What is an All Season Sunroom?

An all season (or four season) sunroom is a home addition that usually sits directly on top of your patio or deck just outside the back of your home. It’s a full room add-on with big glass windows to bring the outdoors up close, and the all season part comes from connecting the room to your existing heating and cooling systems so you can be in your sunroom even in the coldest winter months. While it gives you a whole extra room to your home, it’s a cheap alternative to a full extension as you don’t need to dig foundations and the walls are hollow to allow for insulation.

A Cosy Winter Sunroom

The most easy and obvious way to use your newly acquired space during the Calgary winter is to make it into a cosy living room. All you need is a sofa and a couple of comfy armchairs with enough blankets and cushions to snuggle under as the snow falls outside. You can add to the cosy vibes with a thick pile rug or carpet, as well as installing heavy drapes to keep the warmth in once the sun has set.

Alternative Winter Sunroom Uses

If you’re all set with your current winter living room set up, or you just want to explore some other options for how to use your new space, here’s some other ways to use a sunroom during winter in Calgary:

• Dining room – the winter months hold a wide variety of holiday celebrations, so it can make sense to turn your sunroom into a formal dining area where you can host your friends and family in comfort and style.
• Guest bedroom – continuing with the theme of being the host with the most, you can turn your sunroom into a relaxing guest bedroom. Whether you go all out with a full bed and wardrobe set up, or just pick a fold out bed that doubles as your main sofa so you can get the best of both worlds. 
• Home gym – finally, it can be hard to find the motivation to get out and exercise during the cold weather. Your new sunroom can be easily turned into a home gym with a treadmill (or walking pad), a weight bench and some weights. It can also be a home yoga studio with room for you and a friend to stretch while looking at the winter wonderland outside. Whatever you choose to use, a sunroom makes the winter months fly by.

Using Your Sunroom Year Round

When you work with experienced sunroom builders, you should be able to make it so that your sunroom can be used year round. You need to be talking about either a four season sunroom or an all season sunroom, depending on who you contract with, but in either case, you’re looking for a full room that will connect to your home’s existing heating and cooling system. A year round sunroom can sit directly on top of your existing deck or patio, meaning that you can build it quickly and enjoy your new space in every season.

Spring In Your Sunroom

Spring is a beautiful season in Calgary, in part because it means that winter is finally done, and in part because the change from snowscape to green and growth in your yard can be joyful. Your sunroom is the perfect place to sit with a hot cup of tea or coffee in the mornings, enjoying the quiet before your family gets up.

Summer In Your Sunroom

Make no doubt about it, your sunroom comes into its own when summer rolls around. You get all the best parts of summer in Calgary: the endless days of sunshine, the long days and the glorious warmth, without any of the bugs and wind that can make it hard to stay outside during the summer months. Many Calgary sunroom owners put up a dining table in their new space so you can enjoy the feeling of a picnic lunch or dinner without getting eaten or blown away.

Fall In Your Sunroom

As the days get cooler and shorter, your sunroom still remains the place to be. You’ll find yourself ending the day in front of the big glass windows, watching the sun set over your garden and relaxing after a good day out preparing your yard for winter. To get the best out of fall, you want to invest in some cosy blankets and consider turning the furniture to face the window so you get an up close vision of the changing leaves.

Winter In Your Sunroom

The first time that you sit in your sunroom in the middle of a big Calgary snowstorm, you’ll wonder why you hated winter all these years. There’s something awe inspiring about watching the snow tumble and fall all around you while you remain warm and cosy. Your sunroom quickly becomes an inner sanctuary during the long months of winter hibernation, and whether you set it up as a family room or a quiet “no kids” space, your winter sunroom gives everyone the breathing room they need to get back round to spring.

Why Choose A Sunroom

A custom built sunroom is the ideal home improvement project for a number of reasons. Firstly, it gives you a whole new room to play with, so whether you’re looking for somewhere to admire your outside scenery, or a new dining room with a view, a sunroom gives you a blank canvas to play with. Secondly, you can build a sunroom quickly and easily, especially if you have an existing deck or patio to build on top to save digging new foundations. Finally, a sunroom has plenty of big windows to let lots of sunlight and warmth into your space. This means that it’s naturally heated, and with glazed windows, it’s naturally insulated too. This can help save on heating bills while giving you the perfect cosy spot this fall to snuggle up and enjoy the views.

Custom Build Sunrooms

Here at Desert Sun Patios, we know that every Calgary home is unique, and that every sunroom project has a specific set of goals and desires to meet. This means when you work with our team of expert sunroom builders, we will help you build your ideal custom sunroom that will meet your space, needs and budget. 

