Conservatories- Naff?

sarahcyn, agree with you - as soon as some 'interior design expert' or social media influencer decides something is the new trend, everyone jumps on the bandwagon and before you know it, they're all redecorating or redesigning their houses. In addition to what you've mentioned, there's the 'everything grey' or silver trend - with sparkles and glitter everywhere, and crushed velvet!
Oh and don't get me started on artificial grass...

Industrial type lamps - don’t like, none here.
Glass balustrades - inherited, never again with a dog, otherwise not so much work needed.
Wet room showers - ours is downstairs, no problem, love it. Wouldn’t have one I had to step up to - trip hazard.
Decking - no way. Never.
Fake grass ditto.

Well I’ll tell you some very fashionable things which are going to be the height of naff in 20 years:
Having a row of at least half a dozen “industrial” looking lamps over your dining table.
Glass balustrades. Clearly not designed by anyone who ever does housework.
“Wet room” showers. When the allegedly impermeable membrane eventually becomes permeable, you’re going to gave to tear the whole thing out.
Decking (already past its peak)
And above all - that anti-environmental, soil-killing, wildlife-starving abomination that is fake grass.
Why pick on the dear old conservatory - no planning permission, not too costly, and a lovely place for indoor plants?

Who decides these trends? Bifold doors have their own problems. Extreme heat or cold unless fitted with expensive glass and patios are great when the weather is good. A conservatory can be used in almost all weathers including rainy day as the rain patters onto the roof. Trends go out of fashion and come back another time like avocado bathrooms (one shown in the Times recently as the 'new' trend!) In the meantime they could be called orangeries perhaps although the latter do have walls I think.

Gordon Bennett! 😁

pigsmayfly, a lightweight solid roof certainly evens the temperature variations in a conservatory. We’ve noticed a considerable difference. We no longer get extremes of temperature. Either that or ceiling blinds for summer but they won’t help in the winter.

Ps its a grotto at Christmas,
Decorated for easter,
At Halloween a haunted houses.

Mine is only a wee conservatory.
But how I love it.
South west facing, so lots of sun from lunchtime onwards.
As long as there is sun, there is warmth through out the year.
I have a small fake log burner to to switch on during the cold months.

We have an apple tree in view with bird feeders and a couple of squirrels that visit , occasional a grouse and quite soon, we will probably have a couple of ducks.

The blossom is out on our Cherrytrees and spring has sprung all around our garden.

Sit and chill or read a book listen to some music or radio 4 all in natural light.

Blinds for warm weather, but would rather open door and
windows.

All our family like to sit ìn there also, watching children and dog run around the garden.

#MrsCinnaffconsevatory.com 😛

We love our conservatory. It’s an extra room for the house and great to sit in and relax. I don’t care if it’s considered naff. I think most of us are of an age where we have seen fashions and ideas come and go and do not worry about “experts” telling us what we should have and do. If you have a conservatory and like it then great. If don’t have a conservatory and don’t want one, well that is fine too.

I just love ours. I had severe depression a few years ago and I spent hours and days and months in it. I could see and feel part of the outside world- well the back garden,flowers, birds etc, yet not be seen. Was my saviour. Since then, as money has become available, we have replaced it with a larger one with underfloor heating, two sets of double doors out into garden, leather sofas, pleated blinds and recently added a tiled roof . Its my favourite room in the house. To each their own I guess

My South facing conservatory is off the kitchen, so on warm days, I leave the connecting doors open and find the north facing kitchen much warmer.
The conservatory windows open and double doors lead outside. In addition I have a ceiling fan/light in there to circulate the air.
In fact, the weather is so awful here, I’m going to pour a glass of Mr Harvey’s finest and take it and my latest Ann Cleeves book in there for a couple of hours.

Love mine, we live in it most of the year and it acts as a big radiator making the house warmer in spring and autumn and on sunny winter days. It spans the back of the house with a sliding door into the sitting room and double doors into the office. I overwinter plants in it, we have a big old sofa and three IKEA comfy chairs so plenty of room for family to sit out here when they are over, my big old farmhouse table which can seat 10 is in one half so a great place for parties and there is a patio outside and great views of my garden which I love and the church beyond. It is south facing but has skylights and seven big opening windows on the sides so easy to get airflow when it's hot. It sold the house to us and I love watching the birds on the feeders and in the evening, especially if a meteor show is due, lying on the sofa watching the stars, the most used room in our house

How do you get over the too hot in summer, too cold in winter aspect? Genuine question.

