Sunrooms Shine in Various Ways

Is it true that the moody winter are you dreaming about sunrooms? The sunroom (sunporch, solarium, conservatory) has as many functional purposes as it does fashions. As we prepare for more daylight hours, let us take a look at some sunrooms — it might just be the thing to place us in a sunnier mood.

Crisp Architects

Somewhere to Watch Winter Close Up

How can you enjoy a sunroom at the Midst of a Connecticut winter? Quite easily — with the aid of insulation and heat, says James Crisp of Crisp Architects. “Well-insulated windows, floors and ceilings can help make up for the huge percentage of glass. Radiant floor heat as well as traditional heat keep it warm inside, making it ideal for walking around at stockinged feet,” says Crisp.

Crisp Architects

The owners of this sunroom previously needed a screened porch at disrepair. Crisp replaced the porch with this big, bright sunroom and added lovely French doors for fast access to the outside.

Despite the frosty Northeastern wintertime, the household uses the sunroom yearlong. Light plays an important role here: Recessed ceiling lights and sconces throughout the space allow relatives gather to dine, listen to and play music, and amuse.

Like the Connecticut area above, this midcentury modern sunroom can also be enjoyed in the winter months as a result of this contemporary fireplace, picture windows and plenty of natural and artificial light.

JP&CO and Optima Homes

consumer kgibbs says of this sunroom, “The polycarbonate clear roof is holding up quite well here in frigid, snowy Minnesota. It is an unheated, screened porch which we are able to utilize from about April till November. We all sleep out there whenever we can — that’s a wrought iron bed under the deck end of the porch. Rainstorms and snowfalls are really quite magical.”

Philip Clayton-Thompson

A Position That Takes In the View

This all-white, side-of-house corner is flooded with light. The result: A cozy space where to enjoy sea views.

Despite its narrow measurements, this covered porch’s unadorned windows give enormous views of a nearby lake. Judging from this volcano’s photograph remarks, it appears like the nation is divided in regards to the ceiling Some feel like the dark color makes the ceiling appear “visually hefty,” while some others enjoy how the dark hue evokes a sense of “being sheltered.” I fall in the latter camp; I sometimes often feel overly vulnerable in all-white sunrooms, so I love how the dark shade adds warmth and coziness to the area.

Cathy Schwabe Architecture

A Reading Nook

This sunroom’s spartan furnishings and bare, floor-to-ceiling windows result in the best, distraction-free reading nook.

Kelly Scheer of Frisson says of this reading area, “[Here’s] an example of a great use of space in a possibly wasted space. The low pitched ceilings present an obstacle, but making them giant skylights brings in tremendous light”

Feldman Architecture, Inc..

An Extra Play Area

A scattering of linen and toys storage bins can only mean this sunroom also doubles as a play area for children, a place where they could play safely indoors while still appreciating the sun’s beams. Notice how the red accents in the outdoor flora are represented by the inside color palette.

Studio Marcelo Brito

A Gathering Place

Brazilian interior designer Marcelo Brito says that sunrooms are an essential part of living in Brazil. “Sunrooms incorporate the inside of the home to the outside. They have become just like a second living space, with a few sunrooms taking more and more surface area in someone’s home,” Brito says. The bold, striped furniture covers and area rug include high nautical drama to this sunroom, which reflects its beachside location just two hours away from São Paolo.

Olga Adler

Like the one in Brazil, this plantation-style sunroom looks like it also serves as a second living room or sitting room.

RLH Studio

A Place to Grow Crops

Bring the outside in by having a few potted plants and blossoms in the sunroom. Since too much greenery distracts from the true foliage outside, it is ideal to stick to one or two plants that are ancestral. This sunroom goes a little farther by having furniture cloths and textiles that mimic the outdoor color palette.

Cynthia Lynn Photography

An Entertainment Room

paned windows along with a flat-screen TV create a fun place in this Tudor-style home.

Crisp Architects

Somewhere to Dine

If you’re using your sunroom as a dining room, a cast iron table and chairs create a great alternative to wood furniture. Slim and sturdy, with beautiful art nouveau detail, that they can cause you to feel like you’re dining al fresco at a French bistro.

More:
Sunrooms: Bringing the Outdoors In
Create a Space Particular with Glass
Contractor Tips: How to Choose and Install Windows

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