19 Greenhouse Design Ideas That Will Inspire You

Looking for a way to enjoy the great outdoors and gardening all year long? Then a greenhouse may be your answer. Survey these greenhouses for every style, budget and setting. Some are elegant and elaborate but others are easy enough to set up in a weekend.

May 06, 2022

By: Jeff Stafford and Felicia Feaster

Related To:

Consider Adding the Functional Beauty of a Greenhouse to Your Home

If you're a gardener, then greenhouses are a great way to extend the growing season all year so you can enjoy orchids or fruit trees or even vegetables any time of year. But greenhouses are more than just a place to grow. Whether attached to the house or designed as a separate building, greenhouses can be contemplative spaces that allow you to relish the great outdoors even in the dead of winter. Their glass windows offer an often 360 degree view of the outdoors and allow you to stay warm and toasty even when there is snow on the ground.

This sweet steel-and-glass greenhouse offers year-round gardening opportunities for residents of the Maryland manor estate adjoining it.

Read on for more greenhouse design ideas and see the many ways these structures can serve various needs. Or shop for a cool backyard greenhouse here.

Learn More: 10 Backyard Greenhouses You Can Buy Online

From: Long & Foster® Real Estate, Inc.

New England Style

Made from powder-coated white cast aluminum, this stunning creation by Christopher Lines & Associates has a French limestone floor and is ideal for year-round entertaining and serves as a backyard retreat from the main house.

The San Juan Greenhouse

Greenhouses are no longer just for growing plants and are now being enjoyed by homeowners as garden retreats, artist studios, exterior living rooms and architectural showpieces. The SolarGro San Juan Greenhouse, for example, has all the attributes of a nature conservatory but can serve many other purposes with its 12 by 16 foot all glass structure with auto roof vents.

Learn More: Tour a Greenhouse Made From Upcycled Windows

The Potting Shed

Built from hand-thrown brick with a tempered glass roof, this elegantly designed greenhouse by CFS Architects blends in perfectly with its idyllic surroundings.

The English Orion Greenhouse

Perfect for small spaces or as a starter greenhouse, The 6 x 8 foot English Orion model combines a stylish design with durability and comes with the tallest door in its class. The powder-coated green frame blends in perfectly with any garden setting.

Washington State Cedar

The Northern Heritage greenhouse offers gardeners the beauty, warmth and natural ambience of a solid cedar conservatory. The 8 x 16 foot structure features a high peak roof which allows summer heat to rise and easily sheds snow in the winter. The red cedar frame, made in Washington State, is insect resistant and easy to assemble for the DIY gardener.

Learn More: Warm and Welcoming: Tour a Vintage-Inspired Greenhouse in Montana

The Estate Providence greenhouse

Whether you want your own little private garden getaway or a place to grow and nurture orchids, the 10 x 12 foot Estate Providence greenhouse is an appealing option with its wagon wheel and ridge cresting.

Glass Artistry

This spacious greenhouse, designed by Groundswell Design Group, embraces both indoor and outdoor living with its custom-made fire pit leading up to the airy and elegant glass framework.

Interior Luxury

This inside view of the Groundswell Design Group's glass greenhouse shows how radiant heating in the floor allows the homeowners to enjoy the room year round.

The Lean-To Look

The 6 x 12 foot Dover Home-Attached greenhouse is a traditional lean-to structure whose straight eave compliments most homes. The glazing is clear tempered safety glass, the frame is rustproof and maintenance-free and it stands up to high winds and heavy snowfall.

The English Jupiter greenhouse

For its price range, the 8 x 14 foot English Jupiter greenhouse offers multi-functionality and a handsome design which is available in green or black powder-coat or a clear anodized finish (a process that keeps aluminum looking pristine for a longer time period).

The Vancouver Garden Room

With its striking roof lines that accentuate the feeling of space, the 15 x 24 foot Vancouver Garden Room design is a showstopper with its stone half walls (also known as pony walls) and ornamental ridge cresting.

