Seeking Home Inspiration At The SEH BAC Showcentre

Do you go on Pinterest to seek inspiration for your perfect house? Or maybe you prefer to browse interior magazines? I spend far too long each week on Instagram enviously looking at other people’s beautiful homes and wondering how I can transform mine. When I went to the grand reopening of the Chelmsford SEH BAC showcentre I came away buzzing with ideas.

*This is a collaborative post*

4 photos from the SEH BAC Chelmsford showcentre showing options for privacy glass, window and door handles


Seeing beautiful homes online and in print is inspiring, but it is so much more tangible when you can sit on a real sofa staring out through real conservatory windows and imagining your garden beyond. Or if you can take a key and unlock a real front door, feeling the cool metal handle in your hand as you turn it and walk through. I’m definitely a tactile shopper; when I go clothes shopping I walk between the racks stroking the fabrics before picking them up and holding them in front of a mirror to see how they might look on me. It turns out when thinking about home improvements I like to shop the same way.

The Chelmsford SEH BAC showcentre is the largest indoor conservatory showroom in the UK. Located on Baynes Place off Waterhouse Lane, it is packed full of rooms where you can see different style windows and doors. There are countless types of handles you can touch as well as privacy glass and frames. You can even experience different conservatories and orangeries decorated with furniture and soft furnishings to help you get a real feel for them. The showcentre recently reopened after being transformed to showcase the latest and most popular installations including self cleaning glass and triple glazing. It provides great inspiration for thinking about what you would like to change in your own home.

Front view of the SEH BAC Chelmsford show centre. The UK's largest indoor conservatory showcentre

I’ve previously visited the Colchester SEH BAC show centre and blogged about how impressed I was with their approach. Installing new windows, doors, conservatories and extensions over much of the South of England they have recently won accolades including Conservatory Designer of the year 2017/ 2018 and Installer of The Year meaning they will be top of my list when I come to make changes to my home, but what is on my shopping list?

I would love new windows. Our current windows have dark brown fake wood frames, the view out is broken up into little rectangles thanks to leading and the window furnishings are gold. The seals are damaged so the glazing has condensation in it and they are generally my least favourite part of the house. I want bright white windows without decorations on the glazing and satin handles.

At the back of our house we have double doors leading into the garden which are great to open wide in Summer, but they suffer from the same ageing brown design as the rest of the windows. I’m currently tying to choose between replacing them with updated white french doors or bi-fold doors which would allow us to completely open up the back of the house in warm weather.

Of course I would love a conservatory to give us more space, who doesn’t need more space in their home? Realistically though we already have an extension and we would be unlikely to get planning permission. 

I have already started conversations with G about what we can afford and when. What would you love to have done to your house?

A dark wood frame conservatory in the SEH BAC showcentre

***Disclosure: This is a collaborative post***

11 comments

  1. I would love an extension on ours to bring more light in as I love glass roof extensions but we don't really need any more living space. This looks a great place to weight all your options up

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. My small edge of London house is envy of not needing more living space!

      Delete
  2. When we brought our house, we did so with the intention to extend at some point in the future. I would love it to have bi-fold doors on, they look amazing!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's great to have somewhere where there is the option to extend when you are ready. Around here going up to the next size house eg with an extra bedroom is about an extra £150k so an extension is a cheaper option

      Delete
  3. I love our conservatory, it's the best place to spend time when there is a little bit of sun. I really love French Doors they are great for making the house and garden seem closer together

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think that is a great way to describe French Doors

      Delete
  4. A couple of years we renovated our existing conservatory with a solid roof to make it into a usable part of our home all year round. It's my favourite room now!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sounds great. It was only when I was chatting to SEHBAC the first time that I thought about the importance of designing the conservatory properly to make it useable otherwise it can be too hot in summer and too cold in winter

      Delete
  5. I've wanted a conservatory for soo long!! I would be in heaven at this show centre haha xx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I have never lived anywhere with a conservatory so I have always been a little envious

      Delete
  6. A show like this would be plain dangerous for me, I get so drawn in to Pinterest never being able to see the inspiration in real life!

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for your comment (unless it's spam in which case, why?)