Case Studies
How we designed and built a stunning orangery in a rural setting in Hampshire.
The brief
What started off as a staff cottage on a Hampshire farm estate has become a rural retreat for a busy, city-based couple.
Although idyllic in its setting, as was often the case, the rooms were small and with not much natural light, as you can see from the picture of the original elevation, the room looks dark even with the French doors wide open.
The client, with a young family, wanted to open out the house, bringing in more light and expanding the living area to flow out into the garden.
Design choices
A hardwood orangery was a natural choice in terms of material sympathetic to the original house windows (some of which we changed at the same time as constructing the orangery). However, we wanted to ensure that whilst providing the additional space required, the orangery did not dominate and spoil the ‘bijou’ style of the cottage.
With windows on three sides and a pair of French doors central to the rear elevation and with a glazed lantern set within the insulated flat roof, the room was flooded with light. The fascia (the bit above the windows around the perimeter of the roof) which on a traditional orangery normally is quite chunky and imposing, was reduced in depth, and styled to fit the cottage aspect.
The resulting look was as intended, a garden room extension on an already pretty country cottage.
And the client’s own innate and exquisite sense of style, colour and design created the simple and fresh interior.
A perfect setting for relaxing and building happy memories for a young family.
