I love my conservatory

Thank you * callistemon *. Verandahs sound lovely. I always think on the deep south of america and the ladies fanning themselves in the humidity. I've watched too many films methinks

The eaves are very deep on many Australian houses, it helps to keep the houses cool, so verandas may have ceiling fans fitted, a fridge for the beer and wine, tables and chairs etc - and room for the dogs' beds!

We had an old (east facing) conservatory at a past house which led off from a spare bedroom (bungalow) which was a bit odd. It could get cold and damp during the winter and very hot in the summer but DH loved to sit there of an evening. The resourceful past owners had the windows replaced and used the old ones to create a greenhouse.

I'd love to have one again but it would have to lead off from the sitting room which faces south and I'm concerned that it would make the sitting room dark. It remains a fantasy at the moment.

Ours faces East, too. It is the width of the lounge and is just an extension to it really, with no separating doors. The whole house was very badly designed so we haven't really been able to incorporate it very well. In winter, I have the settees forming a group round the fire with their backs to the conservatory and garden and in the winter when we no longer light the fire I turn them round to face the garden. Visitors always like it, and I think we have made the best of it.

And of course it is built to regulations. This is Germany, the land of draconic building stipulations and very strict energy policies.

Our all-glass north-facing conservatory had to be demolished and rebuilt following a house fire.
It's the full width of the house and one end (backing onto the kitchen) is my utility area, the other end (backing onto the dining room) is my childminding playroom.
We've had the side walls completely bricked up which has given me a lot more room for wall cupboards each end.
We've also had a solid roof put on and a radiator installed. Previously it was too hot in the summer and too cold in the winter. Now it's perfect all year round.
We still have the full-length windows across the width of the house and double French doors to the garden so it's the best of both worlds for us.

That's sounds ideal, extra cupboard space is always useful and you still have full lengths windows

I would love to have a conservatory. We live in a split level bungalow with a balcony looking over the garden. The balcony is lovely in summer but rarely use it at other times of the year.

I would quite like to have a conservatory attached to our 'snug'. However, the house faces West (we are on the NW coast, but don't have a sea view) and it is in the shadow of the house for most of the day. My DH says that there is no point having one in this position (but then he would wouldn't he?!). Is he right?

We decided not to bother with a Conservatory on the house we live in now, as the back wall of our Dining room where there would be space for one faces North East, as gets little Sun during the winter months.
Both of our neighbours, who's house design is different to ours opted to fit one, effectively doubling their downstairs space. The Neighbours to the left of us bought a really cheap Conservatory from B&A and erected it themselves, it's now looking in a bit of a sorry state as the Glass has started to fog within the Window panels, and the seals at the base of the Polycarbonate roof have come off allowing Algae to grow inside the layers of the Polycarbonate, leaving it the colour of a swamp!
The Neighbours to our Right, bought there's made to measure from a leading national Conservatory company, professionally installed, well built and still going strong after 22years! Both Neighbours agreed though that their lounges had been made much darker inside by the Addition of the Conservatories across the only lightsource of the original Patio doors and small side window. , something that a lot of owners do not realise until the Conservatory is completed, and shopping the Clear roof for a solid one can only make the problem worse.

We have a lovely conservatory with glass roof which extends the dining room and lounge into the garden with a radiator in. I love it but just now in this freezing cold weather, it does seem to suck the heating out. If the sun shines, it soon warms up in a morning. I love just having it as part of the whole lounge at the back but I keep pondering on having the roof changed to make it warmer in winter etc. My husband says that’s a waste of money and pointless because it would make the whole back of the house darker and we love the light and sun so why block a lot of it out? I really don’t know the answer but I love it any way it is.

Our south facing conservatory is too hot in summer, and too cold in winter, despite having a radiator. When it’s easier to have tradesmen in, we are going to have the roof replaced and the top windows also as they are steamed up.

I shall miss hearing the rain drum on the roof, as it alerts me to the fact that my washing needs bringing in.

polomint

I meant to say that I envisage a house with verandah all round must be in a warmer country than here

I am in Lockdown Land i.e. Victoria, Australia. It’s ‘ orrible here again we are back to square one. Grrr.