This sustainable feature could potentially add an eye-catching focal point to your property. Rebecca Foster takes a closer look at how to incorporate this element into your scheme

The vivid hues of a living roof can add an inviting design flourish to your home, plus boost the house’s green credentials by forming an insulating layer that helps to reduce heat loss. The term describes various systems, from simple setups with a hardy turf or sedum covering, to advanced roof garden schemes that are full of a selection of colourful shrubs.

The feature works particularly well in urban locations where it’s used as a tool to inject greenery into the setting. Often specified as a covering for single-storey rear extensions, it provides a pleasant view for occupants looking down from the upper floors of the house, also adding an interesting visual detail from an exterior perspective.

In rural situations, green roofs can be used as a smart solution to help houses blend sensitively into the setting – particularly for Paragraph 55 dwellings constructed on green belt land. This is why these living coverings are looked upon so well by planners, as it’s a straightforward way to show how the new building will be camouflaged within the plot, minimising its overall visual impact.