An orangery is a beautiful alternative to a traditional brick extension or a standard conservatory. Combining solid brick pillars, a perimeter ceiling, and a large central glass roof lantern, an orangery offers the perfect balance of structural permanence and abundant natural light. Originating in the 17th century as spaces to protect citrus trees from winter frosts, modern orangeries are fully insulated, double-glazed living spaces that can be enjoyed comfortably all year round.
In this guide, we explore the top orangery design ideas for 2026, outline building regulations, and explain how to hire professional builders on GetBuilder.
Popular orangery design styles
Modern manufacturing and design techniques allow you to tailor an orangery to match your home's architecture:
- The classic traditional orangery: Featuring traditional brick pillars that match your home's existing brickwork, decorative timber fascia boards, sliding sash windows, and an ornate cast-iron style roof lantern.
- The modern minimalist orangery: Utilizing slimline anthracite grey aluminum frames, large floor-to-ceiling glass panes, and thin brick slip pillars to create a clean, contemporary sunroom.
- The wrap-around orangery: Building a wide, shallow orangery across the back of the house to connect multiple ground-floor rooms (such as the kitchen and living room) to the garden.
Inside layout and utility ideas
An orangery's unique lighting makes it ideal for specific uses:
- Garden dining room: Placing a large dining table directly beneath the central roof lantern, creating an elegant space for entertaining under the stars.
- Bright garden lounge: Fitting the space with comfortable soft seating, plants, and reading lights, forming a peaceful room to relax while enjoying views of your garden.
- Open-plan extension hub: Knocking through the existing external house wall to connect the kitchen directly to the orangery, creating a wide, bright kitchen-diner-lounge combination.
Thermal efficiency and heating considerations
Orangeries have a high proportion of glass, meaning managing temperature is crucial for comfortable year-round use:
- High-performance smart glass: Choose double or triple glazing with low-emissivity (Low-E) coatings and solar-control glass. Solar control glass reflects summer heat while retaining indoor warmth during winter.
- Underfloor heating (UFH): Installing water-based underfloor heating connected to your boiler or heat pump. UFH provides comfortable, uniform heat that rises from the floor, preventing cold draughts.
- Trench heating: Placing compact convector heaters in recesses around the perimeter floor of the glass walls, creating a hot-air curtain that blocks cold air drafts from the windows.
[!IMPORTANT] Part L Building Regulations: To comply with insulation codes, an orangery must meet strict thermal performance targets (U-values). If you plan to remove the existing external doors between your house and the orangery to make it fully open-plan, you must perform SAP (Standard Assessment Procedure) calculations to prove the overall thermal efficiency of the home is not compromised.
Hire vetted builders on GetBuilder
Building an orangery is a complex structural project requiring groundwork, bricklaying, specialized glazing installation, roofing, plastering, and electrical work. On GetBuilder, you can connect with qualified local builders and orangery specialists:
- Post your orangery project: Describe your design requirements, upload site photos, and share your budget for free on GetBuilder.
- Review specialist profiles: Compare local builders checked for active credentials, insurance, and verified customer reviews.
- Compare quotes: Receive detailed, itemized estimates covering foundations, glazing, roofing, and internal fit-out works.
