home and garden


    • PRO
      B G Helps - Design
      7 years ago

      This is a nice airy room addition

    • PRO
      Hegartys Home Interiors
      7 years ago

      we love this look and feel

    • PRO
      Cameron Builders
      7 years ago

      looks very good

    • PRO
      Johnsons Garden Buildings
      7 years ago
      last modified: 7 years ago

      Space could be used to greater effect

    • PRO
      The Worm that Turned
      7 years ago

      Stunned that anyone would vote no! With the right design and the right furniture https://www.worm.co.uk/categories/conservatory-furniture any room that helps bring in the outside has to be of benefit to any home.

    • PRO
      Graham A.Pavey Garden & Landscape Design
      7 years ago

      Care must be taken with positioning of a conservatory and its size. Small conservatories on a south, west or even eastern aspect can be a hot nightmare. If you get one on these aspects make it as large as you can and don't skimp on the ventilation. If you don't get it right first time it could cost a lot with blinds, additional ventilation and possibly air conditioning to correct the problems. A garden room is a lot safer.

      Once you have a conservatory or garden room then start to think of the view out. Plant some winter and spring flowering plants close by and invest some time in working out vistas.

    • PRO
      Plan-It Design
      7 years ago

      garden rooms are cool!

    • PRO
      Innoscape Ltd
      7 years ago

      As a garden designer, a conservatory can be hard to fit into a scheme if not carefully chosen. However, good collaboration with clients has produced great results and special places for viewing the new garden. We have to except that in the U.K. we occasionally need to shelter from the weather!

    • PRO
      JML Garden Rooms
      7 years ago

      Garden Rooms all the way! Having a separate, quiet, outside space away from the house is valuable in many ways and for flexible uses. Our clients use them for art studios, games rooms, home offices and gyms, cinema's, study spaces, therapy rooms....the list is endless!

      Garden Studio · More Info

      Showroom Family Multi Use Garden Room · More Info

      Garden Room Art Studio · More Info

    • PRO
      Michael Smyth Carpentry
      7 years ago

      A great way to enjoy the outdoors all year long :)

    • PRO
      Hen & Crask Edinburgh
      7 years ago

      An extra room and entertaining space!

    • PRO
      British Log Cabins
      7 years ago

      Log cabins can make a great extension for a garden room- and look very different for that wow factor!

    • PRO
      Newbridge Heating Centre
      7 years ago

      A well built conservatory can add a great space to any house and when fitted with a stove means it can be used at any time of year. Even in winter, with snow lying outside, the stove means you can be warm whilst looking out at the snow.

    • PRO
      Fairview Landscapes Ltd
      7 years ago

      This is highly dependent on the house and what you use the room for, if it is used as an extension of the garden then they are fantastic and useful all year round.

    • PRO
      Acorn Architectural
      7 years ago

      Pros and cons and will depend on owners requirements.

    • PRO
      Glenn Miller Builders Ltd
      7 years ago

      nice conservatory buti think it could be brighter

    • PRO
      P R Collins Landscapes ltd
      7 years ago

      We are for Conservatories they do link house to garden

    • PRO
      Benjamin Henry
      7 years ago

      Coming from a background of building bespoke conservatories I find that clients love to have a place to sit in the sun with lots of glass to see the beautiful views around them.

    • PRO
      Hodsel Brown
      7 years ago

      That's a definite Yay!

    • PRO
      COX Architects
      7 years ago

      Yay!

    • Tom Flanagan
      Original Author
      7 years ago

      Who doesn't love a conservatory right?

    • PRO
      IGLU contemporary design
      7 years ago

      Privacy is far better in a garden room as opposed to a conservatory attached to your home.... this is what our clients tell us.

    • PRO
      IGLU contemporary design
      7 years ago



    • PRO
      Best Heating
      7 years ago

      If you're looking for new ways to heat your conservatory check out our blog - http://www.bestheating.com/info/blog/heating-solutions-for-the-conservatory/

    • PRO
      B&R Garden Services
      7 years ago

      Garden room. Love them.

    • PRO
      Red Sky shepherds huts
      7 years ago

      We would recommend shepherds huts as a good garden room alternative.

      Red Sky shepherds huts · More Info

    • PRO
      Root One
      7 years ago

      Good idea

    • PRO
      M Squared Landscaping Specialists
      7 years ago

      Why not - somewhere else to sit and admire your garden!

    • PRO
      User
      7 years ago

      Garden rooms can bring the outside inside and can be an ideal transition between home and garden space.

    • PRO
      Designed By Chloe
      7 years ago

      Garden Rooms are a brilliant way to introduce light and the outside into your home!

    • PRO
      Liberty Garden Buildings
      7 years ago
      last modified: 7 years ago

      Summerhoues · More Info

      Who wouldn't want to work or relax here!!

    • PRO
      MS Kitchens & Bedrooms Ltd.
      7 years ago

      Stunning looking Conservatory

    • PRO
      Howle Hill Nursery Garden Design and Construction
      7 years ago

      Brilliant work!

    • PRO
      User
      7 years ago

      Just having a ceiling put in my conservatory, we use it all the time anyway but now more like a room in the house.

    • PRO
      OutdoorFurniture.ie
      7 years ago

      Check us out!

    • PRO
      Ed Shepherd Photography
      7 years ago

      We love the inside/out feel of a garden room bringing in lots of light throughout the year and extending a house out into the garden.

    • PRO
      Green Home Builder Uk Ltd
      7 years ago

      With materials used now like smart glass conservatories really are great for all year round use .

    • PRO
      GladeKirk Ltd
      7 years ago

      Garden Rooms brilliant conservatories not so good.


    • User
      7 years ago

      garden rooms - definitely!

    • Debs
      7 years ago

      I inherited a conservatory when I moved to my current house. I was thrilled with an extra room off the kitchen. I have a south facing garden and soon found out that the conservatory's temperature rose to 40 + degrees in the summer, and faded everything, and we had to move a tv and Wii box as they were being fried. In the winter it was too cold to use. The spring days were ok, but would never purchase one. I have recently removed it and am in the process of having a brick extension built. Absolutely no idea why anyone would buy a conservatory!


    • PRO
      Green Home Builder Uk Ltd
      7 years ago
      Debs you might want to think about using smart glass system in your conservatory it's possible to have a unit you can use all year round with the right glass used if you need information or help please get in touch .
    • PRO
      Canmore Design
      5 months ago

      I never understood why people don't build their conservatory for year round use. It's all about light and heat control. Automatic sun reflective shades along the roof windows will keep the room from overheating in the summer and even help keep it warm in the winter. Proper wall and ceiling insulation, double or gas permeated triple glazing will keep it comfortable year around with the right heating. Add a wee wood stove in a corner with a simply pipe chimney and you have yourself a lovely winter sun room to brighten your cold winter days. If you live where there is snow, even better. It'll feel like a wee slice of paradise.

    • PRO
      Upholstered.Solutions
      5 months ago

      Definitely!

    • PRO
      Bespoke Glazing Design
      5 months ago

      So many of our clients love them.



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