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Glass conservatory design


Conservatory ideas and designs | House & Garden

Gardens

Whether you are hunting for conservatory design ideas, or just want to gaze longingly at glass houses, get inspired by these stylish structures.

In the past, the word ‘conservatory’ has not always conjured the most desirable images to mind. Many of us are instantly transported by it to ill-advised and out-of-character additions to otherwise beautiful houses, or to the depths of morbid suburbia, where we dread being subjected to lukewarm gin and tonics and stale conversation. In all, the imagined conservatory is not a place whose reputation necessarily brims with generosity or good cheer.

So: conservatories have a bad reputation after years of misuse, but we’re here to bring them back into the spotlight. A conservatory or greenhouse offers a way to feel like you’re experiencing the outdoors – even when the weather isn’t up to scratch – and for making the most of any sunshine on a chill winter’s day. They can be highly atmospheric, too: just imagine sitting under the glass, warm and sheltered, perhaps with a glass of wine or even a single malt, while it rains heavily outside. It’s a deeply calming experience.

Here, our deputy editor David Nicholls discusses the art of designing and decorating a conservatory with designer Guy Goodfellow.

Why you should fall back in love with the conservatory

One of the most beautiful spaces I have ever been in is an extraordinary Victorian conservatory belonging to a client in Warwickshire,’ Guy explains. ‘It was a winter garden, which we filled with tall trees and enormous, colourful parasols.’ Guy is an architectural and interior designer well versed in the language and nuance of English classicism. No stranger to projects in the country, he is the perfect sounding board for advice on making a conservatory as lovely as it ought to be. One of his all-time favourites has a starring role in the 1990 rom-com film Green Card, in which Andie MacDowell’s character’s rooftop apartment has a lush, palm-filled conservatory complete with a fountain and bamboo furniture.

'And I designed an orangery in Sussex a few years ago,’ Guy continues. ‘It has a huge French chimneypiece with a dining table that extends to seat large numbers.’ Guy loves putting fireplaces in these structures: ‘It gives focus to a room.’ (And in case you are wondering, the main differences between a conservatory and orangery are the glass-to-frame ratio and the shape of the roof.)

‘For me, the joy of decorating a house is in creating different areas, each of which has its own atmosphere,’ Guy says. A conservatory should not be thought of as just another sitting room. ‘I think they make wonderful places to dine,’ he adds. ‘You don’t have to have rattan or whatever is perceived as conservatory furniture, but it shouldn’t be filled with duplicates from another room. ’

Traditionally, these spaces were inhabited during the day rather than in the evening. All the glass can become ominously black at night, and there is increasing concern about light pollution caused by electric light beaming into the stratosphere. However, in the daytime, plenty of glass means plenty of sunlight, which was, of course, the original purpose of these rooms. If you wish to reduce the amount of light coming into a fully glazed conservatory, Guy advises caution. ‘Curtains would kill it, but you can use the lightest possible blinds. We use ‘Sang Sacre Tristan’ linen by the Irish fabric house Alton-Brooke all the time – it has the most beautiful warp and weft.’

Conservatory specialists

We've rounded up our favourite conservatory styles from our archives, so you can be inspired to set up your very own room with a view.

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Conservatory Planning & Design | Tanglewood Conservatories, Ltd.

— Process —

Tanglewood designs, engineers, manufactures and installs our beautiful conservatories worldwide.

“We believe that a beautiful conservatory begins with your vision — and your passions. However, you will use your conservatory, whatever the style that best reflects your home, whatever the materials you choose, it will be a room like no other.”

BESPOKE, adj. commissioned, made to order, as opposed to ready-made.

Your Tanglewood conservatory will be made just for you. Designed and engineered to your tastes. Custom tailored to fulfill your dreams. Built in our shop near the Chesapeake Bay from scratch, for you alone. In all the world, it will be unique. That’s what sets us apart from other conservatory makers — and your conservatory apart from all the rest.
It’s bespoke. Tanglewood bespoke.

