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Inside conservatory ideas


8 Conservatory Interior Ideas to Create a Stunning Space

(Image credit: Simon Maxwell)

Conservatory interior ideas are often overlooked — whilst our social media accounts are filled with gorgeous images of dramatic living rooms, newly decorated bedrooms and bold bathrooms, conservatories rarely feature. These interior spaces are not always given the proper amount of attention to detail that they require. 

From family sitting areas and children's playrooms, to dining rooms with views of the garden, conservatories can fulfil all sorts of functions. And they have come a long way from rooms of the past that are either too hot or too cold. As such, spending time researching conservatory ideas, and considering how you will style and decorate the space will impact how often it is inhabited. 

Take a look through our expert interior design suggestions and stylish real home examples to find out where to start.

Conservatory Interior Ideas

While it may be tempting when looking at new conservatory interior ideas to include the latest trends, investing in timeless materials and fixtures will be worth your while, while soft furnishings and furniture can be adapted to suit changing styles.

"Interior design trends are good to look at in order to be inspired by what is happening around you, they can influence design but we don’t believe in when designing a space going by a trend. The trend will end and you’ll have to wait 20 years for your home to be en vogue again," advises interior designer Ana Engelhorn . 

"Interior design is a creative outlet that all homeowners love indulging in," continues Lisa Morton, director at Vale Garden Houses . "We have seen a continued love for the traditional soft colours which we are known for, but also a rise in individuality and the use of focal colours and wallpaper in orangeries and conservatories. 

"Neutral tones, which harmonise with the outdoors have been key. Making our interiors feel like we are at one with nature," she says.

1. Let Nature Inspire the Interior of a Small Conservatory

(Image credit: Annie Sloan)

Conservatories are light and bright spaces by design, and provide a connection between the home and the garden beyond. Take that one step further in small timber conservatories by letting the wood become a part of the interior design. 

Oak frame conservatories work particularly well with this style, but other timber structures can also bring a certain charm and natural feel to conservatory interiors, as this petit garden room goes to show. 

Natural and reclaimed materials, like the stone dwarf wall and the tile flooring, further inject an identity that makes the space an interesting and inviting place in which to entertain. 

2. Choose the Right Lighting for a Conservatory Interior

(Image credit: Paul Raeside)

A well-considered lighting scheme is key part of a conservatory's decor. The merits of different conservatory lighting ideas will depend on the function the space performs in the home. 

For a garden-facing dining room, low-hung pendant lighting can look particularly effective at night, but for a family snug room, dimmable downlights will be a better option. 

This narrow conservatory lets the spotlights take a back-seat in the interior design during the sunny daytime, but allows interesting features, such as the beams and windows to be highlighted once night falls.  

(Image credit: Vale Garden Houses)

Flooring makes a large impact on how we perceive a room, and how it functions on a practical level, so take this into consideration when designing the interiors of a conservatory. 

Many feel as though conservatories are a temporary space adjacent to a home so are reluctant to invest in the flooring in the same way as the 'main house'. However, it's best to install durable and long-lasting materials, where possible.

"Conservatory flooring ideas and trends have remained in the classic stone corner, maybe as a reflection of our love of natural elements," comments Vale Garden Houses' Lisa Morton. "Limestone is a particular favourite with its natural warmth and qualities working especially well with underfloor heating. 

"When paired up with our Victorian-esque floor grills the look is timeless, with a contemporary edge. The cast iron floor grills have increasingly been supplied as a decorative feature, but can also be supplied as a heat duct which can be connected to the house heating system. "

4. Add a Splash of Colour to a Conservatory Interior

(Image credit: James Balston)

"We love using colour and natural building materials. Although, natural building materials are always usually brown, grey, black and neutral tones, which is why we love including dashes of colour to awaken your emotions a bit," explains Ana Engelhorn, who designed the interiors of the deep purple conservatory dining area pictured.

While a conservatory interior doesn't need to be filled with a strong colour, using the 'built' elements of the structure to influence the interior design of a conservatory is a fantastic idea. 

This could be something as simple as creating a feature of the house's exterior wall, or painting the dwarf wall under windows. If the structure is made of timber this can also be a canvas on which to inject a little personality into these notoriously washed-out spaces. 

