CLAIM BACK YOUR ROOM
QOur conservatory has become a thoroughfare from the kitchen to the garden, not the additional room I was hoping for. How can I change this?
AWithout an alternative door to the garden, it’s hard to prevent your conservatory from being a main route. With careful planning, however, you can stop it feeling like a furnished corridor.
People tend to push furniture to the walls of a room in an effort to make it seem bigger, creating a walkway down the middle as a consequence. To counter this, you can zone the conservatory to have a specific sitting area, by placing two sofas or armchairs opposite each other with a small coffee table in between, remembering that they don’t need to be positioned against a wall.
You can then place runnerstyle rugs where the walkway should be, using a separate rug to distinguish the seating area. This could be made from a softer fabric in a light colour, to deter people from walking on it.
Depending on the size of your conservatory, you can even use low-level shelving units to block off the walkway section from the sitting area. Be careful not to overfill the space with furniture, though, as it will begin to feel cramped and crowded.
Many people tend to stick to rattan-style furniture for a conservatory, but this will make it look like a garden room. Buying a fabric sofa or armchair will create more of a feeling of a secondary living room, rather than an outdoor space with a roof.
Lighting can then be used to help further define areas. Floor lamps, for example, can section off a sitting area and help create a cosy atmosphere in the evening. Many people often don’t want to use their conservatory come nightfall, as it can be cold and dark. Lighting that can be dimmed will help to establish a warm feeling, as will soft furnishings such as cushions, throws and fabric blinds.
Finally, don’t forget to inject some life into the room with lush plants and foliage to provide year-round greenery.