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Sunroom Contractor Guide: Planning Location | Design Builders

Written by James Moylan | Friday, February 17, 2012

Planning Your Sun Room in Maryland & Virginia

Sun Room Series Part 1

Choosing the right location is the most critical first step in planning your sun room. Whether you're in Montgomery County, MD or Fairfax County, VA, placement determines natural light, privacy, structural requirements, and long-term enjoyment. This five-part series guides you through every decision—from site selection to finishing touches—so you can build a sun room that enhances your home's value and lifestyle.

When you think about adding a sun room to your home, you can practically feel the warmth of the sun streaming through a skylight, you can imagine the peace and beauty of having your morning coffee in a private space, you can envision yourself practicing yoga or reading a book or playing with your kids.

Now that you know you want a sun room, the most important question to ask yourself in the early planning stages is: Will you be opening up a wall to make an existing room much larger, or will your sun room be an additional space that is accessed by a separate door?

The answer to this question is the most important consideration when forging ahead with this type of remodel as it will affect how the room is conditioned, furnished, and how the space affects the rest of your home.

If you are doing some demolition and opening up a wall to expand an existing room into a sun room, then you’ll need to consider how difficult or easy it will be to match the flooring, paint colors, and trim. If mimicking your existing aesthetic treatments will be a challenge, it may be necessary to redo the entire space so that the old blends together seamlessly with the new.

Opting for a stand-alone sun room expands your options tremendously. You can start from scratch with this separate space giving you choices that are practically endless. You can create a uniquely styled room, from the floors to windows to wall colors to décor.

Up next in Part 2 of the Sun Room Series: Conditioning your sun room addition.