5. Use Blinds to Introduce Pattern — and Useful Shade

(Image credit: Future)

A long-standing complaint of conservatories is that there is rarely a time when they can be inhabited comfortably — they're always either too hot or too cold.  

So, take inspiration from great sunroom ideas (they have solid roofs where conservatories are all glass) and try to include shading elements in a conservatory's interior design. This will help to prevent overheating and, if you purchase insulating blinds or curtains, will help to retain warmth in the winter. 

Plus, extra interior elements such as blinds and curtains are a way of introducing texture, visual interest and colour in a non-permanent way to a conservatory interior, so they can be swapped out if your tastes change. 

6. Create a Space for All Seasons

(Image credit: Future)

Smart interior design can further make a conservatory a space to be used all year round. 

Use neutral colours to create a pared-back backdrop for the views towards the garden in the summer but, in a similar way to glass box extension ideas, when winter comes around be sure to create a separate focal point, like a stove, that will draw the eye. 

If you're thinking of replacing a conservatory with an extension, this is all the more pertinent to get right to create a welcoming space.  

7. Use Texture for a Homely Conservatory Interior 

(Image credit: Future)

A great way to make a conservatory interior feel more homely is to play with textures around the room — from rugs and blankets, to timber internal cladding and interesting flooring. 

"A conservatory made out of glass is usually quite hard looking — including soft furnishings makes the room much more balanced and homely," explains interior design Ana Engelhorn. "We believe this philosophy works in all rooms of the home. Always try to find the right balance for the look you are trying to achieve."

This bright conservatory utilises the existing brick wall of the house to create a contrast for the sitting area. Durable and dark flagstone flooring is contrasted with light-colours furniture while plants scattered around the room provide further texture to the interior. 

8. Solve Interior Issues by Looking at the Structure

(Image credit: Brent Darby Photography)

Damp, draughts and cracks are unfortunately a common thing in older and less structurally considered conservatories. Although looking at interior design will help, until these issues are solved, a splash of paint can only go so far. 

"Building anew is sometimes necessary for the homeowner, the existing building may have been poorly designed originally; resulting in a lack of space or poor flow," explains Lisa Morton of Vale Garden Houses. "But the main problems which can arise from old conservatories is the linkage between the original building and the additional building. If poorly connected the join will leak, and damp and heat loss may occur." 

Addressing these issues first will be key to transforming a conservatory interior.

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Assistant Editor Amy began working for Homebuilding & Renovating in 2018. She has an interest in sustainable building methods and always has her eye on the latest design ideas. Amy has interviewed countless self builders, renovators and extenders about their experiences for Homebuilding & Renovating magazine. She is currently renovating a mid-century home, together with her partner, on a DIY basis, and has recently fitted her own kitchen.

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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Mussorgsky at the Mussorgsky Conservatory

Ekaterinburg hosted the central event in a series of events with which the Ural Conservatory celebrated its 85th anniversary. Mussorgsky's Sorochinsky Fair was staged here - the last opera of the great composer, whose name, by the way, the university bears, is extremely rare. It is also symbolic that 40 years ago the Conservatory Opera Studio launched the Sorochinskaya Fair: another anniversary reason to return to the score with a dramatic fate. And, of course, a chance to arrange a kind of parade of achievements of the Ural opera school, which has something to be proud of. It is enough to look at the resumes of many leading soloists and conductors of musical theaters in Russia and the world - we will see the line “graduated from the Ural Conservatory” there.

In fact, the Sorochinskaya Fair is just what the doctor ordered for the student scene. For "Boris Godunov", especially for "Khovanshchina", grandiose staging resources are needed, especially choral ones. Even the capital's conservatories do not have such. "Sorochinsky Fair" is much more modest in terms of performing staff - but it is also a difficult nut to crack. The composer did not have time to put an end to the composition: almost the entire final, third act remained in the sketches. So every stage director will have to decide: which of the numerous editions (Cui, Lyadov, etc.) to choose. The Urals settled on the version of the musicologist Pavel Lamm, who restored the clavier of the third act, and the composer Vissarion Shebalin, who brought this blank to the full score.

