I came across this:

https://www.theplancollection.com/house-plan-related-articles/the-atrium-in-house-plans-is-a-modern-twist-on-an-old-classic

Try using “atrium” and/or “conservatory” in your search, too. Good luck!

When your dreams get closer to becoming a reality, engage a local architect to assist you in designing a home with you that meets your needs and fits your site. Having a greenhouse attached to the house can be a complicated design challenge depending on the site and other factors. Sweet dreams.

My current home has an atrium. It is beautiful and a complete heating/cooling nightmare.

The room is frigid in the winter and extremely hot in the summer so it is only utilized a few months a year. Thankfully it can be closed off from the rest of the house with patio doors. The previous owners had a hot tub in it which was probably nice in the winter. My house plants love it in the summer! We are located in Upstate NY.

You can check conservatories ideas in UK, it is so common there.

A greenhouse is a separate structure possibly attached to a house and accessible by a door. An "atrium" is a central space open to the sky. What you are probably looking for is a conservatory, sunroom, solarium or 4 season room.

A freestanding but accessible greenhouse can be attached to a house by an enclosed walkway, so your designs can be somewhat independent. Also, as suggested by Celery above, conservatories are common in the UK. Houzz has a UK site: https://www.houzz.co.uk/

Do you want an actual attached greenhouse, or a conservatory room?

Since you're in Ontario, I would definitely find a local architect who understands the particular climate considerations you're dealing with, and would factor in hot summers and cold winters, as well as energy efficiency.

We had an atrium in the center of our home in Vancouver and I loved it since it was a typical atrium open to the sky it was more decorative than really used for anything else.But you need an architect to design a house with whatever it is you want. So more info from you for sure but get an architect . Things like what do you want to grow in the greenhouse for instance.

I guess the question is: what did you do to compensate for the weather in your Climate? Where are you? Did you put in in-floor heating, venting in the peak? Was a system used to recycle the heat/cool to other parts of the home? Did you use a de-humidifying system? These are the kind of things I am trying to find out. I was hoping to gain the practical knowledge others who have tried to do this may have discovered. I do understand the difference between greenhouse/atrium/conservatory/solarium. I am hoping to figure out how to incorporate a proper attached greenhouse; ei, one that I would not have to go outside in January to get to.

Anyone who could speak to that, I would appreciate that!! I am at the research stage - I understand this will not be easy. Thanks!!

midnightsmum, it would be helpful to know what sort of plants you hope to overwinter and how many you have.

I live on a farm in Alberta, and we built a new house several years ago, making good use of passive solar (orienting the house and planting trees to help keep the house cool in summer and warm in winter). We put in lots of large windows with wide window sills. In the dining room, we have nine windows on three walls (east, south, and west exposure) plus a garden door, and under the windows we have base cabinets under all the windows for storage, so I can fit a lot of plants there in the fall; the bougainvillea has bloomed for the past two springs in that location. In my bathroom, there are two large windows at the corner (east and south) over the corner tub, where I overwinter five citrus trees which continue to bloom and bear fruit through the winter. We also have a tower on one corner of the house (rather Victorian style) which has west, north, and eastern exposure and I was surprised when my hibiscus started blooming there this past April. I have a lot of geraniums that I overwinter and they bloom throughout the winter; my mother-in-law has me overwinter hers, and I keep them in our heated garage on a old kitchen table in front of the window (lots of windows in our garage too lol) and they bloom constantly through the winter; I know I should give them a rest but there is nothing cheerier in this part of the world in November or February than an entire tableful of blooms.

We have a two-story house with basement and I have plants at almost every window on the first two floors (not the pantry or main floor bathroom). The plants range in size from a very small haworthia to a good-size monstera and a split-leaf philodendron. The main key to success in overwintering for me has been to bring them in sooner before the day length gets too short. I also make good use of the showers and the tub in my bathroom for the plants all winter, giving them all a rinse; the plants use the tub more than I do : ) . One shower has a detachable shower head, and it's so handy that I wish I had put them in all of the bathrooms

I do have a heated free-standing greenhouse which I use from early May to late September. And I have a three-tier light cart I use in the spring for seed-starting; it's nearly 30-years old and I used to have it before I was married to grow tropicals in my city apartment.

