What are common uses for a conservatory? We look at the many ways you can use your conservatory including as a guest bedroom, a dining room, a games room or a home office.
Whatever you choose to use your conservatory for, ensure that it is properly insulated. Follow the link at the bottom of this article for insulated conservatory roof panels.
What Are Common Uses For A Conservatory?
Fitting a conservatory to your existing home is a fantastic way to introduce a versatile space you can use for almost anything. Whether you need extra living space for entertaining guests or want somewhere to watch the seasons transition in comfort, conservatories offer a wealth of options for homeowners.
They are also far more cost-effective in terms of space and easy to install concerning planning permission, building regulations and listed building consent, compared to glazed extensions and other home modifications for period properties. Watching the snowfall in your garden from the warmth of your main house before spring rolls in and brings the flowers out of hiding is all possible for classic conservatory owners.
But they are not only useful for relaxing in, and there are many ways homeowners can use their conservatories to improve their home life in any way that suits them. From additional dining space to a relaxing lounge area, indoor gardens and greenhouses to games rooms, there are practically no limits to what you can use your conservatory for.
Still, with so many options, it can sometimes be daunting for homeowners to choose exactly what they want to use their conservatory space for. That is why we've compiled a list of some of the most common uses of a conservatory.
Ways to Use Your Conservatory
Again, it's usual to feel a little overwhelmed when deciding what to do with your new conservatory, and not everyone will have definite ideas when they choose to install one. They provide a fantastically cost-effective way to improve the usable space in your home, and you don't need a specific use in mind when you purchase one.
There are few home alterations that marry so perfectly the ability to build extra space so affordably, especially when compared to brick extensions. And with all that extra room, there's no limit to what you can do with your conservatory once it's up and running. So, this is our list of the potential uses you might find for your new conservatory.
These are popular uses most people will find for their conservatory space, and they may not all be to everyone's tastes. However, our aim here is to provide some inspiration for those who are struggling to fill the empty room with something more useful or enjoyable.
Some will be happy just relaxing in the living space, while others with families may want to use it as a games room or something more practical. Whatever your wants or needs, these are our popular choices for ways to use your new conservatory.
An Extra Guest Bedroom
This may be outside of the box, but using your new conservatory as an extra bedroom for guests is a great way to make use of more space. Whether you want to use your conservatory as a full-time bedroom with permanent fixtures or disguise it with a sofa bed, the choice is yours.
Naturally, this won't work for everyone, and there may be no need if you don't have guests staying over all that often, but it offers a practical way to use your conservatory space. Of course, if you're going to turn your conservatory into a bedroom, you'll want to consider making extra arrangements.
Things such as ensuring adequate security and furnishings for those staying in the bedroom to be comfortable. Having heavy enough blinds to keep out the early morning sunlight and appropriate heating arrangements are also necessary for conservatory bedrooms.
A Games Room
Families or young couples with children might consider turning their new conservatory into a games room. This is the perfect way to create a usable space for your family that saves the rest of your home for other uses. Rather than having televisions and game consoles in the living room or bedrooms, placing them in a dedicated games room is the best way to separate the different areas of your home. A conservatory is great for creating a games room for adults too.
Whether you host regular dinner parties and want to create a space for party games or have regular card game nights, bespoke conservatories offer a versatile space that can accommodate any games the big kids might want to play. It may also make an ideal space for a home gym. In addition to having a designated area to play, a games room also offers aesthetic possibilities for homeowners.
Whether you want to kit your conservatory out in a particular style to suit your games nights or your children would like a Star Wars or Avengers-themed games room, the options are all there for you.
Kitchen extension
Conservatories can also serve as an effective kitchen extension or utility room, offering dramatic window vistas and glass doors to provide a flowing feeling to your cooking and dining area.
The additional space provided by the conservatory is also ideal when hosting large parties to accommodate guests. There is also a wealth of decoration options for conservatory kitchens allowing you to add attractive features to your current existing property if you wish.
A Dining Room
Not everyone is fortunate enough to have an existing dining room in their home, but with a new conservatory, you can easily turn this into the perfect dining space for you, your family and guests.
Conservatory dining rooms are increasingly popular since they allow dining out without having to worry about the wind and the rain. Depending on how large your conservatory will be, you may be able to combine a dining area and a living area together.
Alternatively, you can focus on the dining table to make it the real focal point of your new space. Extendable tables are the perfect choice if you plan on hosting plenty of dinner parties.
The flexibility means you can use it for both small family dinners or large gatherings, ensuring you have enough seating for everyone. If your conservatory can't accommodate permanent fixtures, fold-away table and chair designs are a great solution, allowing you to use the conservatory space outside even when you aren't dining.
Garden room
When it comes to transitional spaces between your home and garden, none are better suited to this purpose than conservatory extensions. The large glass panels allow you to look out into your garden from the comfort of your home, and with the doors left open, you have a free route into the beauty of the outdoors.
Complimenting the transition with natural materials, such as stone floors, soft floral furnishings and wood grain details, can provide a fantastic stylistic choice.
A Greenhouse
Unlike traditional greenhouses, conservatories allow for more accurate temperature control, meaning you can grow a wider variety of fruits and vegetables in them. For those of you with green thumbs, conservatories are the perfect space to grow plants since they can get all the natural light they need without outside risks such as pests or bad weather. A conservatory is the best alternative if you don't have a regular greenhouse.