But the main thing is to enter the very structure of the composer's musical thought at the time of its peak, when there was an almost complete rejection of traditional operatic forms. The orchestra under the baton of Sergei Tsaregorodtsev showed the fidelity of penetration into this style already in the introduction entitled "A Hot Day in Little Russia" and representing, of course, the development of the idea of ​​"Dawn on the Moscow River" from "Khovanshchina". Only here there is even more plein air and sun, and there is absolutely no gloomy doom that makes up the dominant image of that folk musical drama. Perhaps, in the very first moments, I felt a certain lack of sound mass - one must understand that the orchestra pit of a small training stage is simply not able to accommodate a complete symphonic composition with all its attributes. So, in the current version, the tuba had to be abandoned - however, the classical score always has a margin of safety, and with the appropriate return of the players, it will be possible to compensate for the flaw, speaking in Suvorov's way, not by number, but by skill. This is how the Urals began to play, and until the end I never once caught myself feeling the lack of density of the sound atmosphere. Moreover, what a variety of colors, from the gentle airiness of the opening bars to the harsh brass and hellishly laughing woodwinds in the scene of Gritsko's dream, for which Mussorgsky reworked his symphonic painting "Night on Bald Mountain"!

I understand that it is problematic to recruit soloists for such difficult parts only from students. But here the directors turned a potential weakness into an advantage - by the decision to invite to the performance not only those who are studying now, but also those to whom the conservatory has already given a ticket to the big stages. So, the soloist of the Musical Theater of the Yekaterinburg Children's Philharmonic Alexei Glukhov (Kum), the soloist of the Sverdlovsk Philharmonic Alexei Petrov (Gypsy and Chernobog) confirmed their high vocal and acting class. The picaresque charm of his sweet-voiced hero was conveyed by the soloist of the local Musical Comedy Vladimir Fomin (Afanasy Ivanovich).

But the real core of the performance was the couple Garry Agadzhanyan (Cherevik) - Nadezhda Babintseva (Khivrya). Here, on the versatility of the characters (powerfulness and fearfulness, severity and coquetry), on the richness of the parties (it seems Mussorgsky loves these heroes more than others, having written the most magnificent solos and dialogues for them), the highest skill of both artists was superimposed. Agadzhanyan, with whom I managed to talk a little later, is right: the bass flourishes after forty, and I remember how several years ago his Alfonso in the performance of the Perm Opera “All Women Do This” seemed a hair short of the charisma of this image of a clever intriguer and pimp. Today, in the role of Father Parasi, 42-year-old Harry demonstrated both the thick richness of the timbre, and the enormous richness of emotional colors, and the exact flair not just for the Russian operatic word, but for the Little Russian flavor unmistakably modeled in it. But Harry is from Yerevan, and in a normal situation, the Armenian accent in his speech, although light, is noticeable. On the stage - acting virtuosity, which I dare to compare, well, for example, with the phenomenal gift of reincarnation from Armen Dzhigarkhanyan!

As for Nadezhda Babintseva, the owner of the Golden Mask, she only confirmed for me her high class, which I know from her various roles, from Joanna d'Arc in Tchaikovsky's Maid of Orleans at the Bashkir Opera to the Nazi Liza in "The Passenger" by Weinberg and Masha in "Three Sisters" by Eötvös on her native stage of the Ural Opera. Moreover, for Nadezhda (also according to her confession), this is almost the first experience of entering the “age” role, when you have to not so much whip up your temperament as, on the contrary, moderate it - in order to play a solid woman, but, by the way, with such a woman’s demon inside that looks out for a minute - any Carmen will not seem small.

A few representatives of today's student tribe among the soloists, Diana Belozor (Parasya) and Andrey Denisov (Grytsko), looked nice next to the masters. And we tried - this is with a guarantee, and I hope that in the future Diana will be able to give real accuracy to her intonation, and Andrey's voice - to gain the necessary sound power.

Well, conductor Sergei Tsaregorodtsev assured me; the stage which we observed at the present performance was full of future potential performers of all the parties named. So far, these student vocalists have been assigned to the stage choir, but during the academic year they will definitely perform as soloists as well.

