Conservatory Or Orangery – Which Should You Extend Your House With?

The two main forms of extension we sell at Planet are conservatories and orangeries, and a lot of people don’t realise how the two differ from one another. 

In fairness, some conservatory and orangery styles can look very similar, but if you look a little more closely at them, you can usually spot a few distinctions that help you identify what type of extension it is you’re looking at. 

We’ll go into those to help you understand them better and also determine whether having a conservatory or orangery added to your home will be the best way of extending your property. 

Conservatory

The roofing system in a conservatory is how to tell it apart from an orangery – it will typically be sloped or angled, and contain a glazed area of at least 75%. Most modern-day conservatories have solid tiled roofs with incredibly authentic tiles or slates.

A conservatory also features full glazed sides, as well as a dwarf or single solid wall.

In general, buying a conservatory is less costly than buying an orangery. The lower price tag coming down to there not being as much brickwork used in the construction of a conservatory, and it having a less extravagant roof. 

Orangery

The orangery actually predates the conservatory. It was first developed in the 17th Century by the Italians, possessing a more enclosed design, and with a glazed area of less than 75% in the stereotypical central roof lantern.

Square or rectangular-shaped, solid pilasters help to support the building, and as was customary with so many 18th Century structures, an orangery contains a shallow pitched roof.

A pelmet runs around the internal perimeter of the ceiling which is where you can fix in downlighters and spotlights. 

In the view of some, integrating an orangery makes it look a more natural-looking extension of a house than when you do the same with a conservatory. 

On our Living Spaces page, you can see a selection of conservatories and orangeries that we have installed over the years.