62Granny

I bought ours because it had a conservatory😂 with lovely views onto fields . It was the view that grabbed me as soon as I seen it . If it hadn't been there the bungalow would have seemed a lot smaller.

Precisely.

Ours is lovely, fantastic view, space, light - makes our old home bigger, brighter, we have room for little children to play. We have a table/chairs - we eat some meals there, or use it as a large gathering serving spot.

I love ours - leads off the kitchen and acts as an all year round dining space. Very sociable when we have people round. Always full of chilli plants, sour Orange plants and makrut limes etc at one side, and a glass roof. Now showing signs of age as we have had it twenty years and I would never trust Anglian again as it was quite a saga when they built it. And we now have a issue with the box guttering.

But, I wouldn’t be without it . It filled up an L shaped space between two house walls so did not encroach much into the garden.

I’m in my sixties and do not wear crimplene and have banned Elasticated trousers as too easy to put on weight!

I bought ours because it had a conservatory😂 with lovely views onto fields . It was the view that grabbed me as soon as I seen it . If it hadn't been there the bungalow would have seemed a lot smaller.

Germanshepherdsmum

That’s nice. I would call it an orangery or a garden room. Nothing like those plastic offerings from Anglian.

Maybe we'll change out and call it "the orangery" - no, too much, little children would run round looking for oranges!

That’s nice. I would call it an orangery or a garden room. Nothing like those plastic offerings from Anglian.

My husband engineered ours to fit the style of our Victorian stone cottage. The roof is same material as our home. Wood comes 2 feet up the sides, rest is white windows. Heating/ cooling and existing fireplace chimney. We needed space. Fantastic.

Much like the picture. Runs the length of our home, different footprint.

images.app.goo.gl/Qeb98Qh8g8T4wYQEA

Veranda image

Very good Elegran !!!

When I look around the hall at U3A meetings, I don't see crimplene trousers or shampoo and sets. I see rather nice jackets, some puffa style, felt coats and colourful hats but I guess the younger generation think we look our age and wouldn't be seen dead in any of these outfits.
I looked out for conservatories on my bus trip down to Peebles yesterday but saw none. There was an occasional porch.

Has anyone mentioned verandas? I rather like the look of those.

I wouldn't worry, as you obviously are not thinking of selling your house right now.

If you do get round to it, conservatories may well be back in fashion, or yours so old and run down that you decide to pull it down before putting the house up for sale.

Meanwhile enjoy your house and conservatory!

When the house-owners added that out-of-date conservatory shown on Rightmove, they were probably young with an expanding family and a contracting bank account, wore mini-skirts and if they had no car they were able to carry several bags of shopping home on a crowded bus and/or up a hill. Their shampoo and set was normal hairstyle for that era.

In recent years they bought a shopping trolley to cart their groceries home and several pairs of fleecy jogging trousers - so much warmer than crimplene - and found someone to do their hair at home in an easy-to-keep casual style. Now they have sadly died and their children are selling the convenient bungalow (no stairs for her arthritic knees) with the sun-trap conservatory where Mum spent so much of her last years tending her plants and using her I-pad to contact her far-flung family and put in her order to Tesco.

I am old, being 72, but I don’t act old. I don’t have to like things that I associate with old people, such as the bolt-on conservatory with plastic windows furnished with wicker chairs and pot plants, beige crimplene slacks, a shopping trolley and a shampoo and set, do I?

Whitewavemark2

Germanshepherdsmum

No, deadly serious. I’m keeping my eye on Rightmove atm and every ‘single storey residence’ (I refuse to use the B word) has an effing conservatory! Nooooo!

Yes - you might not like them and I have no opinion about that but how are they identified with older folk.

Although honestly if I think about it - in the scheme of things does it matter? So I’ve now lost interest in that so don’t waste your time replying ☺️

Deliberately rude and offensive. Perhaps GSM doesn’t plan on getting old?

Our last house had a very useful conservatory that we used as a dining room/reading area/play area and it worked well for us, particularly when we looked after young grandchildren twice a week.