Design Choices

A custom built sunroom is the best way to get your dream home extension completed. While the format will be the same (i.e. a large open space that sits on your deck or patio with plenty of big windows), you have some important choices to make for your custom sunroom this fall:

• Roof shape – the biggest decision you’ll make is the shape of your roof. There are two main options: A frame or studio (or flat). This will dictate how you light your sunroom from above, and you’ll want to take the existing shape of your house into consideration here. 
• An external door – next you’ll need to decide if you want to have an external door, turning your sunroom into a seated corridor to the outside, or to leave it closed in, turning your sunroom into a fishbowl style sun trap. 
• Window layout – finally, you’ll want to think about whether you want windows that go floor to ceiling, almost feeling like a conservatory or greenhouse, or if you want wall space in between to create a new living room or dining room vibe. 

Whatever your choices, our team of expert sunroom builders are here to help!

Explore The Light

The best feature of your Calgary sunroom is the big glass windows that let sunlight and warmth flood your room each day. While there’s progressively less and less sunlight each day during fall, you need to find ways to enhance the light that does come. 

Mirror, Mirror, On The Wall

One easy way to maximize the light in your sunroom is to hang a large mirror on the external wall of your home. Not only will this reflect more sunlight into your space, but it will also make your room feel bigger. If your external wall is already filled with artwork or storage, add mirrors between the windows to create a feeling of openness all throughout your space.

Expose The Floors

A slightly bigger change is to swap out your flooring for something that has a reflective sheen to it. While marble might be out of your price range, you could invest in a new hardwood floor or even wood effect laminate. The effect here is to reflect the light off the floor, making your sunroom feel brighter for longer. You can still add area rugs to trap heat and to make things a little warmer under foot.

Face The Outdoors

An easy way to revamp any space is to simply reorganize the existing furniture to make it feel like you have a brand new space. This fall, try reconfiguring your furniture so that it all faces the windows instead of the middle of the room. Not only will this give you the best views out over your fall garden, but it’ll also make your sunroom feel more cosy and intimate – perfect for those colder fall evenings when you just want to snuggle up with a hot drink. 

Change Your Color Palette

There’s no easier way to freshen up your sunroom than to change the accent tones in your space. Fall gives you an easy palette to work with in browns, reds and oranges, and there’s plenty of specific images such as scarecrows, pumpkins and apples if abstract art and colour isn’t your jam. Start by swapping out (or adding to) your artwork around your sunroom, and then move on to your soft furnishings. Simple throw cushions and plush blankets are cheap and easy to get hold of, and can make your sunroom feel like a whole new space this fall. Finally, search your local thrift or antique stores for little fall theme knick knacks to put on end tables and bookshelves to finish your fall ready sunroom project.

Why Choose a Sunroom

Adding a traditional home extension can be expensive and overly complicated for a park model trailer set up. On the other hand, a sunroom can be built quickly and easily on top of your existing deck or patio, allowing you to get a sizeable increase in your home’s footprint on a budget. 

A sunroom is the ideal park model add-on because it has lots of glass windows that will naturally light and heat your home. The glass windows typically face out on three sides of the sunroom so you’ll get lots of natural sunlight no matter what time of day you sit out in your sunroom. Sunroom windows are usually double glazed which means that they insulate your sunroom throughout the day, keeping it naturally warm into the evening hours. During the heat of the day, you can also heat the rest of your park model simply by opening the door to your sunroom and allowing the sun to do the rest. 

Creating A Summer Sanctuary

With the big glass windows, summer will quickly become your favourite season to spend in your new trailer sunroom. To create a true summer sanctuary, try some of these tips.

Add Greenery

Potted plants make a great addition to any room, but you’ll find that your more exotic green babies thrive in the high levels of sunlight and heat that your sunroom generates. Aim for a mixture of floor based pots and ones that hang from hooks above your windows to merge the indoors and outdoors without having to get up from your seat.

Add Seating

Even if it’s just the two of you in the park model, your sunroom benefits from a variety of seating options, all of which should be facing the big windows to get the best of the view. A classic look would have a wicker couch and some armchairs creating an indoor/outdoor vibe, while those with a more eclectic taste might pick up second chairs and recliners to create a vintage feel as you’re relaxing in the sunshine.

Add Softness

While you’ll probably spend a lot of your summer days hanging out in your new park model sunroom, you’ll find that the windows trap a lot of heat. This keeps the room warm well into the evening, making it the perfect place to cuddle up under a soft blanket or two. You can increase the heat insulating properties with a thick rug underfoot, as well as heavy drapes that will frame the view out over your summer garden all season long. 

