A stunning family home is using NASA-inspired technology to help gift creative workshops to hundreds of care workers.

Camilla Thomas converted her pool room into a not-for-profit ‘creative escape’ for workers in the care industry, NHS hospitals and hospices who dedicate their lives to helping others.

She invites dozens of care workers every week for a day visit to her picturesque estate and ‘glass classroom' in Sandiway, Cheshire, for floristry, willow weaving, painting, photography, artisan crafts, and gardening.

Camilla launched Toolerstone at their family home of 20 years as a tribute to her husband Andy Jeal who died aged 58 from pancreatic cancer just months after being diagnosed with the disease.

But the variable temperatures and uncomfortable glare from her large expanses of glass proved to be an obstacle to her peaceful retreat - until she discovered the unique cutting-edge technology provided by CI Group that transformed her CONservatory into a PROservatory.

Camilla said: “Andy was a great believer in helping those who strive to help themselves and never forgot his upbringing, in a small council house in Great Yarmouth.

“Toolerstone is still very much our family’s home but, in Andy’s memory, we want to share it with others who would benefit from being here. 

“It was essential that any changes to our beautiful family home were aesthetically pleasing as the glass classroom links to our garden, surrounded by nature, which brings many benefits to my mental and physical wellbeing.

“The connection I have with nature and the outdoors can be extremely uplifting and I wanted to share this feeling with others.”

Camilla and her Toolerstone team use the 20m x 7m ‘glass classroom’ to offer creative workshops, and to date have gifted places worth more than £125,000 - including painting, decorative arts,  willow weaving and photography.

But they were often plagued by the glare and found it difficult to keep the room cool in the summer.

Mark Burgess, Toolerstone’s Estate Manager, said: “The air conditioning units struggled in the summer.

“It was nice and cool at 9am when the aircon had been on all night - but by 11am if the sun’s out it became quite uncomfortable, even with blinds.

“The glare was also really cutting, and would sometimes give you a headache.”

The Toolerstone team found a solution through CI Group, which uses unique NASA-inspired technology to reduce up to 90 per cent of heat loss through the roof.

The technology, developed by its team of experts, keeps your conservatory cool by reflecting 95 per cent of direct sunlight so you control the temperature all year round.

CI Group’s cutting-edge C.H.R.I.S® system adopts a six-layer quilt and technology researched and developed by NASA on the Apollo Space Shuttle.

Mark added: “It’s much more comfortable in the summer and cosier in the winter.”

With over 30,000 installations in the UK, CI Group has helped thousands of homeowners transform their conservatory into a space that they can love in all seasons.