You have experienced one at a beachfront vacation home, ski lodge, or hunting cabin.
Screened porches or 3 season rooms are timeless lifestyle home improvements. They can be easy on the budget too. This makes them perfect home improvements that bring families and friends together in a space that makes you feel like you are on vacation.
Plan Your Screened Porch To Stretch the Budget
Like any other indoor or outdoor room, your planning process starts with imagining how you will use it. Your lifestyle and the activities you enjoy will determine the size and shape of the room and its amenities.
You will need an architect to lay it out before beginning any carpentry, paying special attention to properly integrating the rooflines with your home. He or she will also consider basic needs such as electricity, water, or natural gas. Your screened porch may initially have none of these or all three.
You can grow into a screened porch if it is planned properly. Consider what’s necessary now and what can wait for later. For example, windows can be easily added at a future time if the openings are framed for standard window sizes.
What goes behind the walls should be carefully planned. If funds are tight initially, you can hire an electrician to run conduit when under construction, and then install the wiring, ceiling fans, and light fixtures later.
There is one rookie mistake that you can want to avoid. If you are installing traditional decking to blend with your current decking, be sure to securely attach mosquito screening beneath the decking.
Maximize Your Enjoyment of Nature
If your current yard, patio, or deck is drenched in sun, a screened porch will be a welcome retreat. However, keep in mind that it will block some of the light that previously entered the house, making that space somewhat less bright than before.
Now that you are out in nature, consider what you should bring closer. This could be fragrant flowering shrubs or perennial flowers. Of you could plant trees in the foreground to connect with those on the horizon, thereby extending the view.
Speaking of fragrance, don’t forget the unmistakable freshness of rainfall. To enjoy this experience you will want to design eaves that sufficiently overhang the space to keep the inside dry during a gentle shower.
If a little blowing rain is coming in one or two sides you can close those windows and still appreciate the fresh scent and pitter-patter of raindrops. Ponds or other water features can also be installed nearby to introduce additional effects of moving water.
Make New Family Time and Entertainment Memories
One of the chief benefits of these protected outdoor rooms is bringing people closer together in a more intimate space. This can be dinnertime with family or friends on a warm summer night or a children’s birthday party in a kid-friendly space.
If yours is a busy family, a screened in porch can be a nice retreat for getting some quiet time. Adding the right candlelight makes it perfect for enjoying a romantic dinner while surrounded by the sights, sounds and fresh smells of nature.
Special attention should be given to lighting for after dark activities, especially if you are close to neighbors. To enhance your privacy at these hours, consider soft, downlighting on the lower walls. This could be standard or low-voltage lighting that runs all night to keep the area safe.
Most people find that a 3 season room quickly become everyone’s favorite room. It offers a change of scenery and the opportunity to be alone or together with the ones you love.
There is one more thing to love about unique outdoor rooms: It contributes greatly to the resale value of your home.
Many buyers are reluctant to take on a project like this but will value it just as much as you do. You will get your investment back and then some because it is ready to go!