Grand Open Plan Kitchen Orangery

This marvellous family home in Kent needed a new extension that would transform the look of the property while making better use of the ground floor layout. The property initially had an L-shaped conservatory with a bulky roof, which created a small, square patio area. The family rarely used this part of their garden, despite it featuring an outdoor dining table.   With the windows of the house looking down directly onto the outdoor seating area, it felt somewhat exposed and awkward. The paving was aged and tired, and the planting scheme was not doing the space any favours.

As part of our design process, we took the time to understand the client’s requirements and get a feel for what they wanted. It was essential to explore how a new design would improve their home’s layout, provide them with more space and bring their garden to life at the same time. Initially, the rooms on the ground floor all felt separated and closed off, so the new extension had to be suitable for entertaining.

We re-designed the layout of the ground floor and created a large, 7-meter wide opening between the kitchen area and the new orangery. Now, the extension has opened up all of the rooms into one open-plan kitchen and dining space. With so much extra space, the family were able to install a stylish kitchen with plenty of worktop space and a casual breakfast bar.

Separate seating areas in the form of cosy snugs have been included, ensuring that there is always a comfortable place to sit by a window with a cup of coffee. The structure features two beautiful timber roof lanterns, which help to define the cooking, dining and seating areas while letting in plenty of natural light at the same time. Parapet eaves and margin glazing bars in the window bring visual character to the timber orangery, and the clients can open up folding stacking doors onto the newly laid patio during the summer.

To make sure that the new orangery perfectly matches the main house, we took care to match the existing brickwork perfectly. Unlike uPVC, the timber structure looks timeless and elegant. We always utilise the vastly superior qualities of Accoya – a revolutionary engineered timber made from fast-growing FSC® or PEFC™ certified tree species in all our joinery. Accoya is highly stable, meaning it will not shrink or swell in the way that standard timber tends to do so that joints, doors and windows retain their perfect fit throughout their long lifespan.

We construct all our garden rooms using a combination of traditional joinery techniques and modern manufacturing technology. With over 30 years of working with timber, we know that a timber orangery like this one requires high-quality paints that provide substantial protection and an immaculate finish. We spray-applied the internal and external joinery in three coats of water-based microporous paint in Zinc, a highly contemporary grey shade from our palette collection. By using such a high-quality paint system, we can protect the joinery from weather exposure, high levels of UV and fungal damage. When properly cared for, our paints will protect a timber orangery for up to 12 years before it needs repainting.