In thinking conservatories are utterly pointless.

[TheCrackFox]

Why do people pay thousands of pounds on these monstrosities? They are either:

Too cold
Too hot
Leaking
You can be blinded by glaring sunshine
Never really used properly so tend to be used as a dumping ground.
Often make the garden far too small

Really, why do people bother installing them?

YANBU

This house had one installed by previous owners. Baking in the summer (although a later afternoon snooze on the sofa in there with the doors open is nice) and Baltic atm. In fact, it's currently home to our rabbit who is using it as her winter residence.

Only plus is that it's good for drying laundry and growing seedlings.

Some of them are in the wrong place but I rather like mine... :) Faces East so it's not too hot very often. Great place for children to play in and lovely light for sketching and painting. Takes the place of a formerly very gloomy patio and have massive garden left over.... so works on a few levels there.

Have to say i'm not a conservatory fan either. Haven;t got one now but in a previous house we did and it barely got used, Was mainly a dumping ground for toys and shoes that had been worn in the garden.
The only nice ones i have seen and seemed lovely to spend time in have been the ones that are built as part of the house and not the upvc type, more of an orangery.

I love ours, at the moment is it, admittedly, too cold, but that's about 4 weeks of the year - max. And very rarely too hot because it is E-facing and loses the sun around mid-day in summer.

DH's grandma has a conservatory and it's bloody lovely. Cool in summer, warm in winter. Lovely views of the garden, comfy chairs.

I think you need a lovely big house, big garden and to spend some money on it.

Or a garden room. ILs have a garden room. Also v nice.

YANBU. I was thinking this the other day. You can really only use them for about 4 months a year. - why do they all have no heating? And then in the summer they often get unbearably hot.
If I had the money I would do a proper extension instead.

I don't have one but I really wish I did.

i hate them. im at my parents house right now while one is being built in the garden biggest waste of 30k ive ever seen

I would absolutely love one-can't think of a better room but sadly no space.

I read that as "conservatives" and was all ready to give reasons

we have 2! House had them when we bought it.

Agree v little point.

I think I would a summer house/log cabin sort of thing if I had the space - somewhere overnight guests could stay with bunks and a woodburner

[goes all wistful]

YABU

Some conservatories are pointless I admit BUT if they are properly positioned and heated you can use them all year round - we do.

I think I would prefer - Doh!

I live in a flat, so I can't have one but my parents do, and it's great. It is used a lot year round usually as an additional living room. If they're on their own, they use it as a 'reading room' so one can watch the telly if the other doesn't want to. It's a nice, light airy room - and doesn't get too hot in summer (mind you it is in Scotland!) and the heating is effective in winter (and needs to be). If I lived in a house, I would have one.

it's more a case of badly designed conservatories are pointless. Carelessly tacked on the back of a house, eating up a large chunk of the garden (despite being disappointingly small) and usually made of plastic, they are shite.

ones like these however, are not shite The house isn't bad either :o

I've spent most of the day in ours today. It is beautifully sunny but cold outside but because our conservatory is south-facing it was lovely and cosy. It felt great to get a bit of sunshine.

In summer we keep the doors open (we have quite a few) and it doesn't get too hot. Like a previous poster mentioned, a doze on the sofa in the sun is lovely. I do it on the rare occasion I have the house to myself.

We use ours as a dining room, playroom and space to dry washing. It dries washing fairly quickly even in winter.

So in my case, YABU. So there. But, we do have 2 full-height walls either side so perhaps it would be different if it was all glass.

YANBU, I too really hate them, (possibly slightly irrationally)

Am loving suncottage's idea of log cabin with woodburner though. Perfect.

We love ours, use it much more than living room. Huge windows on 3 sides, the light is lovely and it gets warm when the sun shines even on cold days.

I wouldn't have one for 'show', but I'd love one just for the extra space. Neighbours have loads of 'storage furniture' in there (you know, table that's actually a storage chest and that sort of thing) and she use the space for drying washing. I'd love that extra room.

Actually, no! I just want a utility room. Sod the conservatory.

Excuse my appalling typing

I work in mine and it is fab. I have air con and heating. I love the feeling of being in the garden, while being indoors. (Agree about the glare though - can't use my laptop out there)

The majority of them are pretty crap, unless well planned and well made.

They also tend to have really shit uncomfortable wicker furniture in them, don't they?

We built one on our last house and it was lovely - especially on a winter's day. This was pre-DD and I had time to tend plants.

We are unlikely to put one on our current house because it faces too nearly south.