Conservatory styling

[instantpotnoodle]

We’re buying a house with a decent size conservatory - about 6m wide x 4m deep. No idea how to style it - currently a blank canvas. Any cool ideas/willing to share photos of yours?!

We're also (hopefully!) buying a house with a conservatory - I'm really looking forward to it, although everyone seems to be quite negative about them! I'm looking forward to growing lots of interesting plants in there, ours thankfully has blinds already in which I'm told is essential.

What are you planning on using yours for?

i think we’ll use it as a family room but also want to use it for plants!

Is it heated? Which way does it face? They are often too hot in the summer and cold in the winter, but you can plan around this.
Best to keep to neutral/light coloured sofas or chairs as things tend to bleach in the sunlight. Blinds are a godsend and you can get ones that clip into the frame without having to drill.
Plant wise, have a look at the rhs or other sites for recommendations about plants. The heat variation between summer/ winter can really stress plants out.
Have a look at Pinterest - loads of ideas on there.
In my conservatory I have a large 3 seater rattan/cream cushions - a modern one, not a 1990’s one! A large square buttoned coffee table in cream. Loads of plants and nice table lamps (on hidden side tables). Very neutral. It brings together the outside and inside.
At Christmas I hang 3d starlights from ceiling which looks amazing.

Okay not really an inspirational picture because I've got too much stuff crowded into my small-medium size conservatory. However I thought I would show you all the things I am growing - strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce, sweetcorn, garden peas and green beans.
I also have my Idler swingseat in there (google it, I recommend it if you are in the market for a swingseat. It's basically a proper sofa as a swing).

My conservatory is facing south west so gets lots of sun and heat afternoon and evening so things seem to be growing pretty well. The yellow sticky sheets are to catch the bugs which are going "yum"

I used to have a large P shaped conservatory with a glass roof. We had a living room/entertaining space in the P part and a dinning table in the square part. It led off the kitchen so it made sense. Although it was very much a "posh" conservatory with glass roof, huge space and electric blinds it was north facing and so I far prefer my small overcrowded south west one that I currently have.

Don't let anyone put you off them. Yes they are no longer considered "cool" but they are ace. Warm when it is cold but sunny, you will get lots of use out of it spring and autumn when it's too cold for the garden but the sun is heating the conservatory. They are also ace for clothes drying. Again not very cool, but very practical.

p.s. I also have my potting table and equipment in there plus the dogs sheepskin rug on the floor cos he likes to have a snooze in the heat

and another one.....

Mine is nw facing, unheated, and I love it!
Only mived in 18 months ago, so still figuring out what does well and what doesnt. I bought most of my plants from the "about to die" section of local garden centre, cuttings from friends etc. We only use ours in spring to end of autumn, so Im not too fussed about it looking great in the winter. I did want a properly jungley planted feel, so want plants that will have plenty height.

Banana plants - go for more interesting ones than musa basjoo. Theyre fast growing, easy going, and though they start to look sad by late winter theyre worth it and recover v quickly.
Tree dahlias - fast growing screening, great for proper height whilst you wait for everything else to catch up. Buy tubers now (farmer gracey have them...).
Fatsia japonica - tough as old boots, boring but jungly - my plan is for it to be planted into the garden when it gets too big.
Passionflower - get a fancier type, let it clamber about overhead. Flowers v exotic, will fruit, fast growing.
Mimosa - pretty foliage, amazing flowers just as it gets warm enough to sit in there.
Gloriosa
Annuals like black eyed susie to scramble around.

Hate:
Colocassia / giant yam - The leaves drip onto the floor. Not that hardy for the winter.
Lime - hates the temperature changed, prone to aphids.
Abutillon - aphid paradise, just never looks happy!
Cacti- do very well, flower etc but too small, too bitty, too spikey. My DD collects them though.

If your conservatory is going to have normal wooden furniture in it like a dinning table or a coffee table be aware that the heat can cause the furniture to pull apart at joins. In my north facing conservatory a solid wood (good quality) dinning table came apart. Lucky for us the company replaced it for free on the agreement we would put bowls of water in the conservatory and keep the windows open an inch on the locked position. We also had to keep the blinds shut when we were out.

We did all this and the table joins did move a little bit but thankfully it was ok to keep and use still. The first table had gaps you could you put a couple of fingers down. Goodness knows what a south facing conservatory would have done.

I guess proper conservatory furniture ie cane/wicker etc is made to deal with the heat and humidity and you get very modern conservatory furniture now.

I love our conservatory! I don't care how unfashionable they are.

Ours is South East facing, but we have lots of deciduous trees nearby that give it shade in the summer. We have a small dining table in it, which we use to eat at this time of year - it's lovely eating dinner watching the birds in the garden.

I love mine too, fashionable or not. We are unheated, NW facing and it isn't usable all year round but fabulous in spring and autumn and cooler summer days.

We have a breakfast table and a sofa (small 2 seater wooden framed g plan kind of) plus a console table. My orchid likes it plus I have lots of seedlings there currently.

Our conservatory was around 6m x 3m (since knocked down and replaced with orangerie). These are the pictures we took when we put it up for sale. Plenty of room where the table and chairs were for a 'plant' area.

Hmm photos didn't seem to attach!

Our is a yoga / meditation room. Mats out and loads of house plants in there. It's lovely

Those of you with plant-y conservatories, how do you keep them clean? Mine gets so unbelievably spidery (and therefore cobwebby and dead fly/moth/insect-y) that even a fortnight after thorough cleaning it’s awful :( Am I missing something?

How nice to see a rare display of conservatory love! Mine is little more than a lean-to, and south facing so really gets the extremes of temperature but we use it a lot in spring and autumn when it's too cold or breezy to sit outside. We abandon it in winter, and in summer it's lovely to sit in the evenings but a battle to keep it temperate in the day - the plants struggle - they need a lot of water. The door between the house and conservatory has recently been switched for an exterior quality one with proper locks so I leave the conservatory doors open as much as I can for ventilation, sometimes even when we go out on a hot day, with the inner back door throughly locked up.

I think of it as a greenhouse rather than part of the house, and I don't worry too much.