Trend growing for garden rooms

English conservatory company Marston and Langinger has brought its bespoke design service to Ireland, reports Alanna Gallagher

Since Megalithic times we have worshipped the sun's rays. Evidence that we continue to be a nation of sun worshippers is apparent in the conservatory craze that, many say, has blighted thousands of homes across the land.

But conservatories don't have to look like nasty little Tardis-shaped structures added onto buildings without any thought.

A well-designed model should create a feel-good factor as well as a room with a view of your garden.

Considered masters of hothouse design, Marston and Langinger is a regular winner at the annual Chelsea Flower Show.

The company has just moved into the Irish market, offering a bespoke service led by Dublin-based Sharon O'Callaghan, an architect-trained senior designer with the firm.

"The traditional conservatory is something that suits our climate," explains the Irish designer. Marston and Langinger models are made-to-order garden rooms that are insulated for use in both high summer and darkest winter.

"Each conservatory is created as a one-off and is built to follow on from the main house rather than be juxtaposed onto it as many, more modern-looking frameless glass boxes are.

"It's a gentler approach, suited to the way the vast majority of people live," says O'Callaghan.

Building conservatories on restricted sites requires creative use of space, she explains.

"For instance, one client wanted suggestions on how best to extend their kitchen. The recommendation, for relatively little extra expense, was to extend the living room on the floor above as well as the footprint of the kitchen below.

"The resulting work transformed the dark home into a bright and practical living space downstairs and a pretty conservatory above, with a balcony overlooking the garden, redeeming the shady space."

O'Callaghan's own conservatory on her London property is quite small but perfectly formed.

"It transformed what was a useless kitchen into a room big enough to fit a dining table. By taking off one wall and replacing it with glass bi-fold doors you blur the edges between indoors and out. In a small urban situation this can make a real difference to the way you live in your home."

Another example, built onto the back of a rambling Regency house, was positioned to centre on a chimney. The substantial space now features an open fire and the family uses it for meals and get-togethers 12 months of the year.

How do you make the room feel homely and lived-in? "The look of the fixtures and fittings are equally important to the end result," says O'Callaghan.

"For people in glasshouses it's considered a casual room, so it needs a casual style of furnishing."

She suggests painted willow furniture for informal seating, upholstered pieces in relaxed linens or faded-looking prints, and tables and chairs in wrought iron, with stone or glass tops. French farmhouse style suites also work well.

The scale of the furniture you choose is also worth considering. "Traditional three-piece suites don't work well in garden rooms.

"A light approach is needed. Wrought iron chairs and chandeliers have a degree of transparency, and help to lift the mood."

The type of flooring you choose also determines the way the room looks. Pale limestone works well as an interface between the garden and the house.

As well as traditional timber and glass conservatories Marston and Langinger also offers orangery, pool pavilions and greenhouse design options with endless opportunities if money and space is no object.

So how much does it all cost? Marston and Langinger conservatories are not cheap. The fact that each design is bespoke is reflected in the cost. Prices for a standard six by four metre addition to your home start in the region of €80,000-€100,000, but these costs don't include essentials such as employing builders to lay foundations and other building costs as well as VAT and blinds.

A more realistic price for a typical finished project is between €150,000-€200,000. The sky of course is the limit in terms of how high you want to go.

Finding a builder who is ready to take on your job and be ready to start when you want them to has become a predictable, dinner party moan.

Marston and Langinger, while new to the Irish market, has already completed several jobs here and has a database of building firms who comply with its standards.

What value these greenhouse effects might add to you home is open to interpretation but most estate agents feel you will at least make your money back.

For more information about having a garden room or conservatory built for your home call 1800 635 081. See www.marston-and-langinger.com for more ideas.