Whether you’re in the final stages of your orangery build or you’re simply planning ahead, you’ll want to know how to make the most of your orangery. Designs, aesthetics and personal taste all play a big part in choosing how your orangery is decorated, but we have 5 key tips to help make the process easier for you. 

1.    AVOID DARK FLOORS

Depending on the current design of the rest of your home, this could come as good news or bad news. Why does the colour of the floor matter? It’s not necessarily the colour of the floor that matters, so much as the material and reflectiveness. 

Orangeries were originally designed to have all of the natural light as the outdoors, but with the warmth (or cool) of the indoors. When you introduce a dark or matte floor, such as carpet, you immediately dull the abilities of the natural light. The natural light entering through the roof lantern needs to reflect off the floor and give you the natural light feeling – non-reflective flooring kills this effect. 

Go with something light, reflective and in-keeping with the design of the rest of the home. You don’t have to go overboard; polished white marble is reflective, but useless if it doesn’t match your home. Hardwood can reflect just as much natural light if it matches your home’s decor. 

2.    DON’T GO OVERBOARD ON PICTURE HANGING

It can be tempting, if you have some wall areas that seem ‘bare’ to begin hanging pictures. However, the purpose of an orangery is to bring in that natural light and this is done through beautiful glazing. 

When we design orangeries, we design them so that the glazing speaks for itself. A visitor’s eyes are drawn into the garden to experience the outdoors. Don’t let that journey be distracted by picture frames and nik-naks placed on every available wall space. 

3.    BALANCE COLOUR

You might have guessed by now that a lot of interior design work, when it comes to orangeries, is done to balance the natural outdoors with the comfort of indoors. Depending on how you want to style your orangery, you can create colour highlights within to create focal points, or use neutral colours to allow the outdoors to be the focal point. Why not change it by season?
Overall, you don’t want the indoor décor to be clashing with the outdoor natural colours and brightness. They should complement each other but have the ability to stand alone (when it’s dark outside you don’t want the indoors to seem bland and washed out). 

4.    THINK ABOUT USAGE

Think about how you’re planning on using the orangery. During the summer, will the doors be swung open and people invited over? Then you don’t want to block the doors with the back of seating. Try rotating the seating area 90 degrees, to create a natural walkway from indoors to outdoors. 

Simple planning like this will allow a little bit of spontaneity in the home. You’ll have the ability to let some air through, without the need to move furniture. Similarly, is your orangery going to be more of a dining room for dinner parties? Then think about how the chef might travel from kitchen to table and interact with guests whilst cooking. Take a look at our blog “designing an open plan kitchen for entertaining guests in style” for more information.

5.    DON’T BE AFRAID TO VARY STYLES

It’s scary to stand out and change from the norm, but some of the best orangeries we’ve designed and built have been in stark juxtaposition to the home’s established style. 

Traditional styles colliding with modern architecture can create some beautiful buildings. You don’t have to be tied to your home’s current architecture and interior design when creating the orangery. Additionally, the interior needn’t match the exterior. Modern cottages are becoming highly sought after and the modern exteriors of buildings are more and more being designed with a traditional interior. 

A tasteful but contrasting mix of eras and influences is beginning to become a home design trend.