Have you ever dreamt of lounging in your own sunroom with a good book and a cup of hot chocolate in winter? Or perhaps flipping through a magazine with a cold mojito to kick off your weekend?
Creating a special place of your own to decorate and spend your time in is easier than you may think. Adding a sunroom onto your existing property can be the exciting DIY project you have been waiting for.
What to Consider Before Building Your Sunroom
Depending on what type of sunroom you will be adding, you may need to ask permission from your local city or county to proceed. If you have an existing deck or patio, the addition will be much easier than if you need to dig foundations.
If you need foundations, contact a local builder in your area for an estimate, and search for roofers in my area on Porch to attach a proper roof to your planned sunroom. The last thing you would want is a leaking roof ruining your room, mood or furniture.
The same applies to hiring a registered plumber if you intend on adding a basin to your bar area in your sunroom. If your builder is not able to install power and lighting to your sunroom, call in a certified electrician to finish the job for you. You will need an electrician to install an air-conditioning system, too, if you choose to have this feature in your sunroom.
Never attempt to do building renovations, electrical work, plumbing or roofing by yourself if you are not skilled in these areas. This can be both a dangerous and costly exercise if things go wrong – and chances are they will.
Designing Your Dream Sunroom
Do a lot of research on adding sunrooms to your home by browsing pictures on Pinterest and Google before hiring a builder. If you know exactly what you would like your sunroom to look like and which features you would want to include, building will go smoother than if you are in two minds about the look and feel you want to achieve.
While the building is taking place, start shopping around for furnishings and items to decorate the new space with. If you are playing with various colors and patterns, create different mood boards to help you make your final styling decision.
Decide if you would like to add a fireplace, bar, indoor swing, a daybed or even a combination of these features. Being part of the design process is exciting as you can see your vision come to reality every day. The entire process can take only a few weeks, which is great news for impatient decorators!
Seasonal Decor
When choosing the design elements for your sunroom, consider which furnishings need to be functional and which can be luxurious.
Spending money on high quality furniture that you can amend to different looks in different seasons is a great investment. Adding different seasonal colors to existing pieces can be easy when you think of scatter pillows, rugs, throws and pots or vases. Changing these small elements to complement either winter or summer themes is easy and affordable.
Consider adding indoor plants to your sunroom as a classic sunroom is really an extension of the outdoors. Not only will plants bring a sense of peace and tranquility to the sunroom but they will also bring the outdoors inside. Indoor plants and trees are the perfect addition to any sunroom as light filters in throughout the day.
Privacy in Your Sunroom
If you would like some privacy but have opted for a sunroom which is built primarily from glass, consider retractable blinds or standing screens.
You do not want to cover the entire structure in heavy curtains, which will close in the room and defeat the object of having a sunroom. If you are uncomfortable with the openness of your new sunroom, opt for natural blinds in wooden or white tones. This way, you’ll be able to bring in or block out light easily.
Standing screens, more commonly known as room dividers, are another great way to introduce privacy with a touch of character. Depending on the theme of your sunroom, you can find screens that compliment your aesthetic at most décor shops, or you can look for a vintage screen online if you are feeling nostalgic.
If you would like a greener approach, invest in big potted trees that you can bring inside or leave outside against the windows of the sunroom. Natural, green and private. The options are endless.
