Living in Florida means living in an atmosphere of sunshine almost all year round. In order to maximize enjoyment of this amazing benefit, many people choose to upgrade their homes to include all season rooms or covered outdoor living spaces. These outdoor additions can make a huge difference to your daily habits and can provide hours of enjoyment every day.
Before you invest though, there are a few factors you will need to consider. If you are thinking about adding a sunroom, screen room, or covered patio to your home, you will want to be sure that the type of addition you choose is appropriate for your needs. Let’s take a look at the differences between glass rooms, screen rooms, and patio covers. Then we will explore how to choose the best option to suit your lifestyle and needs.
Glass Room
The first sunroom option we will cover is the glass room. A glass room is an insulated structure that can significantly increase the value of your home by increasing the square footage. However, a glass room also requires the largest investment of the three options. Surrounding the room with glass allows you to enjoy the unobstructed views of nature all year round.
Traditional conservatories offer the same type of clear views of nature, but can overheat during the summer months, while remaining too cold during the winter. Cold temperatures may not be a common issue in Florida, but heat certainly is. The benefit of a contemporary glass room as opposed to a traditional conservatory is that it provides thermal efficiency. That means it can adjust to the weather outside, keeping you cool (or warm depending on the weather) as you read articles on the internet, browse your social media feeds, read a book, or enjoy a glass of wine in the evening, surrounded by friends, family or just the beauty of your backyard garden.
Screen Room
Unlike a glass room, which offers views of the outdoors but is a fully enclosed indoor space, a screen room will allow you to feel more fully immersed in the great outdoors. A screen room is still open to air flow, breezes, bird sounds, and the smells of nature. But while it is more open to the elements than a permanent glass room, it still keeps pesky bugs out.
A screen room also comes at a reduced cost, compared to a glass room. It will be easy to open and close from indoors, offering you protection from the elements, but immersion in the outdoors. On the other hand, it offers less climate control, so if it is a hot and muggy Florida summer day, you will want to consider ceiling fans to provide some additional comfort.
Patio Cover
A covered patio is the most outdoorsy sunroom option of these three. If you are planning to use your sunroom to do a lot of entertaining, and particularly for hosting barbecues, a covered patio is a great option. And, a nice benefit is that this is the least expensive option on this list, making it the most easily affordable way to upgrade your lifestyle. If you want to try out a covered patio first, and then consider adding a screen room or glass room later, that is possible.
Patio covers are relatively easy to install and help to protect your patio furniture from the sun and rain. It gives you lots of extra liveable space, that is very low maintenance. A covered patio will not count towards the liveable square footage of your home but it will provide a nice gathering space outdoors, where you can enjoy the views and sounds without being subject to harsh sunlight or rainy weather.
Choosing the Best Sunroom Option for Your Lifestyle
As you prepare to choose which type of sunroom will best suit your lifestyle, there are a few factors to consider:
- Take stock of your budget, and plan according to your means.
- Consider the space you would like to use, and how often you would like to use it.
- Do you prefer a year-round space that sits permanently in place? Or would you rather have a flexible option that lets you customize your sunroom as the occasion demands?
- Besides that, picture yourself in a glass room, screen room, or covered patio. Which option makes you smile?
At the end of the day, a sunroom is for you and your family to enjoy, so make sure you choose one that fits with both your budget, spatial constraints, and the lifestyle you are looking to achieve.