— Corbin Gwaltney, founder and editor of The Chronicle of Higher Education
and The Chronicle of Philanthropy, Tanglewood client.

EACH TANGLEWOOD PROJECT begins with a clean sheet of paper, fresh ideas, inspiration from around the world, and YOU. 

The design of a conservatory is highly personal, so we approach each project individually. We listen. We talk.  We study the architecture of your home and we learn about you. We’ll ask many questions, such as; What do you like about your home? What would you change? What appeals to you about the idea of a conservatory? How will your new conservatory be used? 

“The design of the conservatory evolved in a rather wholistic way. It took the entire house into consideration and our home became so much more livable. ”
—

R. Wright

The answers to these simple questions become the foundation for the design of your new conservatory.

The process is interactive and collaborative. Many of our best ideas come as we work together. Our ability to create extraordinary designs that reflect your vision and the things that are important to you is our strength. If you already have an architect, we can work side by side with them. Our skill is a specialty and we bring many years of experience in conservatory design and construction to the team.

DESIGN PROCESS

Tanglewood’s unique Project Definition Process leads you through well-defined steps that assist you in making decisions regarding both design and budget. Throughout the process, we address many questions you might have, such as; How will Tanglewood work with your architect and general contractor? Can the room be used year-round? How long will it take to build the conservatory? Who will put it up?

There are often questions about heating and cooling the conservatory, about building permits and technical issues such as engineering.  

Production Drawings

Once consensus on the final design and budget is reached, we begin work on the shop drawings, or production “blueprints”. These are the detailed drawings our team uses to build your conservatory. Your general contractor will also use our shop drawings to prepare the building foundations and other site work so that we can properly install the conservatory when it arrives at your home. 

Perhaps most exciting, however, the shop drawings allow you to see your conservatory design take shape—up close. In them, you will see all the architectural features and intricate details of your dream room—from French doors to finials—and they’ll help you finalize your selections.  At this point, we review your choices of items, such as stained or bevelled art glass, shading systems, window and door hardware, speciality finishes and high-performance glass. 

With completed shop drawings in hand, we meet with you for a final review and approval. Members of your design and building team (an architect, general contractor, or designer, if you have them) are asked to participate.

As conservatory specialists, we understand that everyone on your team will look to Tanglewood for guidance. Our extensive experience in designing and building conservatories throughout the world allows us to anticipate questions and proactively assist the other professionals involved in your project. 

In our Shop

Once the shop drawings are complete and approved, Tanglewood’s production team begins to build. We hand craft and assemble the parts and pieces that will become your conservatory. Our craft team has decades of experience building custom conservatories out of wood, steel and glass.

As the work in our shop proceeds, Tanglewood team members will often visit your home to ensure that the building foundation and other site conditions have been properly prepared and to make any final adjustments.

Visiting Us

Consider this an invitation! When you visit, and we hope you will, you’ll see firsthand the numerous unique projects in progress and meet the skilled people that make up the Tanglewood team. If your conservatory is in production, you will be able to touch the parts, see the details and stand inside your future room!

Tanglewood is located on the Chesapeake Bay’s beautiful Eastern Shore and is close to the historic towns of Annapolis, Easton, and Oxford, Maryland, and the renowned Inn at Perry Cabin in St. Michaels. Steeped in the traditions of early American life, Tanglewood’s homeland offers abundant education and recreational opportunities. The area is well known for its historic sites, wildlife preserves and scenic waterways—as well as some of the finest seafood restaurants in the world. 

If a visit is not possible, we’ll keep you abreast of the progress of your conservatory. We’ll send you e-mails with photographs, and make sure you are informed every step of the way.

At Your Home

Tanglewood’s production teams build each conservatory in our workshop to ensure that it will fit perfectly when constructed at your home. Once work is finished, we disassemble and transport it to your home. Carefully packed and wrapped to avoid damage, your conservatory travels nonstop under lock and key. 