What is a Park Model Sunroom?

If you’ve never seen a sunroom for a trailer, you’re in for a treat. These are single room extensions that attach to one side of your park model home. While they are full rooms, they don’t require digging or foundations, and can easily sit on top of your deck or patio making them quick and easy to install. 

Features of a Sunroom

A park model sunroom helps you make the most of summer because of the large amount of windows that you get in the new space. The whole purpose of a sunroom is to let light and warmth into the room, so most of the wall space will actually be windows. When combined with the size of your park model, you can switch off the heating by opening the door to your home and allowing the natural insulating property of your sunroom to keep your whole house warm. A park model sunroom also gives you a whole new room to play with so you can let your inner interior designer come out to play.

Creating a Sunroom Summer Oasis

Your new park model sunroom gives you a whole blank canvas to play with as you consider how to turn your space into a summer oasis. It’s all about the vibes when it comes to sunroom decoration, so here are some simple themes to create that summer feeling all year long.

Life’s a Beach

Nothing conjures up the image of summer more than a day at the beach, so pick pastel colours for your soft furnishing, combined with sand yellow and sea blues as your accent palette. Throw in some driftwood knick knacks and pictures or paintings of the seaside and you’ll be having beach dreams each time you enter your new sunroom.

Floral Patterns

Your sunroom is the perfect place to enjoy all the hard work you’ve put into your garden, so it makes sense to pick your decor to match. Bright floral patterns work well for your soft furnishings and artwork as feature pieces, and you’ll therefore want neutral, cool tones for your walls and rugs to offset the flowers and plants. 

Indoor Warmth

Summer in Calgary is all about making the most of the few hot months available to us. Using strong, bold colours throughout your sunroom means that all the sunlight will reflect warmly throughout the day and make your new space cosy and inviting. Use solid blocks of colour to make the most of the warmth and play with different palettes to create a true summer oasis for your park model sunroom. 

Why Choose A Sunroom

When you’re looking to expand your home, a sunroom gives you the ultimate blend between cost effectiveness, a quick build and a customizable shape that will fit your needs. You’ll be able to save on your budget if you have an existing deck or patio to build as you won’t need to worry about foundations. A sunroom is also a great home improvement choice if you’re looking for energy efficiency, as the small space and big windows means that heat gets trapped in there during the day keeping your new sunroom naturally warm well into the evening hours.

Summer-Inspired Sunroom Ideas

When you’re thinking about how to decorate your new sunroom space, you’ll want to think about your favourite summertime activities and go from there.

Party Central

If your idea of fun during the summer months is to host parties at your house, you’ll find a sunroom becomes the central focus of any get-together. The space connects your house to your garden, meaning you can use it to serve food and drinks, or host some seating for those who want to sit in the shade while being able to see what’s going on outside. If this is your purpose, you’ll want to make sure your furniture is clustered to encourage talking, and you’ll  want to make sure there’s a clear path from your house to the external door in your sunroom so your partygoers can come and go as they please.

Snuggle Up With a Book

For some Calgary residents, summer represents time for a break, whether it’s from school or work or just life itself. Your sunroom makes for the most wonderful reading nook where you can curl up with your favourite author and a cup of coffee and bask in the sun like a cat. For this vibe, you’ll want to go big and comfy on your armchairs and make sure you have either a footstool or an ottoman so you can stretch out in quiet luxury.

Get Growing

Summer is the season for Calgary’s gardeners, but if you’re one of many people who have started growing exotic houseplants indoors, you know you can’t trust the winds to put your green babies outside. Your sunroom gives the perfect blend of sun and protection as well as giving you an exhibition space to show off what you’ve been growing. To help, you’ll want to think about levelled shelves and storage so your plants can be placed next to the windows. You’ll also want to spread some simple seating around your sunroom so that you and your guests can sit among the foliage living your best indoor outdoor lifestyle.

Bringing The Outdoors Indoors

If you’ve never been in one before, a sunroom is a quick and easy addition for your home that sits on top of your existing deck or patio. The key feature is big windows to let large amounts of natural sunlight into your space. You can add to the effect with skylights if you have the ceiling height to make it work. Your windows will be double (or even triple!) glazed so your sunroom will be naturally heated throughout the day, meaning you’ll feel like you’re outside with the warmth and the sunshine without having to worry about the wind or the bugs. 