The only other recommendation I have if you intend to go ahead with an attached greenhouse is to talk to a company like BC Greenhouses, where my freestanding greenhouse is from. They talked me through all of our climate considerations for our location (wind, usual snow load, hail, etc) to help me choose the correct specs, inc roof slope, for my greenhouse. They generally have a sale every fall.

https://www.bcgreenhouses.com/greenhouses/cross-country/home-attached-greenhouses/

Working with both an architect and a company like BC Greenhouses should get you the best living situation for people *and* plants.

You might want to read the Greenhouse forum here. Lots of info in the archives. A Zone 4 greenhouse will need a lot of supplemental winter heat and triple glazing, just to overwinter plants. Food production will require even more work, with supplemental correct wavelength lighting and hand pollinating. The costs for a winter grown tomato will be very very high, if that’s your aim. So, define your goals, as you mat not even need a greenhouse for them, as Becky shows. You may also want to check out the pot growers forums, as those folks have perfected the science of indoor growing! Good luck!

https://www.houzz.com/discussions/greenhouses-and-garden-structures

Becky - I am coming to live with you!!! lol. Yes, this is what I do as well. I have a Meyer Lemon, Bay tree, many hibiscuses, Dipladenia, etc. I do the trick with coping boards onto windowsills to increase the width. Am currently in a 100+-year-old house in Eastern Ontario. I have blooms all winter long, in this house, just with the windows. My next home will use both solar panels and passive systems. I am starting the research now, to figure out the best way to go about it. I am getting older, so this will be my forever home, and will need to compensate for advancing years in the design. I visited a nearby greenhouse last winter and joked that I could live there. Then I got home and thought, hmmm, why not. The more I look the more sense it makes, and I want to do it cleverly. Thank you for your detailed and thought-provoking reply! And, it is very easy to refit those shower heads - just vice-grips and some plumbers tape!! I have done it many times. :)

Thanks for the link - I will have a look, but my plan is to come up with something self-contained. I just need to figure out how I can do it. Take care - happy gardening. I heard you got your first snow this week. It makes the blooms inside more precious!!

Cheers, Nancy.

I have a Meyer Lemon, Bay tree, many hibiscuses, Dipladenia, etc. I do the trick with coping boards onto windowsills to increase the width.

I have dipladenia too, and passifloras, one of which is quite large, and thuggish, in a 7-gallon pot; in the winter, it takes over the window seat in the dining room. It's still blooming right now.

Adding on to the windowsills is what we did in our old house, a 1950s bungalow. We also put a bow window in our bedroom in that house, the only room with southern exposure. We thought for many years about what we wanted to include in our new house, which took us four years to build (we built it ourselves); we moved in two years ago, and it's worked so beautifully for plants, and at least after two years is still able to accommodate more : ) .

I am getting older, so this will be my forever home, and will need to compensate for advancing years in the design.

Especially if you're older, keep rising energy costs and ongoing maintenance in mind. My husband is a builder as well as a farmer, and I have three kids in their 20s living at home, two of whom farm with us and are also carpenters and welders. So if I'm at the top of the ladder re-adjusting shade cloth or fixing the heater, I can get an extra pair of hands or someone else to do the job very easily.

And, it is very easy to refit those shower heads - just vice-grips and some plumbers tape!! I have done it many times. :)

It's a question of me being too frugal for that in an almost-brand new house with almost-brand new shower heads, and some of us enamored of our high-pressure shower heads. I can't let the plants take over just yet!

Take care - happy gardening. I heard you got your first snow this week. It makes the blooms inside more precious!!

