Adding a three season sunroom

February 22, 2021 By

Hello everyone! It’s been awhile. I’m not sure about you, but for me, it’s been hard to get motivated lately. So in the interest of focusing on something else, besides Covid, I’m sharing my three season sunroom plans.

The dead of winter is really the ideal time to make exterior design plans. Like so many of us, I’ve been focusing on my home. So I’ve been playing with our backyard design for the last few months. And we’ve just taken the first step towards getting a functional and oh so pretty backyard.

Our bungalow model, has a small covered area at the back. As soon as we saw it, we pictured a three season sunroom.

Here’s a couple of my 3D renderings showing what I’ve come up with so far.

Three season sunroom rendering
Three season sunroom rendering
A bird’s eye view

It’s the area at the top left corner in the floor plan below. (Our house is actually the reverse of this plan. Click here to see more about our bungalow.) As you can see it’s very tiny. About 9′ x 9′. Just enough room to have a few chairs, maybe a couple of ottomans, and a small table.

Bungalow floor plan

Construction starts this spring! We’ll have it enclosed by adding a deck floor and then putting in Weatherwall windows and a door. I haven’t used these types of windows before but they are perfect for this application. They are clear heavy gauge vinyl that will spring back to shape if pushed on. The four section windows open by stacking up on themselves.

Below is an inspiration photo we saw when driving around town one day. Our windows won’t go to the floor though, as we will be putting some sort of siding at the bottom.

Inspiration photo of three season sunroom

Our existing windows, doors and roof are all black, so we will be keeping it harmonious and doing the same with the sunroom. With the tiny wall area in the sunroom, I’m leaning towards installing black horizontal siding inside and out. I haven’t completely decided on that yet, but I think it looks pretty darn good in my 3D renderings above.

Exterior bungalow
Front exterior of our bungalow

This is just the first phase of the backyard project. We are planning to add a hot tub, two level deck, fencing and a pergola over the next few years. Having a long term plan is crucial when doing any type of construction in stages. You can have a tiny peek of what I’m thinking in my renderings above. It’s a tiny yard, so I want to make it functional, pretty and very, very low maintenance.

Yet another reason to look ahead to spring!

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Backyard Transformation

February 22, 2013 By

This backyard was a blank slate, the swimming pool, the stone surround and the landscaping were completed first. The second phase included the waterfall, hot tub and corner shed, to make this backyard feel like a resort without the commute. The last phase included the addition of a gazebo patio and a low deck leading from the home to the pool area.

A few photos of the backyard showcase the seating area which surrounds a gas firepit for cozy warmth on a cool summer evening.   The addition of the waterfall helps to soften any surrounding noise and lends some tranquility to the space.

The deck completes the backyard transformation that was started four years ago.  It is made of composite wood as it curves easier than cedar would have.  Three screens were added, one in front of the hot tub, one at side of the house to hide the pool equipment and one surrounds the BBQ area.  A stone patio was also added to the left of the deck for dining under the gazebo.

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After 4 1/2 years…it is DONE!

September 8, 2011 By

Well, after 4 and 1/2 years our backyard is finally complete.
YEAH! No more grass, and my hubby is breathing a huge sigh of relief that I won’t be bugging him about finishing it anymore. 😉

So I’ll bring you back, to when we first purchased our new suburban home.   It was a typical blank slate of a backyard.

The first phase was the in ground pool.  The above was the first day of breaking ground for the pool.  It was early April but we had a crazy snowfall that year and our pool company didn’t want to delay the start of the pool so they actually trucked the snow out of our backyard so they could start the digging.

Next up, the interlocking brick for around the pool and the flower gardens.

Then we added the hot tub.

Next up, the cute garden shed, the outdoor fire pit and the waterfall, along with some landscaping.

Then this past spring, we added the second interlocking patio and flower garden.   This is our dining area and where I hang out, in the shade (ah the joys of being a redhead…).
And, finally the last phase, THE DECK.
 

We chose composite decking, with the crazy curves that I designed, it would be nearly impossible to create with cedar. The composite wood curves much easier and we love the idea of low maintenance.  The cedar screens, however will need to be stained or left to go gray, as we did with our fencing.

As you can see, we also added a small screened area for the BBQ, another screen to give some privacy to the hot tub area and yet another small screen beside the house to hide the pool equipment, from whoever is in the hot tub (you can see this last screen in the last photo below).

We will be enjoying it this fall and I’m hoping to add a nice little lounging set next spring..when our wallets have recovered, at least a little. ;-(

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