What are Bespoke conservatories?

Popular options for custom made unique conservatory designs for your home.

The word bespoke is taken to mean something that is “ordered, commissioned or arranged for”, and It could be argued that every type of conservatory is bespoke. Homeowners definitely order, commission and arrange for their new conservatory when they invest in one.

However, in this article, the bespoke conservatories we are looking at are those that are either adaptions of a regular conservatory, or a totally unique design.

Page Content:

• Shaped Bespoke Conservatories: Such as P-shaped, T-shaped, L-shaped or B-shaped.
• Designer Conservatories: Such as Frameless glass conservatories and custom made unique conservatory designs.
• Quick Price Guide: A summary of the likely prices ranges for various bespoke conservatories.
• Planning permission: The key points to bear in mind.

What are Shaped bespoke conservatories?

The use of the term “shaped” for a conservatory comes from the way the floorplan of any particular conservatory design resembles a capital letter from the alphabet. In other words, if you view the shape of the conservatory from above, in these cases it (roughly) resembles a letter P, T, L or B.

P-shape Conservatories:

The P shape is a combination of a lean to and Victorian conservatory. The “leg” of the letter being the Lean-to section, and the rounded part of the letter being the Victorian section.

The conservatory can run parallel to the house or at right angles to it, dependent on what you feel suits your property best.

T-shape Conservatories:

This design is like a letter T, but one where the leg is short and the top crossbar is wide. The design can incorporate a number of different conservatory types such as:

• Lean-to + Gable.
• Edwardian + Gable.
• Victorian + Lean-to.

You can mix and match quite a few different options, to see which gives the best look for your home.

L-shape Conservatories.

Very often seen used to “wrap around” a corner of a property, the L-shaped conservatory is also used to fit into a corner or run parallel with the property.

Again, like the T-shape, there are a lot of styles that can be combined to create the L-shape, such as:

• Double Lean-to.
• Edwardian + Pavilion.
• Georgian + Pavilion

You don’t necessarily have to use more than one style. For example, each section can be lean-to, which is popular to use for corner conservatories or maybe you want to have the Edwardian as the overall “theme”. Once again, take a look at what options best suit your home (and budget).

B-shaped Conservatories:

Sometimes called a “Double P-shape”, this could also be a “Double L-shape”, the difference being whether you use a Victorian conservatory or one of the rectangular styles such as Pavilion, Gable, Georgian or Edwardian in place of it.

The typical layout is of 2 Victorian conservatory sections at the ends connected by a Lean to mid-section. The P-shape is generally installed parallel to a property wall.

All of these conservatories work best as medium to large rooms, so it could be that you are installing an extension that exceeds the limits for a “permitted development”. That could mean you need prior planning permission to build – always check with your installer and the Local planning authority.

Custom made unique conservatory designs.

This category is about making your conservatory look completely different to everyone else’s. However, that does not necessarily mean an architect designed engineering masterpiece. It could be as simple as modifying a well-known style of conservatory in a unique way.

On the other hand, if you are looking for an architect designed masterpiece, there are some amazing designs around that can offer great inspiration.

But before heading out and finding your dream conservatory, make sure you are armed with a healthy budget, as it’s not uncommon for truly bespoke conservatory prices to be anywhere from £35,000 to £60,000 or more.

Lean-to conservatory styles are often the benefactor of a drastic facelift; the simplicity of the basic shape lends itself well to a lot of modification.

However, once a good designer gets their hands on a project, that’s when you can really get some outstanding results – Frameless glass conservatories being one of those.

Taking advantage of industrial strength architectural glass to build a conservatory allows the extension to be built almost Free-standing, where the glass itself is the frame. Laminated glass fins support the roof instead of using metal or timber trusses. In effect, what you have is swiftly becoming known as the Glass Box conservatory.

Modern Bespoke Conservatories

• Source: www.gdltd.net

Bespoke Conservatory Roofing:

It’s going to be important to decide at outset, what type of roof you want on your conservatory because it has a big impact on both cost and energy efficiency.

• Polycarbonate Roof: This is the lowest cost option. Polycarbonate sheeting is cheaper than tile or glass and weighs a lot less. However, compared to double glazed or tiled conservatory roofs, even the best 35mm triple walled polycarbonate roof is way less energy efficient.
• Double Glazed Roof: You can view a double glazed conservatory roof as the mid-point between polycarbonate and tile. Cheaper than a tiled roof, but costlier than polycarbonate. A double glazed roof offers very good energy efficiency and sound insulation. It also allows for a lot of overhead natural sunlight, which for some is a bonus, for others, an annoyance. Of course, overhead glare can be effectively managed by the use of blinds.
• Tiled Conservatory Roof: The costliest option, but the most energy efficient and soundproof option. Using heavy concrete tiles may require a more robust frame to support it. Alternatives to concrete tiles are Natural slate, Synthetic tiles and metal tiles.

You can see more detailed information on our conservatory roofing page.

How Much Does a Bespoke Conservatory Cost?

By their its very nature, in that a bespoke conservatory is built to the specifications of the client, it’s not possible to be super accurate about the price.

However, here is a summary of some of the potential conservatory costs in the market place.

A short note about Planning Permission.

Shaped conservatories are usually quite bigger than average and that may mean you need planning permission before you can install one at your property. Even if you think you don’t need it, always check.

• A big conservatory may also require you to go through the neighbour consultation scheme:

One of the reasons could well be the simple fact that installing a large conservatory puts you over the limit of taking up no more than 50% of the outside land area – especially as that figure includes any previous extensions that are on-site.

There could also be a caveat that you don’t know about that can impact on permitted development status. There have been cases where future permitted development rights have been revoked for a whole housing development when the original planning for the housing was granted. So do your due diligence.

Whilst there is quite a bit of leeway in terms of what type & size of conservatory you can build under permitted development rules, it’s much better to be safe than sorry.

• UK Planning Portal Information

If you are not yet decided, you may find this Orangery Vs Conservatory article useful.

All the installers who provide quotes are members of one or more of these Double Glazing & Conservatory Trade associations