Happy gardening to you too, Nancy. No snow in this part of AB, we're east of Edmonton. But a few cms are coming tomorrow. We can't complain, though. Last month was the first September in five years without snow, and for the past couple of years, the snow has started in September and stayed. So it's been a lovely fall. I'm much more concerned about the nighttime temps, which are going down to -10 and lower over the weekend. Argh.

Thanks for the link - I will have a look, but my plan is to come up with something self-contained.

I meant to reply to this. Nancy, what exactly do you mean by self-contained when you also mention an attached greenhouse?

We have family in Germany who also farm, and their (remodeled 19th century) dairy barn is attached to the (not very remodeled 19th century) house with a large room that's a combination vestibule/anteroom that functions as a mudroom/laundry room in between. It keeps the very different conditions, and also the mess, away from each other.

This article sounds interesting,

https://www.saltscapes.com/9-home-cottage/954-greenhouse-effect-lengthening-your-gardening-season.html

Jana and Frank Fetjek had a greenhouse custom made when they built their new home in Cambridge, NS, in 2001. "We did some research on greenhouses. We wanted something that would last, so we didn't scrimp on quality," Jana says. Their double-glazed, 15' x 12' polycarbonate greenhouse is attached to the south side of the house, where it receives maximum sunlight and is sheltered from cold winds. The Fetjeks have done something innovative by building the greenhouse foundation four feet underground. It's a few steps down to enter the greenhouse, which is partially insulated by being set in the ground. The floor is crushed gravel (see sidebar for more). Accessible from inside the house and from an outside entryway, it helps to heat the house throughout the winter. "We just open the doors and, since warm air rises, the heat from the greenhouse adds itself to our home," Frank says.

Additionally, I should mention that my freestanding greenhouse is twinwall polycarbonate, and that's just for early May to late October in Zone 3. The company also offers single tempered glass, tempered insulated double glass, and fivewall polycarbonate (better insulation than twinwall, but 62% light transmission vs 82% for twinwall), and for people who want both a living and growing space, they also have tinted, high performance, and laminated glass. I love the look of glass but we live in a hail zone, and even the tempered insulated double glass is more of a risk than the twinwall polycarbonate, which is very tough stuff.

Have you looked at Florian in TO?

http://floriansunrooms.ca/florian-sunrooms-project-greenhouse-in-daoust-quebec/

We bought plans and supplies to build a Florian lean-to-style greenhouse onto the back of our older home. The shared wall between the house & greenhouse was formerly the outside wall of a 3-season porch that doesn't tap into the HVAC ductwork in the rest of our home. So we have indoor access to the greenhouse via a slider-type patio door, but we avoid some of the heating and cooling exchange that would occur if the greenhouse attached directly to our living room.

We live in the Midwest, between Zone 4 & 5. From a plant happiness perspective, I'd say it's harder to keep the temperature down in the summer than to keep the greenhouse warm in winter. To heat, we have a Hot Dawg natural gas heater of the type used for garages, machine sheds, etc. It does just fine, but obviously increases our utility costs. For cooling, we originally tried to use a swamp cooler, but our summers are just too humid to make that effective. We disconnected it years ago. Now we just try to keep the summer temperature down using a thermostat-regulated exhaust fan and a pair of oscillating wall fans. There's a motorized vent in the roof of the greenhouse that also helps when the heat is extreme.

The Florian sales rep was extremely helpful when it came to the size, heating, and cooling decisions. We built it about 20 years ago, so can't speak to their level of service now, but they were quite helpful when we had to replace one of the glass panels about five years ago.

BTW, the greenhouse is about 10' deep and 15' wide. It has a block foundation, but doesn't have an actual floor. Instead, we hauled in a few feet of loose, river-type rock so we wouldn't have to worry about drainage issues when spray-watering the plants. I'm not sure what that cost us in terms of energy efficiency, but I don't regret that decision.

Plants we've grown include mostly orchids, the occasional lime tree, plumeria, and other hobby-type plants.

Nancy, this thread might be helpful,

https://www.gardenweb.com/discussions/5968605/zone-3-four-season-greenhouse-early-project-planning-and-brainstorm#n=24