How To Design The Perfect Sunroom For Your Home
Many homeowners across Hampton Roads are eager to enjoy the outdoors of their backyard with the comforts of being indoors. Whether you are looking for a space that is pollen-free or bug-free, or a room that can be enjoyed no matter the weather outside, a sunroom can be a great investment for your home. There are several options that can provide this kind of unique space in your home. Deciding which option to go with can seem overwhelming with the many levels of customization now available.
ECCO Sunroom & Awning has designed and built thousands of sunrooms from Virginia Beach to Williamsburg. In this blog, we draw on our expertise in designing and building to help you determine the perfect sunroom for your home.
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STEP 1: Determine How You Will Us Your Sunroom
ECCO Sunroom & Awning has found that the best first step in determining the type of space to create is to consider how you and your family plan to use the space. A sunroom can provide a simple sitting area or much more. Sunrooms can be used as a space for entertaining, an exercise room, a home office, or a crafters paradise. The possibilities on how you can utilize your home’s sunroom addition are endless.
Designing An Entertaining Space
One of the most popular uses of sunrooms is to expand or enhance home entertaining space. You may need more space to gather and entertain than your home’s current floor plan allows. You may want to utilize the view of your landscaped yard to provide a more inviting space for entertaining. There are many reasons you may consider adding a sunroom to your home with the goal of an added entertaining space. Four season rooms, three season rooms and solariums are sunroom spaces that are ideal entertaining spaces. Be mindful that in Hampton Roads the weather during summer is so hot and winter is so cold that in order to enjoy your sunroom space year-round, you will need a heating and cooling system installed.
Designing A Leisure Space
The second most popular use of sunrooms is for a space of leisure. You may be looking for a space to unwind before you start your day – a place where you can sit and read the paper with a cup of coffee before you start your day. You may be looking for a space to finish your evening – a relaxing chair after a long day’s work. No matter when you are looking for a leisure place to relax and enjoy the outdoors in the comfort of your home, a sunroom, screen room, or solarium are great options. All three of these options provide you with a relaxing space with the perks of the outdoors in the comfort of the indoors.
Designing A Home Office
Many homeowners are looking to include a home office and are turning to a sunroom to create that space. Setting up a home office in a sunroom addition provides you with natural sunlight while you work which can improve your mood and productivity. Additionally, a home office set-up in a sunroom can provide a more secluded workspace – with limited distractions from the rest of the house. A home office can help you only “plug in” to work while in that space, helping you to unplug from work outside of that space. Whether you are working from home or logging in work hours outside of the office, a sunroom or four season room can be a great option for you.
Designing A Space For Hobbies
Adding a space to your home that fosters a passion or hobby is another popular goal for a sunroom addition. While each hobby may have specific elements to make the space perfect, if you are looking for natural sunlight for your projects then a sunroom addition is the right choice. Some hobbies such as gardening, crafting, and model building excel with natural sunlight.
If gardening is your hobby then a solarium, four season room, conservatory, or orangery may be the path you choose for your addition. These options provide maximum sunlight exposure while being able to control indoor climates. A solarium is made primarily of glass. It gets its name from the Latin, “place of sun[light].” You can imagine how plants can thrive in a solarium no matter the weather outside.
Similarly, conservatories and orangeries have their roots in a space for horticulture. Both are defined by a glass roof that often covers 75% of the overall roof area and glass walls covering at minimum 50% of the wall area. These home additions provide maximum sunlight in, with the view of the outdoors.
A sunroom addition can be an ideal space to practice your hobby. With a view of the outdoor, an abundance of natural sunlight, and protection from the outdoor climate, your hobby will thrive in a sunroom. Additionally, a sunroom provides a space that is removed from distractions in the rest of your home and provides a great place for you to organize and store your hobby accessories.
Determining how you will use the new space a sunroom addition will provide also helps to guide you on the amount of space this goal will require. Knowing the square footage your new sunroom addition will be (or at least a range) is a critical component to calculating the overall cost of the project.
STEP 2: Determine How Often You Will Use Your Sunroom
Another important consideration in deciding the perfect sunroom for your home is when and how frequently you would like to enjoy your space. Determine if you would like to utilize your sunroom year-round, three seasons out of the year, or just during warm weather.
Year-round Or Four-Season Sunroom
If you plan to utilize your sunroom year-round then your best plan is for a four season room or a solarium. Both types of sunrooms can include heating and cooling systems to keep the temperatures in your sunroom comfortable no matter the weather outside. Four season rooms have additional security features such as sleek door handles, and weatherlock sashes. A solarium has a large amount of glass for both the walls and the roofs. With 1-inch thick, double-pane insulated glass, solariums provide a year-round sunroom space.
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Three Seasons Out Of The Year
A three-season sunroom is similar to a four-season sunroom but without the heating and cooling system installed. In Hampton Roads you may be able to utilize a portable heater or fan to extend the use of your three-season room beyond the milder spring and fall seasons. A three-season room is less expensive than a year-round sunroom but is still secure with weather protection and dual-point locking system. Another option is to convert a screen porch into a three seasons room. If you have a porch you love but would love it more without the bugs and pollen, a porch conversion is a great choice.
Warm Weather Room
A third option is a sunroom that is enjoyable during the seasonably warm months. In Hampton Roads the spring and mild fall weather are the warm seasons where a screen room can be enjoyed. Enclosing a porch and converting it from a basic porch to a screen porch is another option. Screen porches and porch conversions are less expensive than the three and four season rooms. They still offer a comfortable space where you can enjoy the outdoors while in the comfort of your home.
STEP 3: Schedule An Idea Meeting And Quote
Once you have decided how you will utilize your new sunroom and how frequently you would like to use your new sunroom, the next step is to call ECCO Sunrooms & Awnings for an idea meeting and quote. Our team of expert designers are ready to walk you through the many endless options to customize your sunroom space. Our team will navigate roof style options, glass options, window and door configurations, and frame colors. We will showcase ways we can add onto your home and mirror the existing style and materials of the rest of your home. Our team will help you understand the costs of options in your design work and keep you within your budget. We will review examples of our past work in creating sunrooms in Hampton Roads to help you design the perfect sunroom for you and your family.
ECCO Sunroom & Awning are experts in designing and building custom sunrooms across Hampton Roads. No matter what the details or style of your ideal sunroom space is, the ECCO team can help.
Subject to credit approval. Monthly payment amount figured from average cost of $48,000 for a sunroom or patio enclosure with a $16,000 down payment. Bank financing loan term is 180 months at a fixed rate ranging between 7.99-19.99% APR (as of 7/16/2024). Interest rates may vary. This example is an estimate only. Actual payment amounts based on amount and timing of purchase. Offer not valid on prior sales, prior booked jobs, or combined with any other offers. Offer valid only at time of initial in home quotation. One offer per household. Some restrictions apply. Call for complete details and pricing. Offer ends 11/30/2024.
Call ECCO Sunroom and Awning today for a FREE In Home Estimate at 757-424-0022.
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