The Sunporch: A Room for All Seasons
Embrace the outdoors while staying sheltered from the elements with a bright, lounge-ready sunporch
A sun-drenched room filled with expansive exterior windows goes by many names: sunporch, sunroom, solarium, Florida room, sun parlor and in some cases even conservatory. Conservatories often had glass roofs and served as greenhouses or orangeries as well, but the definition has become squishy over the years. A sunporch is protected from the elements more than a screened-in porch is because it has windows that close. While older sunporches are typically three-season rooms (not having insulation or HVAC systems), newer sunporches are often built to be inhabited year-round. Whatever you call this light-filled room, it's often the most popular space in the house. Decide if converting an existing porch or adding a new sunporch is for you.
In a small cottage where space is tight, a sunporch may serve as the only dining room.
In warmer climates, like that of Southern California, a sunporch is a year-round room. This extensive system of French doors and transoms allows diners to have a full view of the surrounding garden and yard.
A long enclosed porch has plenty of room for lounging and dining. Try defining the spaces with an area rug or two.
A brick floor adds a rustic touch that articulates the room's place between fully enclosed and open to the elements.
Just because a sunporch is often a three-season room, there's no reason to limit it to outdoor furniture and forgo cushy indoor-style upholstery. This elegant room works for formal and casual gatherings.
In fact, a sunporch will protect more refined woods and textiles than an open or screened-in porch, so you can furnish it with more formal and delicate pieces.
The best of both worlds involves a
sunporch surrounded by screens in the summer ...
sunporch surrounded by screens in the summer ...
... swapped out for glass windows in the winter.
A sunporch is a great opportunity to let your "I love cottage style" flag fly. Oversize checkerboard painted floors make this porch a playful standout.
If you're looking for more indoor living space around your house, consider closing in an existing open or screened in porch and turning it into a sunporch. If you want to show off in front of the neighbors, call your renovated room a "conservatory."
More: Wraparound Porches | Sleeping Porches | Screened-In Porches | Modern Porches | Banishing the Bugs | Dining on the Porch | Color on the Porch | Small Porches
If you're looking for more indoor living space around your house, consider closing in an existing open or screened in porch and turning it into a sunporch. If you want to show off in front of the neighbors, call your renovated room a "conservatory."
More: Wraparound Porches | Sleeping Porches | Screened-In Porches | Modern Porches | Banishing the Bugs | Dining on the Porch | Color on the Porch | Small Porches
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