Genius idea - conservatory?

[Rrrob]

I’ve posted on here before about our desire to do a 2 storey side extension but unexpected arrival of dc3 in Aug plus spiralling building costs mean it is not doable any time soon.

We could do the loft, and have plans drawn up, but really the most urgent space need is downstairs. We have a living room, kitchen/ diner and downstairs toilet. My genius idea today is to stick a conservatory onto either the kitchen to make an L shaped kitchen/ dining/ family space, or onto the dining side, making one long space.

Before I get excited, is this a terrible idea? I’ve never wanted a conservatory until now and know the heat issues, but it seems a no brainer on the space front? Would a conservatory need planning permission? If we were to sell, is a conservatory an off putting feature?

Conservatories have had their day, they're unusable in the hotest & coldest months & the energy crisis will mean they're even worse. There are building regs for adding a conservatory that often require a set of doors between it and the house, effectively cutting the space in two. If you were allowed to do it under permitted development you might literally find you can't afford to heat it due to the heat loss. Better to go the long way round I think & apply for planning. You could build a conservatory-style extention with large windows but with a better insulated floor, lower walls & roof.

We went to the mils the other day and she popped into the conservatory for 2 mins and the cold that came through made me shiver! I definitely would not want an open kitchen diner with a conservatory that couldn't be shut off and I'd only buy a house with one if we could get planning to knock it down and put on a proper extension

My MIL has a conservatory that she never uses. It's freezing in winter, roasting in summer (candles melt). And it leaks a bit.

How about an orangery and what facing would it be as that makes a huge difference.

I think conservatories rarely add much to a house and they're often very ugly. It would put me off buying it TBH, I'd be factoring in the cost of taking it down. However, I think they can sometimes work if they're basically a porch and just a transition from outside to inside rather than being considered a proper room.

We had a conservatory in our old house and I miss it. It was a separate room on a south east facing wall. We had a tree that shaded it in the summer.
Spring/autumn it was the perfect second living room/playroom. Winter, we had an oil filled radiator in there. It was great on a sunny day too as it caught the heat.
In the summer it was shaded by the tree for most of the day, so didn’t ever get too hot. Plus every window had a fanlight and with the double doors open it had a decent draft as well. We did have roof blinds as well as solar glass.

I love my conservatory and it was the best thing we ever did. We are not short of space but it's still everyone's favourite room.
The idea that they are too hot is bizarre. There are a handful of days a year when it's too hot. You'll either be in the garden or the coolest room in the house on those days.
This time of year it's fabulous, freezing outside but sunny. Sit in the conservatory and it feels like being outside on a summer day.

I came here to see how genius idea and conservatory could be in the same sentence.

I mean this with kindness but they are shit. Ours is S facing so probably ideal on paper. But is super hot and super cold for 3 + 3 months of the year. The sun also bleaches all the toys. I would never get one. It came with the house.

My sister has a conservatory. I love it. It's a lovely space looking over the garden. It does get hot, but you can open the doors. But it's cold in the winter and she hasn't found a cheap way to keep it warm. I'd make enquiries, though, because I'm sure these days they must have improved materials.

aliceinscandiland.com/2017/03/12/how-to-extend-your-home-with-style-for-less-than-you-might-think/

This woman did something similar

Modern conservatories are much better than the old versions.
Our kitchen opens onto our conservatory as a dining/family room. It my favourite room in the house and the room we probably spend most of our time in we eat in there every day.

We have underfloor heating for the winter it's on usually for an hour in the morning and a couple of hours at night and unless it's freezing that's enough to keep it warm all day. We're east facing so it's rarely too hot in the summer, if it ever is a bit too warm we just open the doors up and as pp said those are the days we're either in the garden or have retreated to the nice cool living room.
Building regs were happy for us not to have the doors between the kitchen and conservatory.

Ours is lovely (roof blinds a necessity for summer). It’s south facing across the back of the house, making a link between living room and kitchen and is /has been a perfect playroom. Yes, the sun bleaches toys etc but I’m sure more modern glass would address that and a radiator keeps it fine on cold days in winter (tho sunny winter days give a lot of passive heat gain)

This is a rental that's just been refurbished. They've got a horrible corridor on the side of the house. It's described as a reception, but it feels too full of windows, but might be slightly warmer than a conservatory.
I'd considered whether we could have a one storey extension along the back of our house but it'd end up like this and be fairly useless really as none of the space is wide enough to be useful.

We like ours the only issue is that it’s very loud if it rains

I live in a house that's small - downstairs we only have a kitchen and a living room, though the living room is a decent size. No hallway.

Our conservatory has been an absolute life-saver over the years. It's a brilliant space and my favourite area.

It came with the house and is neither expensive nor fancy. But it's very easy to heat, and in the summer with the doors open it feels just like being outside. We have our work office set up in the conservatory and it's great.

I'm about to move to a larger house which will be absolutely bloody amazing, but I will miss the sound of the rain on the roof during storms, and the light, sunny space that our conservatory provides. Probably not for everyone, but I really, really love ours.

@Queenoftheashes

We like ours the only issue is that it’s very loud if it rains

That would make me want one even more. Nothing like the sound of rain on the windows. Lovely.

I love our conservatory, it was one of the things that made us want to buy the house. We have a few sofas on one side and the dining table on the other side.

Thinking of swapping the roof on it though to tiled.

That would make me want one even more. Nothing like the sound of rain on the windows.

I suspect the noise comes from rain on the roof, which can be very loud!

We use ours as a side entrance mud/boot room and utility, as it feeds onto the kitchen. Came with the house but we added plumbing etc, one of the best things we ever did as it now has a brilliant use. It is however not a liveable room! Far too hot/cold and don’t forget the mould!!

@mumda

This is a rental that's just been refurbished. They've got a horrible corridor on the side of the house. It's described as a reception, but it feels too full of windows, but might be slightly warmer than a conservatory. I'd considered whether we could have a one storey extension along the back of our house but it'd end up like this and be fairly useless really as none of the space is wide enough to be useful.

How on earth is that corridor a reception room!

We changed the roof to tiles so we can use ours all year. Otherwise it was unusable and unbearable during winter and summer.

Ours can be cold in the winter but we just plug in an electric heater & it's fine in a short time. Our garden faces north so it's never too hot in summer. I love it.

Do it as more of an orangery. They are more of an extension and are more heat efficient