7 One-of-a-Kind Greenhouses for Gardening and More
These greenhouses are personalized to their owners’ interests, whether vegetable growing or tea drinking
Many of us dream of having a backyard studio or cottage where we can relax, focus on work or putter around with a few potted plants. Enter the backyard greenhouse.
These light, airy structures may be intended to shelter collections of tender plants, but they can also double as inviting garden rooms. Take a look at the following seven one-of-a-kind greenhouses that serve as places for gardening, socializing and more.
These light, airy structures may be intended to shelter collections of tender plants, but they can also double as inviting garden rooms. Take a look at the following seven one-of-a-kind greenhouses that serve as places for gardening, socializing and more.
The greenhouse, which measures 96 square feet (9 square meters), is nestled under the boughs of a Japanese magnolia tree in an upper corner of the backyard.
The clear glass paneling (interspersed with some frosted panels for privacy and sun protection) lets in plenty of light, keeping potted houseplants flourishing and offering Vendrolini views of the garden and city skyline as he works.
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The clear glass paneling (interspersed with some frosted panels for privacy and sun protection) lets in plenty of light, keeping potted houseplants flourishing and offering Vendrolini views of the garden and city skyline as he works.
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2. Greenhouse Made From Recycled Windows
A load of free vintage oak casement windows inspired Amy Moore and her family to build a backyard greenhouse for starting seedlings. The greenhouse, which sits on a ridge behind their home in Tennessee, measures 64 square feet (6 square meters) and took about a month to assemble.
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A load of free vintage oak casement windows inspired Amy Moore and her family to build a backyard greenhouse for starting seedlings. The greenhouse, which sits on a ridge behind their home in Tennessee, measures 64 square feet (6 square meters) and took about a month to assemble.
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Railway timber forms a sturdy foundation, with pieces of rebar drilled in to help secure the grid of 2-by-4 framing for the walls. Arranging the salvaged windows into the walls of the structure was “like putting together a puzzle,” Moore says.
Finished with a clear corrugated polycarbonate roof, the structure allows for maximum light for growing edible plant starts — giving Moore a jump-start on the short growing season. It cost the family less than $400 to build the greenhouse.
Read more about this handmade greenhouse
Finished with a clear corrugated polycarbonate roof, the structure allows for maximum light for growing edible plant starts — giving Moore a jump-start on the short growing season. It cost the family less than $400 to build the greenhouse.
Read more about this handmade greenhouse
3. Luxury Glass House for Indoor-Outdoor Hosting
This lavish greenhouse turned entertaining room, designed by Groundswell Design Group, sits outside a weekend home in rural Bucks County, Pennsylvania. The homeowners divided the interior into multiple areas for dining and for relaxing with friends in a cozy seating area.
This lavish greenhouse turned entertaining room, designed by Groundswell Design Group, sits outside a weekend home in rural Bucks County, Pennsylvania. The homeowners divided the interior into multiple areas for dining and for relaxing with friends in a cozy seating area.
Large-scale potted plants — including pines, Japanese maples and tropical-looking cycads — populate the interior, bringing the outside in. A wood-burning fireplace and radiant floor heating keep the space warm through winter.
See more of this luxe greenhouse retreat
See more of this luxe greenhouse retreat
4. City Greenhouse for Urban Gardening
Being able to grow a significant percentage of one’s produce isn’t an attainable dream for most city dwellers, but it was one that San Francisco residents Tom Cowan and Lynda Smith were able to turn into a reality.
With the help of architect Ron Stanford of step3studio, Cowan and Smith converted a crumbling backyard orchid house into a multilevel greenhouse for growing veggies and herbs.
Being able to grow a significant percentage of one’s produce isn’t an attainable dream for most city dwellers, but it was one that San Francisco residents Tom Cowan and Lynda Smith were able to turn into a reality.
With the help of architect Ron Stanford of step3studio, Cowan and Smith converted a crumbling backyard orchid house into a multilevel greenhouse for growing veggies and herbs.
The interior measures about 125 square feet (12 square meters), with built-in raised beds and shelving space for seed trays, herb drying and worm bins. Most of the larger crops are grown on the greenhouse’s sunny rooftop, accessible via a set of metal ship’s stairs.
