A sunroom or solarium is purposefully built to be a space with light-filled warmth coupled with splendid views of the outdoors while sheltering you from the elements. If you feel your sunroom can do with some upgrades or want a room to have an abundance of natural lighting, we at America’s Best Choice are here to help transform your solarium.

Updating the windows, doors, and roofing can be an excellent option for increasing general and task lighting in any room. Achieving the best results entails more than updating these features and considering their strategic placements depending on the direction your home faces and the local climate. Nevertheless, the primary objective is to maximize the daylight to make the room look and feel brighter, roomier, and welcoming.

We will take you through some of the ways you can achieve the feeling of having a solarium in your home, turning it into a comfy space where you can enjoy light-filled warmth.

Update Your Windows

Changing the windows is an efficient and effective way of ensuring a room gets more daylight. Focus on the windows facing east or west because they catch more sunlight. While this change might be more expensive than installing a sun pipe or roof light, it has a more significant impact than the two. We recommend going for glazed windows with slim but robust frames and enlarging the existing sizes to maximize the natural lighting. Obscure-glazed windows are an excellent choice for your privacy needs and concerns.

Install Large Glazed Doors

Do you have a lush garden that never seizes to take your breath away? Then why not consider expanding the doorway leading to the garden by installing a wider glazed door! It is an option that can also keep you from changing the windows facing your yard. The more oversized glazed doors allow for chockful daylight penetration, connecting the room to the garden and making the space feel larger and welcoming. If you are considering working with this option, you can decide to install the contemporary sliding or bi-fold doors or opt for the traditional French door designs.

Remove Interior and Exterior Siding

Since a sunroom is a space with uninhibited viewing of the landscape or outdoors, removing the sections of the room’s walls might be necessary. Therefore, it also is best to consider getting rid of the exterior siding. However, we recommend retaining the lower half of the walls if you want to reduce material costs. The focus will be on converting the upper portion of the selected walls. The process does require comprehensive inspections to locate and expose studs without causing any damage. It opens up the room for more natural lighting.

Rain More Light From Above

The roof and ceiling choice must align to create a solarium feel in the room. Therefore, you can opt to install roof lights or sun pipes if you do not want to tear down your beautiful ceiling. Skylights are the best route for maximum daylight penetration because they provide three times the brightness (horizontal lighting) compared to using doors and windows (horizontal lighting).

Installing a glazed glass roof is also an excellent choice though a bit pricier but with a more alluring presentation.

Retain Privacy While Bringing in Maximum Daylight

Since the goal is to allow as much sunlight as possible to enter the room, the installations should be transparent or translucent. We recommend working with options that give you the best of both worlds so that you can retain privacy while allowing maximum daylight into the room. You also can consider a reflective coating or tint that will allow light to pass but obscure the view from the outside. Fortunately, any glazing solutions have privacy features, but the viewing distortion varies with the pattern used.

Placement Is Key

When setting up a sunroom or transforming a room into a solarium, it is best to consider the direction the windows or extended glazed doors will face. It ensures you achieve the get maximum natural lighting during the day. Hence, placement is an essential factor in the process. Below are a few tips regarding the placement of the window, door, roofing, and wall upgrades for creating a solarium feel in your home.

• Eastern Exposure: The room will get more sunlight in the morning hours and shade for the rest of the day if you opt for this placement.
• Western Exposure: You will enjoy the bright afternoon sun, but it could force you to consider installing window treatments or awnings for some shading when it sun gets intense.
• Southern Exposure: The placement is ideal in northern climates. You will get more sunlight and warmth. However, you also might need to install a ceiling fan or shade treatments for the hot summers.

Contact Us Today for Your Sunroom Upgrade

At America’s Best Choice, we are the home improvement specialists to hire for quality, low-priced products and solutions. We can assess your home to determine the most cost-effective and energy-efficient options for creating a solarium feel in your house or to renovate your existing sunroom. Call us today to know more about our services and schedule your free in-home consultation.