Conservatories tend to suffer the same affliction countrywide: leaky plastic roof panels and rickety uPVC structures render them pretty much uninhabitable for the majority of the year. Rather than a sunny Mediterranean, orangery-style indoor/outdoor living space, British conservatories essentially just end up extending the route through to your garden, bumping into furniture as you walk through. These garden rooms, intended to be a beautiful addition to the home, are often relegated to drying the washing or being crammed full of storage.
The conservatory as we know it today evolved from early 17th-century glasshouses. These glazed extensions were built on to south-facing walls of stately homes to proudly display exotic plants and specimens gathered by the occupant's far-flung travels. Advances in glass and cast-iron production in the 1800s fuelled the innovation…
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Reclaim (Digital) - 1 Issue, Issue 99 - Spring 2025