Orangeries
31st March 2015
More and more people are choosing to have orangeries, a different take on the traditional conservatory or a standard extension to your home. They are usually made from a mixture of brick or stone base, followed by a wooden framed structure with glass mounted panels and tend to be finished with a roof lantern. They offer great additional living space and add that conservatory style light to your home.
Browsing through home magazines can give you plenty of inspiration for your dream orangery. Choosing the right style to be in keeping with your home and deciding what you want from it and how to furnish it. Some people choose to use an orangery like a conservatory or garden room, whereas others build it as their main living or kitchen area. The image above is from theenglishglasshouse.co.uk and we think the blend from inside out works beautifully.
The above is the work of westburygardenrooms.com in Essex who designed, manufactured and supplied the above for a customer based in Dorset. The orangery was designed to create a comfortable yet spacious sitting room whilst connecting the kitchen with the garden. The result is a beautifully functional family room which has become the focal point of the home and the large windows and fully glazed French doors allow you to enjoy the garden.
An orangery is usually a bespoke build, tailored specifically to your needs and allowing you to choose everything from scratch, from flooring, paints, fabrics, furnishings. Whilst this is an exciting proposition it also means lots of decision making and we hope you can take some inspiration from the following projects and ideas.
Choosing your flooring;
The choices are vast, wood, stone, porcelain to name a few but you want something practical as well as beautiful. Remember your orangery is the room that goes straight into the garden so choosing something to cope with wet and muddy feet or paws is a sensible choice. Wood or Stone keep with the natural feel and our number one choice would be the Umbrian Limestone; the sage grey/green, earthy tones will complement the garden colours and with natural light flooding in will bring a contrast to an otherwise bright space. It’s hugely practical and can be used externally as well should you wish to continue to a patio area.
Lighting
With natural light from the roof lantern is it unnecessary to overdo it with lighting. However soft lamps or wall lights work well and we love the selection on offer at Urban Cottage industries; http://www.urbancottageindustries.com/factorylux/retro-antique-lighting/wall-lights/maria-wall-vintage-adjustable-light-retro-silver
Fabric
Sanderson offer a beautiful range of fabrics and wallpapers and we love the Natural Weave Carron Fabric, aptly named grass.
Above is a small selection of ideas on interior choices for your orangery. You could get lost scouring the internet, pinning ideas and reading home magazines.
Auburn Hill offer some great tips on things to consider before proceeding with an orangery; http://ahorangeries.co.uk/blog/165-5-things-you-have-to-know-before-buying-an-orangery-prices-style-more and right move offer a useful tool to use for inspiration, http://www.rightmove.co.uk/home-ideas/orangery.html