Furnishing Your Sunroom

To really transform your Calgary home with a sunroom, you can’t just turn it into a junk storage space or simply an extension of the room that it attaches to. You want this new space to be somewhere special with a dedicated use. 

Make It Formal

For most people, their summer-ready sunroom becomes a formal living room and they furnish it as such with new couches and end tables to make the room feel luxurious. Adding a mirror to the external wall of your home will make the space feel larger than it is, and you’ll want to finish the formal vibe with an area rug and a coffee table.

A New Dining Experience

If you’re the kind of family that likes to grill and eat outside a lot during the summer months, then turning your new sunroom into a dining room will be a game changer. You’ll get all the feeling of being outside with the views out over your garden and the natural warmth from the big windows, but you’ll also get shade all day long and freedom from worrying about bug bites spoiling your eating experience. Beyond the obvious table and chairs, add storage for plates, cups and cutlery so you can keep everything in one place. 

Workout With A View

Another great use for your new sunroom is to turn it into the ultimate home gym. You’ll have an inspirational view and you can open some of the windows to let the breezes in to cool you down. All you need is a weight bench and a yoga mat to get started, but you’ll quickly realize your sunroom can hold larger pieces of exercise equipment like an elliptical machine or a treadmill to make your new home gym an easy part of your fitness routine.

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Key Winter Features of a Sun Porch

A sun porch is a full extension to your home that is quick to build (especially if you’re installing it on top of an existing deck or patio!) and considerably cheaper than a full building addition. The key features that make a sun porch the ideal winter addition include:

• Big glass windows – the first thing that will catch everyone’s attention when they walk into your new sunroom this winter is the big glass windows on all two/three external walls. These windows let in a large amount of natural light, and provide unparalleled views out over your winter garden. Whether you’re enjoying the sunny bluebird days, or want to sit up close and personal with a Calgary snow storm, your sun porch is the best place to hang out all winter long. 
• Insulation – an all-season (or four-season) sun porch carries multiple layers of insulation that will make it incredibly energy efficient throughout the cold months. Firstly, the windows are double glazed which will trap all the sun’s heat in your room. Secondly, you can add a layer of internal insulation inside the hollow walls which keeps the cold out and the heat in. Finally, you can add insulating seals around the doors that connect your sun porch to the rest of the house so there’s no heat loss between rooms.

Customising Your Sun Porch 

A sun porch is a great addition for any Calgary home due to the features laid out above, and the fact that it’s got a large return on investment compared to other home improvements. You can use some of these savings to make customised changes to your sunroom design when you’re working with your sun porch contractor. These customizations can be on the macro scale, such as the layout of the room and the size and position of the windows, or on the micro scale, such as the materials you’ll use for the flooring, and the optimal position of your furniture to help make your sun porch a relaxing haven to beat the winter blues.

Winter Benefits of a Sunroom

Your mental image of a sunroom might be more of a match with summer weather, with warmth and light streaming in through the big glass windows. However, your sunroom has some unique features that make it the perfect place to hang out during the cold winter months:

• Heat trap – the most obvious feature of a sunroom that you’ll make use of in winter is the insulation from the glazed windows and hollow walls. Combined, these features mean that your sunroom will act as a heat trap for the sun’s rays, keeping your sunroom naturally warm throughout the day. You can add to the insulation by investing in a thick pile rug and luxurious curtains that will help keep the heat locked in well into the evening hours. 
• Front row seats – the most important feature of your new sunroom is the big glass windows that take up most of the wall space. Not only does this allow a lot of natural light into your space, but it gives you unparalleled views out over your garden. This means that you’ll get what feels like front row seats to all the winter storms. There’s something magical about watching the fury of the Calgary snow and wind blowing all round you while you’re safe and warm in your sunroom. Make sure you pick the right lighting to make the view out of the window the star of the show. 
• Closed off space – finally, your new sunroom provides the opportunity for a quiet haven from the rest of your family. The ability to close the door on your sunroom means you can set boundaries about who gets to use the space and when. When cabin fever has truly set in, having a closed off space in your house can save your sanity during winter. Add to the zen with soft furnishings to snuggle under, and low level lighting to help you truly relax.

Work With The Professionals

It’s clear to see that a new sunroom gives you the opportunity to create a winter oasis. You’ll want to make sure you sign up with the right sunroom services to make the most of your new space. Take your time on the design phase and explain your goals for the space, as this will help your contractor to put together a plan that helps maximise your sunroom. This includes getting the lighting and windows in the right place, as well as talking about different levels of insulation in the windows and doors to make it as energy efficient as possible.