It’s natural to think that summertime is the best time to use your sunroom, and for many reasons you’d be right. The bright Calgary summer days provide plenty of sunshine to heat your room up, and the big windows allow you to retreat inside from the heat and the bugs without sacrificing the view over your garden. The longer days also means you can live your best indoor outdoor lifestyle for longer each day during the summer months.
What happens when summer ends?
As the saying goes, all good things must come to an end, and there comes that time in Calgary when the days start to get noticeably shorter and there’s a definite chill to the morning and evenings. For some people, this is when they start to close up their sunroom, but there are plenty of ways that you can use a sunroom once summer is over:
- Add a heat source – while a three season sunroom won’t be set up to connect to your home’s heating system, you can still install an independent heat source to keep your room warm as the temperatures drop. If you’re on a budget or tight on space, an electric space heater will do the job (though it will drive your electricity bill through the roof if you run it all day!), but a more classic option is to install a wood or pellet burning stove. Not only will these pump out heat for your sunroom, you can also open the internal doors and use them to heat the lower floor of your entire house, allowing you to keep the main heating system off for longer.
- Bring the blankets – if there’s no space or budget for an additional heating system, you can still find ways to make your sunroom cosy enough to hang it in the chilly mornings and cooler evenings through your soft furnishings. A seasonal collection of fluffy blankets will not only provide you with some cosy snuggle time but can also inspire you to change the look and feel of the room. Complete this fall transformation with autumn themed artifacts on the bookshelves and rotating artwork into the room with browns, reds and oranges to match the changing colours outside.
- Change the purpose – while many people use their sunroom as a formal entertaining space or a private relaxation room away from the rest of the family, a sunroom can be used for any purpose. As the weather gets cooler outside, it can be less tempting to simply sit around in a cold room, so consider changing your sunroom into a home gym where you can work up a sweat with a view and generate your own heat.
Of course, the best way to enjoy your sunroom all year long is to pick a four season sunroom design at the start of your home improvement project. A four season sunroom connects to your home’s heating and cooling system so you can use your new space for every season.
