Enjoy the fruits of an orangery
Conservatories are still in demand, but there’s an increasingly popular alternative
THE stagnant housing market has been bad news for many but, for firms selling orangeries, it’s happy days. ‘People are extending their homes now instead of moving,’ says Jane Hindmarch, marketing manager at Vale Garden Houses in Grantham, Lincolnshire. ‘Orangeries are an ideal way of getting extra space in a home because they are more substantial than conservatories and, with underfloor heating, they can be used all year round.’
Orangeries also emanate a sense of grandeur, due to their history. They were originally built between the 17th and 19th centuries for housing orange and lemon trees during the chilly winter months in Italy.
British aristocrats brought the idea back to this country after they saw them on their grand tours.
Today, huge importance is placed on giving orangeries an authentic ‘look’.
In 2009, Lydie Thacker wanted to add one on to her four-bedroom home set in nine acres of public gardens and woodland in Danesbury Park, in Welwyn, Hertfordshire.
‘ I had to follow strict guidelines from English Heritage regarding the colour of the brickwork, the roof and the size of the windows, to ensure it remained true to the Georgian style,’ says Lydie, 47, a human resources manager. It took six months to build and cost £20,000.
She is now selling the house with Purple Bricks ( purplebricks.co.uk) for £750,000.
Although orangeries are often used for the same purpose as a conservatory — as an extra room — there is a distinction between the two.
A conservatory usually has more than 75 per cent of the roof glazed, whereas an orangery will have less glass and a shallow roof pitch. Whether an orangery helps sell a property is a moot point.
‘ Older ones can have rotting timber and corroded iron work, which puts off buyers,’ says James Greenwood, of Stacks Property Search. ‘ Modern ones are generally more impressive, but they must be big spaces to capture the essence of their Georgian heritage.’
We have all heard the horror stories of ‘ cowboy’ builders erecting poorquality conservatories and orangeries. So how do you guard against this?
‘Ask to see pictures of jobs the builder has done in the past,’ says Jonathan Hey who has been running Westbury Garden Rooms since 1988.
‘Question whether that construction has rhythm and scale? Is everything in proportion? Are the doors wide enough to allow flow from the house to the garden?’
JONATHAN also stresses the importance of builders using the best modern materials — most definitely not PVC. Accoya is a modified timber made from new Zealand pine trees, which has a guaranteed 50-year lifespan.
As for the glass, he recommends double glazing with argon gas sandwiched between, combined with a tint, as a way of reducing the buildup of heat in summer.
For this kind of structure, with underfloor heating, you can expect to pay £2,000 per square metre.
John Park was determined not to spoil The Denhalls, his Arts and Crafts house outside Sturminster newton, Dorset, when he added an orangery in 2010.
The six-bedroom house has many original features, so he commissioned the experienced company Vale Garden Houses to come from Lincolnshire to work on the project.
They built the orangery in separate parts in their workshops and then transported it all on trucks. It took three months and cost £158,000.
‘This is Thomas Hardy country and it has been worth every penny for the outlook over Blackmore Vale,’ says John, 63, a retired accountant who is now selling the house with Hamptons ( hamptons.
co.uk) for £1,100,000. Orangeries let in plenty of sunlight, which is something Steve Fisher values. Steve, an accountant, bought the Grade II-listed Woolmersdon House, set in seven acres near north Petherton, Somerset, in 1996. It was a Georgian gem, but lacked one thing — a room where Fisher could paint.
‘So, in 2000, we built on a 17ft by 17ft orangery,’ says Steve, who is now selling the house with Strutt & Parker ( struttandparker.com) for £1.65 million. ‘With its views over the Quantock Hills, which I find inspirational, it’s been a life-changer.’