The All-Season Solarium

A solarium can function as a living room and plant showcase as in this striking combo of stone walls, white frame glass panels and ridge cresting from Conservatory Craftsmen.

The Cascadia Rainier greenhouse

If your plants prefer temperatures above 55 degrees Fahrenheit throughout the winter, the 5-Wall polycarbonate glazing on the Cascadia Rainer greenhouse will provide significant energy savings for you. With sidewalls nearly 6 feet high, there is more space for plant shelves and hanging baskets.

Mahogany Beauty

A greenhouse can function as a stylish adjoining room to your home where you can enjoy an indoor garden year round. The all mahogany frame, ridge cresting and stone walls of this design by Conservatory Craftsmen also includes in-floor heating.

Big and Wide

For the serious greenhouse gardener, it's hard to beat the 20 x 40 foot SolarGro Cascadia greenhouse with its clear tempered safety glass which is impervious to weather and the TwinWall roof which is made of lightweight polycarbonate and is known for its insulation strength.

The Cape Cod Parkside greenhouse

One of the more popular styles available, the 8 x 12 foot Cape Cod Parkside greenhouse has an extra strong aluminum framework and maintenance free enamel finish along with automatic ventilation that allows hot, stale air to escape.

DIY Greenhouse Offers a Place for Desert Plants

Atlanta couple Cary Smith and Libby Hockenberry, Owners of the Victorian Atlanta, have built several small greenhouses in their back yard to allow them to experiment with new kinds of plants to sell in their shop, so that they’re experts on everything before they try and sell them to anyone else. In this greenhouse, they leveled the ground, covered it with Indiana creek gravel, and built a nurturing environment for desert plants that wouldn’t otherwise do so well in the Atlanta humidity of the outside world. See Cary and Libby's plant-filled home tour here.

Learn More: Turn Old Windows Into a Gorgeous Garden Greenhouse

Metal Greenhouse

A dramatic, beckoning feature in Douglasville, Georgia resident Susanne Hudson's garden, this greenhouse is a place to display her collections, but also to unwind and spend time.

Learn More: Tour a Georgia Garden Where Hydrangeas and Vintage Collectibles Rule

A Restorative, Restful Garden

Susanne Hudson relaxes in her lovely metal greenhouse in her Georgia backyard, home to various collections and a great place to read or spend time.

Display Case

Glass jars, trays and shelves put Susanne's many collections front and center in her eclectic greenhouse.

Breathtaking Garden Room

A way to enjoy her garden no matter what they weather, as well as highlight her love of antiques, Susanne Hudson's pretty greenhouse offers many visual delights.

Shop This Look

Photo By: Image courtesy of Christopher Lines & Associates

Photo By: Image courtesy of www.charleysgreenhouse.com

Photo By: Image courtesy of Cheatham, Fletcher, Scott Architects, Augusta, Ga.

Photo By: Image courtesy of www.charleysgreenhouse.com

Photo By: Image courtesy of Groundswell Design Group

Photo By: Image courtesy of www.charleysgreenhouse.com

Photo By: Image courtesy of charleysgreenhouse.com

Photo By: Image courtesy of Conservatory Craftsmen

Photo By: Image courtesy of charleysgreenhouse.com

Photo By: Image courtesy of Conservatory Craftsmen

Photo By: Image courtesy of charleysgreenhouse.com

Photo By: Tomas Espinoza

19 Greenhouse Design Ideas That Will Inspire You

Related To:

Consider Adding the Functional Beauty of a Greenhouse to Your Home

New England Style

The San Juan Greenhouse

The Potting Shed

The English Orion Greenhouse

Washington State Cedar

The Estate Providence greenhouse

Glass Artistry

Interior Luxury

The Lean-To Look

The English Jupiter greenhouse

The Vancouver Garden Room

The All-Season Solarium

The Cascadia Rainier greenhouse

Mahogany Beauty

Big and Wide

The Cape Cod Parkside greenhouse

DIY Greenhouse Offers a Place for Desert Plants

Metal Greenhouse

A Restorative, Restful Garden

Display Case

Breathtaking Garden Room

Shop This Look

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