A Victorian orangery extension can be an elegant and practical addition to your home, bringing you a place to enjoy the beauty of nature all year round; to socialise; work on hobbies, or simply relax.
The extension will have a significant visual impact on the exterior of your home, and naturally you will want to choose a design that complements, or perhaps even deliberately contrasts with the existing features. Therefore, it’s important that you carefully investigate and consider all of the possibilities.
While few of us will have the space or funds to recreate an historic orangery from one of the UK’s grandest homes, it can be instructive and enjoyable to explore these beautiful structures. Details of the layout, use, materials, colour palettes and proportions can provide you with influential ideas that may translate into your own extension.
Many of the UK’s grandest orangeries were constructed in the 18th and 19th centuries, and were status symbols as well as hothouses and social spaces, featuring intricate craftsmanship and generous proportions. They were designed to impress, and they continue to do so. Here are a few examples that you may wish to visit for inspiration.
The Kew Gardens Orangery, London
The Orangery at Kew Gardens is now an open-plan tea room and events space, and yet still retains its original sense of purpose and grandeur. It was built in the Baroque style for Queen Anne in 1704, and features high ceilings, an elegant white stone exterior, and grand arched windows with beautiful symmetrical proportions.
The high vaulted ceilings create an open and airy feel, while the tall windows afford sweeping views of the formal gardens and trees. At night time, the gardens are tastefully illuminated to highlight features such as trees, paths and shrubberies.
If you have spacious gardens to look out on, then high arched windows and a thoughtful lighting scheme for your outdoor space can be a stunning combination for your orangery.
The Chatsworth House Orangery, Derbyshire
The Chatsworth House orangery is known as the Old Glasshouse, and is a long low building with a row of ten high arched windows and decorative stone carvings across the roofline. The glazed building overlooks the magnificent 105-acre landscaped gardens, which were designed by Capability Brown and retain many of their original features. These include the Canal Pond and the Cascade. There are also several later developments, including a giant hedge maze and a redeveloped rock garden and trout stream.
The interior of the Old Glasshouse has a soft colour palette to enhance the sense of space. The long low design could be adapted to a single-storey wing of your house or a bungalow. For a unique touch, it may be possible to include some of the decorative stonework details into your traditional orangery design.
The Belton House Conservatory, Lincolnshire
The Belton House Orangery was constructed in the late 18th century, and is a real statement building that dominates the Italian gardens. The cast-iron and limestone frame allows for huge floor to ceiling windows that maximise natural light and make it the ideal growing environment for a variety of native and exotic plants.
In fact, the conservatory is still actively used to cultivate foliage today.
The National Trust website explains: “Overlooking the Italian Garden, this protective environment is home to a collection of lush foliage and exotic blooms. Californian and Kentia Palms add texture and height. Pelargoniums frame a tranquil pool, serenely overlooked by Belton’s bather statue.”
“Designed by Jeffry Wyatville in 1810 and built in 1820, Belton’s Conservatory was crafted around a cast-iron sub-frame, making it the first garden building of its type in England.”
If you are green-fingered, or just want to use your orangery to enjoy the benefits of greenery and blooms all year round, then you will surely find this an inspirational place to visit.