Interiors Inspiration: Creative Conservatories

On our recent trip to West Dorset to enjoy a bit of downtime post wedding fever (fun for me, but work for P!), we couldn’t resist doing a spot of house hunting while we were there.

Living in a peaceful medieval village on one of the most beautiful islands in the Mediterranean is going to be pretty hard to beat, but despite this we have actually fallen slightly in love with the area we visited – an town filled with arts, crafts and foodies, and the coast is only a few minutes drive away, what’s not to love!

Our tentative foray into house hunting has thrown up a slight problem – we are far too keen on one of the first houses we viewed. It ticks almost every box for us bar two...

The first is that there is very little room for improvement, although on reflection this may be a good thing. The old saying of not mixing work with pleasure is a sensible one and constantly moving from one building site to another is probably not the best recipe for (un)wedded bliss. The second is that it has a conservatory – I apologise to those of you who have and love yours, but I have always had a bit of a problem with them. Partly because I don’t really get them and partly because they are often such wasted space that people tend to fill with clutter.

Having spent a few hours this afternoon researching I now get the benefit - a lovely, light space that is part indoors and part outdoors allowing you to enjoy the best of both and still get some sunshine in the English winter when it is too cold to sit out in it.

I am getting excited about the idea of having one of my own (in my head we have already bought the house!) and am making lists of suitable plants that I can grow inside it, starting with climbing Jasmine. Cosy reading room or funky office space? Garden extension or cool cocktail lounge?! Let me know which of the below you like best and do send me any other creative ideas that I haven’t included!

{Images via Pinterest & House to Home}