See more of this veggie-filled urban greenhouse
See more of this veggie-filled urban greenhouse
5. Combination Hot Tub and Greenhouse
Imagine traipsing across a snowy New England yard into a tropical-inspired spa, complete with a soaking tub and flowering plants. This vision inspired garden designer Bob Trainor of Garden Tech Horticultural Services and his wife, Lisa, to convert an old shed into a hot tub room and attach a greenhouse to one side.
Imagine traipsing across a snowy New England yard into a tropical-inspired spa, complete with a soaking tub and flowering plants. This vision inspired garden designer Bob Trainor of Garden Tech Horticultural Services and his wife, Lisa, to convert an old shed into a hot tub room and attach a greenhouse to one side.
Inside the greenhouse, which is kept at 50 degrees Fahrenheit (10 degrees Celsius) through the winter, the Trainors overwinter their collection of exotic palms, ferns and tender perennials and prep seedlings for spring planting. The door at the far end leads to the spa room (you can just glimpse the corner of the hot tub), where the couple can enjoy a nice soak after an afternoon of gardening.
Read more about this spa-and-greenhouse combination
Read more about this spa-and-greenhouse combination
6. Glass Teahouse for Bonsai and More
What began as a Massachusetts couple’s fruitless search for a prefab greenhouse with a modern silhouette ended with the couple’s opting for a custom design. They hired Colin Flavin of Flavin Architects to design and execute the project. The result is a stunning structure that is half greenhouse, half tearoom and lounge. It measures about 700 square feet (65 square meters).
What began as a Massachusetts couple’s fruitless search for a prefab greenhouse with a modern silhouette ended with the couple’s opting for a custom design. They hired Colin Flavin of Flavin Architects to design and execute the project. The result is a stunning structure that is half greenhouse, half tearoom and lounge. It measures about 700 square feet (65 square meters).
Large glass panels make up the walls and part of the roof of the structure, allowing plenty of light to filter through to the bonsai.
Behind the dividing wall, a seating area with a built-in hearth is a cozy destination for drinking tea and relaxing no matter the weather. A Modine heater keeps the greenhouse at a stable temperature through the winter.
See more of this glass garden house
Behind the dividing wall, a seating area with a built-in hearth is a cozy destination for drinking tea and relaxing no matter the weather. A Modine heater keeps the greenhouse at a stable temperature through the winter.
See more of this glass garden house
7. Damaged Barn Converted to Eclectic Greenhouse
When a tornado wiped out a run-down pole barn behind a Texas couple’s home, they decided to use the scraps to build a sanctuary for gardening. Carolyn Pace worked with her husband, Gary, to piece together enough lumber from the wreckage — plus windows donated by family members and plastic roofing from another old greenhouse — to construct a roughly 270-square-foot (25-square-meter) greenhouse on the site where the barn was.
When a tornado wiped out a run-down pole barn behind a Texas couple’s home, they decided to use the scraps to build a sanctuary for gardening. Carolyn Pace worked with her husband, Gary, to piece together enough lumber from the wreckage — plus windows donated by family members and plastic roofing from another old greenhouse — to construct a roughly 270-square-foot (25-square-meter) greenhouse on the site where the barn was.
Built-in shelves line the walls, giving Carolyn Pace plenty of room to grow succulents, trailing vines, bromeliads, herbs and cactuses. A Norfolk pine grows by the front door. The greenhouse floor was created using bricks salvaged from a neighboring homestead. “I love the smells that envelop you as you enter the space,” Pace says. “Caring for the plants and watching them grow is very rewarding and relaxing.”
Learn more about this greenhouse in Texas
Learn more about this greenhouse in Texas
Your turn: What’s your dream greenhouse? Tell us (or show us) in the Comments.
More on Houzz
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More on Houzz
10 Things to Include in Your Greenhouse
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Shop for pots and planters
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Motion designer Philippe Vendrolini considered buying a prefab studio when he decided to add a home office to his sloped San Francisco backyard. But cost and site logistics proved to be limiting factors. Instead, he chose a more cost-effective greenhouse kit, with the intention of converting it into a light-filled backyard office.