Despite often being the room furthest from the front door, conservatories tend to be the most forward-facing room in the house, being the primary place to entertain guests, have dinner and enjoy the garden, come rain or shine.
Whilst a conservatory can and often is used primarily for dining, entertainment or as a small orangery that integrates plants into an indoor environment, the versatility of a conservatory is often underappreciated, as the right conservatory can be used for almost any purpose.
Perhaps the one with the most caveats, however, is using a conservatory as an extra bedroom.
Typically, if an extra bedroom is needed, the most popular choice is to build an extension to add extra rooms, but that is not always an option for every home, especially if you are already running low on permitted development space or can only get planning permission for a conservatory in your area after consulting your local planning authority.
It can also be useful if you already have a beautiful conservatory but need a place for guests to stay, either on a temporary or permanent basis.
It is always helpful to have options, and it can be useful as a source of revenue as an extra room to let out, or as a place for new members of the family.
Given that any space can be turned into a de facto bedroom by adding somewhere to sleep, it is clearly not a stretch to say that conservatories can be turned into bedrooms too.
However, there are some considerations to bear in mind with your conservatory bedroom, either before you build it or in the process of making a substantial conversion.
Heat And Insulation
A huge factor to bear in mind when it comes to conservatories is that older conservatory designs were not necessarily designed with insulation and heat management in mind.
This is manageable as a place to entertain, eat dinner and generally spend a very small amount of time in, but if you plan to sleep, work and spend considerable amounts of time there, then it may be worth making some adjustments to make the conservatory comfortable all year round.
If you have a solid roof, that is a serious benefit, but that is not always an option, so make sure to have UV-resistant layers on the glass on your roof, as well as roof blinds, as these can help reduce the intrusion of heat and light into your space.
Add either underfloor heating or an electric heater as well, to ensure the room is warm enough in winter. Fitting thick, floor-length curtains can also add an additional insulation layer that can be surprisingly useful for keeping out the heat as well.
Ventilation
Given that the big glass doors are typically wide open when entertaining, ventilation is not often discussed as a potential concern but becomes one if the room is being used all the time.
Most modern conservatories will be designed around that fact, with vents, fans and systems that keep the warm air out without leading to draughts or rainwater getting in.
A ceiling fan can be a useful option as well, especially since it can also be used as a light fixture during the winter.
Security
The lock of the conservatory should be strong enough to resist breaking and entering attempts regardless of what the main use of the room is, but concerns about security are going to be particularly acute if valuable belongings are kept there.
At a minimum, your doorset and windowset locks should be accredited under the Secured By Design initiative, a police initiative that ensures they are effective at preventing burglars from entering.
Ideally, your doorset lock should be at least LPS 1175 B3 (SR2) compliant, but it is possible to get larger single-point and multi-point locks capable of reaching as high as F10 (SR6), although given that the testing criteria of the latter involve plasma cutters and circular saws, it might be slightly excessive.
The windows should be at least double-glazed (which is useful for insulation purposes as well) and ideally should have blinds or shutters fitted that can help provide additional privacy.
Fitting burglar alarms, CCTV cameras and security lights can also help prevent opportunistic crimes, and ensuring that all valuables are kept hidden away can help as well by providing no incentive for a smash-and-grab thief to try and quickly break in and get out.
Many security choices will not only help make the room safer as a bedroom but also provide peace of mind, noise reduction and extra privacy.