Orangery design: how it compares, roof options, insulation and ideas.

Orangery vs conservatory: what's the difference?

The two get confused constantly, and the honest answer is they overlap more than most marketing suggests — but there are real structural differences worth understanding before you commit to either.

Structure and glazing

A conservatory is predominantly glass, built on a low dwarf wall with a fully glazed pitched or lean-to roof. An orangery is brick-built, with proper masonry walls and piers, and a glazed roof lantern set into a solid, insulated perimeter roof rather than a fully glazed one. That structural difference — more brick, less glass overhead — is really what separates the two.

In practice this means an orangery reads more like a permanent extension from the outside, while a conservatory reads as a lighter, more clearly "added on" garden room.

Heat retention and year-round use

This is usually the deciding factor for people who've lived with a conservatory. A fully glazed roof loses heat fast in winter and lets a room overheat in direct summer sun, which is why so many conservatories end up used for six months of the year rather than twelve. An orangery's solid perimeter roof and smaller glazed lantern area give it noticeably better thermal performance, closer to a standard extension.

If you already have a conservatory and don't want to rebuild it as an orangery, a roof replacement can close a lot of this gap — see our guide on insulated conservatory roofs.

Cost

A conservatory is generally the cheaper of the two to build, since there's less brickwork and structural work involved. An orangery sits closer to a good-quality extension in price. As a general guide, budget conservatories can start from a few thousand pounds for a small structure, while orangeries typically start in the tens of thousands — see our full orangery cost guidance for indicative ranges.

Orangery vs extension: which is right for your home?

Both are brick-built, both need similar foundations, and both typically fall into a similar planning category — so the choice usually comes down to light, layout and how the room will be used.

Natural light

This is the clearest difference. An orangery's glazed roof lantern and full-height glazing bring in far more natural light than a standard extension with a solid roof and conventional windows, which is why orangeries are so often chosen for kitchen-diners and garden rooms where light matters more than privacy or wall space.

Layout and wall space

A traditional extension gives you more usable wall space for kitchen units, storage or furniture, since it isn't built around large areas of glazing. If your priority is a fully enclosed kitchen, utility room or bedroom rather than a bright, garden-facing living space, a standard extension is often the more practical choice.

Cost and thermal performance

A well-built orangery and a well-built extension tend to land in a similar cost bracket once you account for the orangery's glazing and roof lantern versus the extension's brickwork and roofing. Thermally, a solid-roofed extension is generally the more efficient of the two, though a properly specified orangery with good insulation and glazing isn't far behind.

Orangery roof options explained

The roof is what makes an orangery an orangery — the balance between solid roof and glazed lantern shapes both how bright the room feels and how well it performs thermally.

Lantern size and position

A larger lantern brings in more light but increases both cost and heat loss/gain if not properly specified. Positioning it centrally over a kitchen island or seating area is a common approach, though it can also be offset depending on the room's layout and where you want the light to fall.

Pitch and perimeter roof

The solid perimeter roof around the lantern is usually flat or shallow-pitched, finished with a warm roof construction that includes proper insulation above the rafters. This is what gives an orangery its year-round usability, compared with a conservatory's fully glazed roof.

Glazing specification

Double or triple glazing, low-emissivity coatings and solar control glass all affect how much heat the lantern lets in during summer and retains in winter. Higher-spec glazing costs more upfront but makes a real difference to comfort, particularly on south-facing rooms.

How well insulated is an orangery?

Because an orangery has genuine wall and roof structure rather than being mostly glass, it can be insulated close to the same standard as the rest of your house — this is the main reason it stays usable through winter.

Roof and wall insulation

The solid perimeter roof is built as a warm roof construction, with insulation above the rafters, matching current thermal performance expectations for extensions. Brick walls and piers are insulated in the same way as a standard cavity wall extension.

Glazing and floor

Double or triple glazing with a good thermal specification is standard for both the lantern and the full-height windows and doors. Underfloor heating, run beneath an insulated floor slab, is a popular choice in orangeries since it frees up wall space that would otherwise be needed for radiators.

Orangery ideas: what to use the extra space for

Most orangery enquiries come down to one of a handful of common uses — here's what tends to work well for each, and what to think about at design stage.

Kitchen-diner

The most common use we see. The extra light from the roof lantern suits a kitchen well, and the room's size usually allows for a proper dining area alongside cooking and prep space. Worth planning electrics and plumbing runs carefully at design stage, since retrofitting them later is far more disruptive.

Family living room

A garden-facing living space with bi-fold or French doors onto the garden works well as an orangery, particularly where the existing house layout is short on a bright, sociable room. Underfloor heating and good glazing specification matter more here, since it's a room people want to relax in through the evening.

Garden room or snug

A smaller orangery used as a quiet garden-facing room — for reading, working from home, or simply a change of scenery from the rest of the house — is a popular, lower-cost option than a full kitchen-diner conversion.