More and more choose a greenhouse for relaxation, and now, three greenhouse girls have made a guide for creating a nice atmosphere in the greenhouse.

Text by: Lars Lund

Earlier greenhouses were often small, often low-ceilinged, whitewashed, and you had to crawl in to look at your tomatoes, and it was placed in the backyard. Greenhouses today have to a greater extent become the new garden room or perhaps rather the modern pavilion. That also means that the greenhouse no longer only has the purpose of being a place to grow tomatoes and cucumbers, but now it is also a room where you can enjoy the company of yourself and your family. We call it a dreamhouse. That is, a house that is predominantly for cosiness and relaxation, and significantly less for cultivating.

Like so much else in these corona times, garden life has blossomed. That also includes the desire for a greenhouse. Orangeries have become popular, or the name is, because they are not used as an orangery. But it does not matter what you call it, as long as you are happy with your glasshouse, and is both the younger and older generation who have gotten a greenhouse. The enthusiasm influences the delivery times. Pre-corona you could almost drive home with a greenhouse on the trailer the same day you saw it, but today you have to wait months to get it delivered. This is despite the fact that Europe's largest greenhouse supplier, Juliana, has greatly increased its workforce.

Kira Leth from Denmark is one of the many who during the pandemic has gone more outside in the garden, and who is also a relatively new greenhouse owner. Despite being new, she has together with three other new enthusiasts, taken the initiative to make a free guide that helps people with a more untraditional interior design of the greenhouse. Most greenhouse books focus mostly on cultivation and decor for plant beds and less on decor when it comes to using the greenhouse more for relaxing than for plants. She is, like many who love photos, a user of Instagram, where she has a profile showing her interior design.

Even though a greenhouse in the sense of the law is not, and must not be a living quarter, you are allowed to have some furniture in the greenhouse, so you can have a cup of coffee or take a nap in the hammock. That is why, among other things, it is a matter of utilizing the square feet of the glasshouse, so that there can also be room for other things than plants.

The trio

Two other Instagrammers, Pia Bloch-Nielsen and Helena Norrstrøm have been helpful with Kira’s task. Pia is a cand. Mag and career counsellor. She has always had a great interest in interior design and good quality design, and her greenhouse and Instagram profile oozes cosiness, good taste, and inspiration.

Helena sells quality playhouses from her own company and alongside she studies interior design. The three girls follow each other's Instagram profile, and of course many others and get a lot of inspiration through this, some of which has ended in a guide by joint efforts.

The advantage of the three contributors is that their greenhouses are vastly different in size. Kira’s is 140 square feet, Pia’s 202 and Helena's just 86 square feet. However, Helena has two greenhouses. She got her first last year but soon it was filled with all sorts of glories and she has therefore now bought greenhouse number two. Exactly the different sizes present different challenges, which means that everyone can participate, and everyone can find inspiration in the three girls' suggestions and on their Instagram profiles.

Tile floor warm

In the guide, the three enthusiasts have made, they offer tips about where the house should be located in the garden, and about the greenhouse floor both inside the greenhouse itself and outside around it. It is a good idea to let the tiles go further out into the garden. They each express what their own criterion for their choices has been. Kira and Pia have both chosen a tile floor. Once the stones are warmed up, it is very comfortable to walk on with bare feet. The colour of the floor and house also come into play. Here they have looked at what fits in well with the surroundings also in relation to their home.

Pia is totally hooked on fire. It is cosy and warms both on a cold summer evening, but also in the winter. She simply uses her greenhouse all year round. In addition to a gas fireplace for outdoor fun, she has a mobile wood stove, which can be used in the garden, in the greenhouse or in the wilderness, if you are into it, and then she has a great consumption of candles. Sometimes it's a pure sea of ​​light when you look at Pia's greenhouse, a fantastic sight.

Helena with the smallest greenhouse has chosen to place the greenhouse close to the home, so she can sit inside and look out at the greenhouse. It looks quite refined, and it is quite incredible what you can create of cosiness, in just 86 square feet. Here too, as with the other two, there is a beautiful interior design and enviable decor. It is usually said that one should never buy a greenhouse less than 100 square feet, but Helena shows that 86 can also do.

The girls also talk about the benefit of having electricity in the greenhouse. Electric string lights give such a nice atmosphere, and you are able to sit with a not fully charged iPad looking at new ideas or perhaps hear audiobooks. There are also tips for furniture in the guide and what to do to prevent them from getting damp.

Heaven on earth

If you were not aware of it then a greenhouse can simply become very hot. Already in March, the temperature can reach well over 20 degrees, and the higher the sun is in the sky, the warmer it gets.

Here is the suggestion to plant a vine that can create shade, but also, in the more romantic corner, put up white curtains that create a heavenly atmosphere, perhaps with a four-poster bed.

The three interior design nerds share their great tips. You have to be careful not to put too much into the glasshouse so that it just ends up being a house for everything that you otherwise do not have room for in the home or garden. Too many things can end up making the whole thing a shed and the cosiness disappears. In other words, you have to stick to the idea of cosiness. The furniture does not have to be new. There are many beautiful flea market findings to be found and with a saw, some pallets, a hammer and some nails, you can also make your very own "do it yourself" style.

Believe in yourself

Although you can seek inspiration elsewhere, it is also about being true to your own personal style. Let the greenhouse reflect where you live. If you live close to the beach, let some of the maritime play in, and if you live by a field, pick beautiful bouquets of corn, or find wild beautiful flowers on the edge of the ditch. Wreaths of nature's materials are also fun, and then it starts to look a bit like a greenhouse for plants, just in a different and less demanding way.