Alongside being the perfect place for your fruit and veg, a conservatory allows you to relax in the space you'd otherwise be without in a cramped greenhouse. You can spend hours in the company of your favourite foliage, unwinding in the wholesome atmosphere of your conservatory. With a new conservatory, there's no need to brave the harsh UK weather to prune your plants or collect food.
Everything is in the controlled environment of the indoors, which you'll be thankful for during the colder months. You can grow almost anything you like in a conservatory, with avid gardeners often favouring strawberries or tomatoes. One thing to bear in mind is temperature control. While you'll easily be able to prevent heat loss in the winter, keeping them cooler in the summer is another matter.
Since most conservatories are built with glass roofs and sides, warm summer sunlight can quickly raise the temperature to uncomfortable levels. However, a simple set of blinds can block out any overwhelming sunlight, providing an easy solution and potentially saving your plants.
A Storage Room
Storage space is a common issue for many homeowners. Even if you have a spare room or loft conversion where you can store unused items, many homeowners find that this doesn't provide enough storage room. A new conservatory is an affordable alternative that gives you heaps of storage space.
Conservatories offer the perfect place to store items you aren't using because they are hidden away at your home's rear. With the right shelving or hidden storage furniture, you can easily keep unused things out of the way in an organised fashion.
Anything from coffee tables to footstools and cupboards can provide great storage spaces for you to place everything in your conservatory.
A Perfect Place To Relax
While the correct blinds will help guard your conservatory against too much direct sunlight, the floor-to-ceiling glass of your conservatory also provides a great way to connect with your garden and relax as you survey your own private little kingdom. With relaxation in mind, make sure the furniture you choose for your conservatory allows you to do just that.
Whicker is a popular choice for conservatory furniture, but if you'd prefer a recliner chair or something plush with a footstool, the choice is yours. Whatever makes you feel comfortable and allows you to enjoy the scenery is best. After all, it's your space, and it should help you relax in the best ways you know how. Underfloor heating is also a possibility with modern conservatory designs. You might consider lighting a few scented candles and piling your furniture with blankets and pillows for a truly relaxing atmosphere.
This way, you might even consider spending a night under the stars in your new conservatory when the mood takes you. So long as you don't have any neighbours overlooking your garden, that is. But even if you do, the right blind arrangements should provide adequate privacy for you to enjoy using your conservatory however you wish.
Family room
Conservatories also offer a more interesting place to spend time with your family.
While most families make their living rooms the comfortable place they choose to unwind together at the end of the day, with a few comfy sofas and a TV, your conservatory can also act as a lounging space to decompress. These conservatory ideas and ways to use a conservatory go to show just how versatile they are as a separate space in your home.
A Home Office
With more of us choosing to work from home, you may not have a dedicated space to do your work, but this is easily solved by installing a conservatory.
Again, this is a far more cost-effective method of providing yourself with a new workspace compared to a full brick extension. When it comes to choosing the right conservatory style, Edwardian conservatories are typically the best choice for home offices and period property owners.
This is because they have square floor plans, meaning your office furniture is more likely to fit properly. Sunlight is another factor to consider. You don't want blaring light flooding through your conservatory, creating glare on your computer screen, and preventing you from doing your work.
Therefore, adequate blinds are another necessity for a home office in your conservatory. With the right configuration, you can easily manage the brightness in your conservatory, so it is a perfect working environment. Besides the brightness, you also want to have appropriate temperature control when working in your conservatory office.
It can get very hot in the summer and very cold in the winter in a conservatory, so if you are working the year round, you'll need to have the right temperature control system in place. Something as simple as a plug-in heater or wall radiator will usually be enough to keep your conservatory comfortable.
Breakfast room
There's no better way to start the day than enjoying breakfast as the light pours in through your windows. The ease with which sunlight can pour into a conservatory provides homeowners with the perfect place to take their breakfast.
Again, with the right interior decoration, you can make your conservatory a comfortable and inviting place to start your day right.
A Children's Playroom
Couples with young children or large families will find turning their conservatory into a games room the ideal solution to having toys strewn throughout their home. Providing your children with a dedicated play area with access to your garden will help keep things more organised in the rest of your home while allowing your children to play and explore in safety. When the summer months roll in, your children can venture outside with all their toys within reach.
This is the perfect affordable solution for mums and dads if you don't have enough room for a permanent playroom in the rest of your period home. Again, keeping all the toys in one place can be a nightmare for young families, but with a dedicated space for playtime, parents can save their living rooms or other rooms in the home for themselves.
Creating this separation can help keep things organised and relaxed for everyone in the home. Alongside having a place to play, a new conservatory also offers extra storage space for all the toys and games in your home. Therefore, when you have guests over, you can bundle it all in the conservatory out of sight. For an even more seamless look, furniture with hidden storage capacity can keep every neat and tidy in your new games room. This also affords you more decorative choices for your conservatory, being both practical and aesthetically pleasing.
We hope this article about common uses for a conservatory has inspired you to make use of your conservatory in a new way. Whatever you choose to use your conservatory for, ensure that it is properly insulated.
Are you considering conservatory insulation? We offer professional insulated conservatory roof panels for domestic and commercial conservatories throughout the UK.
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