I'll take this opportunity to say a kind word about choirmaster Vladimir Zavadsky, together with his pupils - students of the choir department, this time making up that choir in the gallery, which effectively expanded the sound space in the already mentioned scene of Gritsko's dream.

In general, the production of the Urals, with all the understandable limited resources, is just a performance, with quite atmospheric scenery and simply luxurious ethnic costumes by Daria Bochkareva.

One more detail needs to be mentioned: Mussorgsky is not only present in the hall through the music he composed, but also ... goes on stage personally. The roots of this personalization, director-producer Pavel Koblik admitted to me, were back in 1980s, when he was an assistant trainee at GITIS with Georgy Ansimov. Even then I was struck by how seriously ill Mussorgsky found the strength in himself to saturate the score with so much light, love, humor in his last composition? So the idea was born - to bring a figure on stage without singing in the very image that Repin captured in the famous dying portrait of Modest Petrovich. Among the Urals, the composer (performed by Alexander Gurvich) first lies on a hospital bed in silence measured only by the dry sounds of a metronome, but gradually the space around him (in fact, in his imagination) begins to fill with music and action. Sometimes he himself is included in it, not even shying away from help in rearranging the scenery, and in the nightmare scene, as if brushing aside the upcoming visions. At the end, it freezes completely, when the last chord of his last opera falls silent, and only the metronome of eternity remains.

The Sorochinskaya Fair is the seventeenth work of the opera studio over the past fifteen years. Five of these productions are operas that have never been performed in the region before. Four performances were awarded the Boris Pokrovsky STD Prize of Russia, two - a diploma of the same name. Four were awarded by the governor of the Sverdlovsk region, the same number were awarded for governor's grants won in tenders. These are Rossini's The Barber of Seville, Rachmaninov's Francesca da Rimini, White Nights by Yekaterinburg composer Yevgeny Karmazin, and now Sorochinskaya Fair.

The plans for the current season include Don Pasquale, La bohème, Tosca, the revival of Eugene Onegin, The Dawns Here Are Quiet for the anniversary of the Victory.

And in the future, it seems to me, it is quite realistic to offer the "Sorochinsky Fair" to the poster of the All-Russian festival "See the Music", in which student groups have recently taken part.

Film of the Moscow Conservatory "Organ Symphony" will be shown in St. Petersburg

Film of the Moscow Conservatory "Organ Symphony"
will be shown in St. Petersburg

The first feature film of the Moscow State P.I. Tchaikovsky's "Organ Symphony" will be shown in six cities of Russia. Two screenings in St. Petersburg as part of the KARO.Art program will take place on October 24 and 25 at 18:00 at KARO 9 Warsaw Express (118, Obvodny Canal Embankment (Varshavsky Express shopping mall).
Viewers will see an extended version of the painting for the first time dedicated to the historical organ of the Great Hall of the Conservatory, the latest creation of the great French master Aristide Cavaillé-Coll, based on the unique filming of the restoration of the instrument, which took place in 2014-2016. 0003

On October 25, after the screening, there will be a discussion of the film with the director and scriptwriter Sergey Uvarov , organist, head of the organ and harpsichord department of the St. Petersburg State Rimsky-Korsakov Conservatory, Honored Artist of Russia Daniel Zaretsky and organist, teacher of the Moscow Conservatory, editor-in-chief of the journal Organ Salons Marina Voinova .

Tickets

https://karofilm.ru/art/film/6481

Movie trailers (720p):
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1dYuIwIRuudcpsFkb9YGj6ABrJAQX16u4/view?usp=sharing 6 https ://drive.google.com/file/d/1V08FNqTrcGlin-WR-n87j_qqQctn45lF/view?usp=sharing

Movie stills + posters
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1AJQfZO3YkciZEJe4n9QhJeewg05g

Movie information

Main character
The organ of the Great Hall of the Conservatory is one of the oldest and largest organs in Russia. In addition, this is the last concert organ of Aristide Cavaille-Coll surviving in the world. All other active instruments of this master are in churches (including the organ of the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris).
The organ for the Great Hall was built in 1899 and first sounded in 1900 at the World Exhibition in Paris. There he won the Gold Medal and the Grand Prix. After that, the instrument was transported to Moscow, where it was installed in the newly built Great Hall. Thus, 2020 is an anniversary year for the instrument: 120 years since the first sound in public.