Tanglewood maintains its own teams of skilled craftspeople who travel internationally to install and service our conservatories. Often, artisans from our production facility join the installation team. Our passion for the beautiful rooms we create and the relationships we build will be evident in your finished conservatory for years to come.

“You have a fantastic, hard-working, passionate and talented group of craftsmen working for you. The conservatory is beyond our expectations and is the most beautiful building we have seen. Neighbors are walking by constantly to see the progress, which is kind of fun to see. Thanks again for all of your good work and talent.

We couldn’t be happier!”

D. Butler, Tanglewood Client

The best winter gardens and greenhouses in the house - 42 photos. Beautiful interiors and design

If you decide to create a winter garden in a private house, then we congratulate you! Whether you live in a village or a big city, you will fill your life with joyful and pleasant moments. Fill your winter garden with exotic plants, turn it into an additional living room - at any time of the year you will be in harmony with nature. Whether you're hiring builders or building your own winter garden, we've got some good tips for you.

Natural stone walls add comfort to the winter garden

Winter garden glazing

Glazing is, of course, the key to creating a winter garden. Glass must be insulated. When designing a roof, its slope plays an important role. Calculate how the sun's rays fall in winter: the roof should be at right angles to them. Then in the winter you will be able to collect all the solar heat, and in the summer you will be able to hide from the scorching sun. All year round, your garden will be maintained at an optimal, comfortable temperature.

Add a couple of fresh accents using

Furnitured Terrace as a winter garden

Winter Garden-Orange

Durability

Despite the fact that it is primarily about the southern regions from the southern regions from mild winter, yet pay attention to a very important point: cheap materials are not even considered here! Glass and moving mechanisms must be of the highest quality if you want to spend time in your conservatory all year round. Regarding the choice of materials, we recommend contacting our partners: oknafdo.ru.

Enjoy a delicious breakfast or read a wonderful book in this winter garden

Why not celebrate the New Year in the winter garden?

Winter garden decoration

Of course, the winter garden can be used to store plants in the winter. You can also make a greenhouse out of it, where you can grow your own vegetables all year round. However, let's consider the option where the interior of the winter garden resembles a living room where you can gather with the whole family, enjoy nature and fresh air at any time of the year and in any weather. In the first place - comfort and coziness! Use comfortable upholstered furniture or beautiful rattan garden furniture. Set up a comfortable table and don't forget the lamps. Thus, sockets will also come in handy for you.
Plants are without a doubt the soul of a winter garden. Fill the room with greenery. The very embodiment of comfort, round full of flowering plants, your winter garden will become an oasis where you can fill up with strength for new achievements!

Classic furniture in an aluminum winter garden

Do you think that the vine is only a summer plant? By no means!

Wonderful idea: winter garden dining room

Glazed terrace as a winter garden

If you already have a wonderful veranda or terrace where you like to spend time in good weather, why not glaze it? A small family does not need a large winter garden, a glazed veranda is enough - a calm corner with fresh air, where you can spend winter evenings.

Winter garden with protection from the scorching sun

Large winter garden with a domed structure

We publish for you photos of completely diverse, but without a doubt, the best winter gardens and greenhouses.

Cozy interior of the winter garden

Strict design of the winter garden in red-black tones

Large winter garden in a private house

Bulletin of the veranda for the winter garden
9000

Small winter garden in a brick house

Interesting design of the winter garden

Combination of different areas - dining and living room in the winter garden

Winter garden as a room where you can do what you love

Convenient kitchen on a glazed terrace

Winter Garden with a panoramic wall

Convenient construction of the winter garden

Small glazed veranda
9000

Classic elegance in dark brown tones 9000 9000 glass porch

Lounge-style conservatory

Orangery - green oasis

We have:

Winter garden design, winter garden in a cottage and apartment building

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What is a winter garden? - This is a piece of nature at home.

Some people glaze a balcony or a loggia and put tubs of ficuses and pots of flowers there; others attach winter gardens to the verandas of their country houses or glaze the walls of cottages overlooking the garden and turn such rooms into greenhouses.

