Putting the outdoors under glass: Conservatories create magical year-round living under glass

A new -- or, if you prefer, old -- trend is allowing homeowners to create indoor spaces that allow the outdoors to be enjoyed year-round.

The Hinds residence in Georgetown featuring a conservatory in the rear of the house was seen Aug. 5 in Washington, D.C. Borrowing an idea from the glass houses traditionally used in England as horticultural buildings to grow delicate plants, some high-end homeowners are adding conservatories and orangeries to their residences to combine comfort of being indoors with the splendor of the great outdoors. (Melissa Golden ~ Associated Press)

The Hinds residence in Georgetown features a conservatory with self-cleaning glass and French limestone floors, shown August 5 in Washington, D.C. Borrowing an idea from the glass houses traditionally used in England as horticultural buildings to grow delicate plants, some high-end homeowners are adding conservatories and orangeries to their residences to combine comfort of being indoors with the splendor of the great outdoors. (Melissa Golden ~ Associated Press)

Borrowing an idea from the glass houses traditionally used in England as horticultural buildings to grow delicate plants, some high-end homeowners are adding conservatories and orangeries to their residences to combine the comfort of being indoors with the splendor of the great outdoors.

They're vibrant and roomy, and enhance a home's existing architecture without the worries of adverse weather or climate changes ruining the experience of bringing nature inside. Families are finding them to be a great everyday gathering space, not just a room for plants or parties.

"People today are looking for a different way of living and of connecting with the outdoors," said Peter Marston, author of "The Conservatory Book" and founder and design director of Marston and Langinger, the U.K.-based firm he started in 1978 with Adrian Langinger that is at the forefront of this design movement.

"The delights of living under glass have transformed the conservatory from its functional beginnings [as greenhouses] to an imaginative modern space," said Marston, whose own passion for gardening -- and growing his family's own tomatoes, peppers and camellias -- introduced him to the idea of greenhouses as a living space.

Boasting a growing list of affluent U.S. clients with high-end luxury homes, Marston's firm designs elegant glass structures that lend sophistication and curb appeal.

"In a lot of homes, it's what's missing," said Marston, whose firm has designed and constructed some 1,500 conservatories and orangeries, including several in California, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan and Washington D.C. "You've got the swimming pool, the home theater, the library, the wonderful garden -- and you need the conservatory or the orangery to go with it."

It doesn't come cheap: Construction costs for a conservatory or an orangery range in price from $50,000 to $1 million, Marston said.

Some recent Marston projects include a $260,000 conservatory for entertaining and an adjoining patio renovation at the historic Georgetown town house (built in 1850) of Washington, D.C. lawyer Richard and Pamela Hinds.

"The idea of being outside, but in a controlled environment -- without bugs and air-conditioned in the summer -- really appealed to us and was our motivation for the project," said Richard Hinds, who served as the general contractor, overseeing the work involved with the 25-by-17 feet addition to their five-story home. "Now we have a year-round outside room -- inside."

Richard Hinds stood in his conservatory Aug. 5 in Washington, D.C. The Hindses use their conservatory as an eating area off their dining room.

Richard Hinds enjoyed a drink in his conservatory Aug. 5, a recent addition to his Georgetown home in Washington, D.C. Borrowing an idea from the glass houses traditionally used in England as horticultural buildings to grow delicate plants, some high-end homeowners are adding conservatories and orangeries to their residences to combine comfort of being indoors with the splendor of the great outdoors. (Melissa Golden ~ Associated Press)

The Hinds' conservatory addition has helped to widen their eating space into a much larger room and made the outdoor patio more accessible, Pamela Hinds said.

"When it's finished, it will be a fabulous sitting room and breakfast room off of the dining room with spectacular views of the first snowfall in the winter," she said.

In Springfield, Mass., Peter A. Picknelly, president of Peter Pan Bus Lines, and his wife, Melissa, opened up a dreary breakfast room into a light-filled, child-friendly $300,000 conservatory and orangery with a new eating space, studio and garden room with fireplace, adding about 1,500 square feet to the 12,500-square-foot home.

The gothic-style project was completed so seamlessly that the Picknellys were recognized by the area's historical society for flawlessly maintaining the integrity of the home's design, including using the home's existing bricks to extend a wall into the new construction.

The upgraded living spaces are more commonly known by the Picknellys and their four children as the family eating area -- a casual room for family meals that's less formal than the dining room -- and family room.

"It's a four-season room for us," Peter Picknelly said.

As the third family to live in the 1929 English Tudor home, Melissa Picknelly says the new rooms give the home her family's personal touch, calling it "the nicest area of our home."