Elegant Outdoor Living Choices

Homeowners have long enjoyed the outdoors, by building porches, decks and patios to meet their outdoor living needs. While these options have certainly been embraced by many, there are other outdoor living arrangements that can offer a more complete blend of interior and exterior living. Not just a sun room mind you, rather fully enclosed, but open areas that offer ample natural light and the comforts of a living room. You have choices when it comes to developing your outdoor space, options that can suit most any budget.

1. Sunroom— Also known as a Florida room, a sunroom is usually located on the back of the house, running the full length of the home and sometimes just as deep as it is wide. Such rooms are typically screened in for the warmer months and glassed in for the cooler months, requiring homeowners to swap out screens for storm windows. These rooms are typically built on a concrete slap with a variety of floor coverings including vinyl squares, parquet tiles and outdoor carpeting. A sunroom may have electrical outlets with a ceiling fan installed to maximize air movement.

The disadvantage of such rooms is that regular maintenance is needed to keep the sunroom looking great. Paint will chip and need to scraped and repainted. Carpeting will likely wear out fast as it is exposed to traffic and weather conditions in warmer months. Your use of this room can be limited when weather conditions are extreme with too much heat or extreme cold making a sunroom unbearable for long use.

2. Covered decks— Decks can be a beautiful addition to any home, but there are some drawbacks including direct sunlight and exposure to the elements. And bugs too — your afternoon can be ruined by a swarm of gnats or mosquitoes. The simplest way to manage this problem is to enclose the deck. However, the structural costs of firming up the foundation, enclosing it with walls and adding a roof, can make this option more expensive than building a new room completing. Happily, there is another option here: installing an awning and making use of floor fans. The awning will help block or filter sunlight; the fan will ensure that bugs have to battle too much air flow to attach to your body.

Decks, however, do not have a long lifespan. Typically, you’ll get 10 to 20 years from your deck as wood will rot and flooring will bow. Artificial wood decking is, of course, an option, but it can be an expensive one at that. Trex and TimberTech are among the brands you can consider, delivering years of good use with minimal maintenance required.

3. Outdoor rooms— Perhaps the best blend of sunroom convenience and deck goodness is a specially designed room that takes in both elements and adds in many personal touches. Here, your room is designed by an architect and brings several things to mind including your desire to enjoy the outdoors without fighting sun, bugs and weather, as well as adding value to your home. Such rooms can resemble a sunroom at first glance, but they go several steps further by producing a structure that complements the home.

Instead of using wood to frame the walls, you can opt for wood look PVC that won’t chip, stain or need painting. Windows dominate such a room to bring in much natural light and can be rated to hurricane strength and to a variety of hot and cold weather conditions. Such a room can make use of skylights, include a natural stone fireplace and have electrical and cable connections. Heating and cooling connections with local temperature zoning is ideal. Windows can be outfitted with screens to encourage cross ventilation. Stone or wood flooring can help give this room a pop. You’ll surround your outdoor room with the appropriate landscaping, strategically placed to give you privacy while affording a natural look.

Cost Considerations

A custom designed outdoor room will certainly be the most expensive of the three options mentioned. However, price alone should not dictate your choice. Your personal comfort and that of your family and guests should be considered as well as the usefulness of such a room especially if small children and pets will make use of this room. You can design a fireplace that holds wood or opt for a gas fireplace for low maintenance. Make use of both natural materials such as stone and manufactured materials such as PVC to provide a low-maintenance room that allows you to enjoy it without worrying about extensive upkeep. Finally, most any room that you build will add value to your home. An elegant outdoor living area is desired by home buyers and can help your home sell faster.

Ed Mostella is a freelance writer based in sunny San Diego, CA. As both a DIYer and manufacturing tools expert, Ed enjoys helping people work safely and effectively. He specializes in training on the torque meter and torque screwdrivers.