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Winter garden as a fusion of science and art

Winter garden insulation

Everyone can do this. But to create a real winter garden - that corner of the house where you would really feel close to nature, planning decisions alone are not enough. We also need that design idea that would allow us to reproduce all the charm of the forest, meadow, tropical jungle in a very limited area.

How to achieve this? - With this question, we turned to our permanent consultant, landscape designer Ilona Zyablik-Kanistrova

Glazing of the roof and walls of the winter garden

Ilona: First of all, let's define what a winter garden is. This is, firstly, an insulated room in which a comfortable temperature is provided for both humans and plants.

Secondly, this is a room with maximum glazing: plants need light.

Thirdly, this is a heated room, because sunlight and multi-chamber profiles alone will not be enough to maintain heat in the winter garden.

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Types of winter gardens

Winter garden on the loggia

Based on these boundary conditions, we form the design of the winter garden in the house.

If we are talking about the design of a winter garden in an apartment in a multi-storey building, then this is most often an insulated balcony, often combined with an adjoining room. If we are talking about the design of a winter garden in a cottage, then this is, as a rule, a fully glazed veranda, with a translucent roof or several skylights; it may be a greenhouse attached to the house; it could be an attic.

Corr. : Ilona, ​​let's get closer to the body: what should be the design of the winter garden so that it really creates a feeling of a corner of nature, and not a gallery of flower pots?

The winter garden is attached to the cottage

Ilona: It is no coincidence that we are talking not just about design, but about landscape design of the winter garden. After all, a forest, a meadow, a field, a grove, a patch of jungle, any landscape is always a complex. There are large trees and undergrowth, grass, flowers, a stream, boulders scattered here and there, and old driftwood. And all this should be maximally concentrated on that piece of territory that you have allocated for the winter garden.

For a winter garden on a balcony, a loggia, a vertical layout is more suitable: bindweeds, creepers along the walls; their green carpet is criss-crossed by a few palms in tubs. The tubs are masked by low growth - for example, alpine flowers in boxes.

Designer Ilona Zyablik-Kanistrova

An artificial fountain or just a bust of Lermontov or Tvardovsky looks very good in such surroundings. Marble gizmos or marble-like trinkets tend to shimmer against a background of greenery and generally bring a sort of patina of antiquity, reassurance ...

The design of a winter garden in a cottage, where there is more space, involves the placement of vegetation on "terraces". The highest plantings are at the walls, and, further, by the steps of the amphitheater, down to the "recreation area". The classics of winter gardens is the placement of plants not in pots and tubs, but in large boxes of different heights ...

to the content about the classics, what other styles of winter gardens are in fashion? Modern? Pastoral? Constructivism?

Ilona: Design of winter gardens is far from traditional concepts. It's simpler, more natural. I would single out three styles:

"Master's estate" - vegetation of the Central Russian zone; we disguise boxes with earth as bridges, booths, dams; the central position is occupied by a pergola covered with bindweeds with a rocking chair or an ordinary bench; in the far corner - a sculpture: some kind of soaring angel, but a girl with an oar will also come down. Around are buttercups, pansies and other cornflowers. A path lined with large pebbles will look good.

Winter garden in the style of a Versailles living room

"Versailles living room" - the same thing, but more of everything. If bindweed, so that they cover the boxes from which they grow with a thick apron. Large plants - not in tubs, but in flowerpots imitating marble or other decorative stone.

If a gazebo, then with a table on bent legs. If a sculpture, then not a lonely angel, but cupids and erotes, shepherds and shepherdesses.

Walkway tiled in marble effect; hanging pots - on forged brackets; polished copper chandeliers, draperies with tapestries, etc. All this is disorderly and whimsical! And no buttercups and cornflowers - roses and tulips!

Winter garden in the style of a tropical greenhouse

"Tropical greenhouse" - these are palms, creepers and bougainvilleas. The murmur of water is a must. If the winter garden in the cottage - preferably a pool.

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