Creators
"Organ Symphony" is the first feature film produced by the Moscow Conservatory and received a distribution certificate from the Ministry of Culture. Almost all of its creators studied or work at the conservatory.
Director, screenwriter and editor of the picture - graduate of the Moscow Conservatory, candidate of art history Sergei Uvarov;
Producers - professors, doctors of art history, honored artists of the Russian Federation Alexander Sokolov and Marina Karasyova;
Operator - Anton Solovyov;
Composer - graduate of the Moscow Conservatory, laureate of international competitions Denis Pisarevsky;
Co-author of the script, scientific consultant and one of the characters in the film is Natalia Malina, the chief curator of the BZK organ.
Head of the Department of the History of Foreign Music of the Moscow Conservatory, Professor, Doctor of Arts Mikhail Saponov reads the voice-over text;
Sound engineer - Igor Solovyov.

Shooting
Work on the film began even before the start of restoration. The first shots taken inside the organ date back to the summer of 2014. In December of the same year, a meeting of the Organ Restoration Commission was held on the stage of the Great Hall, which approved the restoration plan. From that moment until the first concert after the completion of the restoration (December 2016), the film crew recorded all the most important and revealing moments: dismantling, removal of organ parts, fixing the facade pipes, regluing the bellows, returning parts (April 2016).
Never before in Russia has the restoration of an organ, especially such a large and significant one, been recorded on video.

Music
Music plays an important role in the film. In addition to Charles-Marie Widor's Toccata, sounding twice (in the author's recording of 1932 and performed by Konstantin Volostnov, recorded live at the first organ concert after the restoration of the instrument), the compositions of the composer and organist, laureate of international competitions Denis Pisarevsky are used in the picture. One of them - "Symphony for Organ" in five parts - was created by him in 2009year. The author recorded this composition on the organ of the Great Hall in 2017, it was one of the first studio recordings on the restored organ. Another work - "At the Event Horizon" for the ensemble - the composer created specifically for the film. The recording was made in the Great Hall of the Conservatory by the Mixtum Compositum ensemble conducted by Sergei Akimov.

Idea and genre
The film is a genre hybrid — a combination of documentary and musical films with elements of video art and even feature films. Historical chronicle and new shooting alternate with full-fledged musical numbers, intra-frame narration - with off-screen comments and an imaginary dialogue of observers.
The form of the picture is built according to musical laws: the narration is divided into two acts, includes an overture and an interlude, and some visual images develop according to the principles of a leitmotif system.
The purpose of complex sound-visual counterpoint (S. Eisenstein's term) is not just to tell objective information about the organ, but to present an emotional artistic view of the instrument and its history; to show the organ as an amazing living organism that can breathe, sleep, suffer and, of course, “speak” with the viewer.

Participation in festivals and special screenings
The festival premiere of the film took place in August 2019 in Vyborg as part of the official program of one of the largest Russian film festivals Window to Europe. On September 16 of the same year, the Moscow premiere took place in the Great Hall of the Conservatory. On November 14, the film was shown at the State Hermitage Museum as part of the St. Petersburg International Cultural Forum, and on November 27 at the Sound59 contemporary music festival(Permian). On February 13, 2020, a show was held at the Museum of Moscow as part of a series organized by the Organ Salons magazine. The painting is also included in the program of the Diaghilev Arts Festival 2021.

Selected publications in the media
Stories from the filmmakers in Organ Salons magazine (No. 2, 2019)
https://indd.adobe.com/view/bae7d39c-b06f-4b16-8fe5-83f42d512bf8 9005

Review in the Musical Life magazine (No. 9 for 2019)
http://muzlifemagazine.ru/transformaciya-velikolepiya/

Interview of the chief organ master of the Conservatory Natalya Malina in the Musical Life magazine (No. 11, 2019)
http://muzlifemagazine.ru/natalya-malina-u-organa-drugaya-cena-zv/

Overview of cultural events on the Kultura TV channel (release dated September 16, 2019)
https://tvkultura.ru/article/show/article_id/350067/

Material about the filming of the Organ Symphony for the iXBT.com portal
https://www.

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