Opening our living room wall to the sunroom
Nancy L
6 years ago
Hello! Our house was built in 1952 and started as a 2 bedroom ranch. The second floor addition of 3 more bedrooms and a bathroom was done in the 70s. So our living space is the appropriate size for a 2 bedroom, not a 5 bedroom! There is no separate dining room. We have three children and are trying to achieve a larger living room/dining space.
I believe we were the last house built on the block, so we don't have much land to work with in terms of expansion. The concrete porch off the back of the house was converted to a 3 season sunroom by the previous owner and the windows of the living room look out into it. It has southern exposure, but our living room no longer gets much in the way of natural light and stays very dark on a grey day. there's also no windows to bring air flow to the living room right now. The sunroom is wonderful, but very hot in the summer and too cold for the winter, even with the baseboard heater we installed.
My hope is to establish a larger living room and dining area for our growing family with lots of natural light in the living room. Our garage is connected to the sunroom and I'm interested in creating a small mudroom, if possible, to keep coats and boots out of sight. The wall between the living room and sunroom is the old exterior of the house and there's two brick pillars between the windows.
What factors do I need to consider that I'm not thinking of? Is this a doable project that will get me the space I'm looking for? Is temperature regulation going to be a problem if we combine the rooms? Currently, we can't keep enough chairs at the table for our family without it blocking traffic. I'm hoping to have a tv area, a lounge area and a dining area with the ability to seat more at a bigger table. I appreciate any insight!
I believe we were the last house built on the block, so we don't have much land to work with in terms of expansion. The concrete porch off the back of the house was converted to a 3 season sunroom by the previous owner and the windows of the living room look out into it. It has southern exposure, but our living room no longer gets much in the way of natural light and stays very dark on a grey day. there's also no windows to bring air flow to the living room right now. The sunroom is wonderful, but very hot in the summer and too cold for the winter, even with the baseboard heater we installed.
My hope is to establish a larger living room and dining area for our growing family with lots of natural light in the living room. Our garage is connected to the sunroom and I'm interested in creating a small mudroom, if possible, to keep coats and boots out of sight. The wall between the living room and sunroom is the old exterior of the house and there's two brick pillars between the windows.
What factors do I need to consider that I'm not thinking of? Is this a doable project that will get me the space I'm looking for? Is temperature regulation going to be a problem if we combine the rooms? Currently, we can't keep enough chairs at the table for our family without it blocking traffic. I'm hoping to have a tv area, a lounge area and a dining area with the ability to seat more at a bigger table. I appreciate any insight!
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Comments (12)
Nancy L
6 years agoRelated Discussions
Living Room, family room, sitting room, sun room eye candy!
Comments (43)What Mini-Splits Look Like in Your Home what do these systems look like in your home, you ask? https://www.ductless-mini-split-air-conditioner.org/ Indoor Here are a couple of pictures of “indoor units” installed in customer homes. As you can see, the indoor unit is mounted near the ceiling. mini split in home mini split home stock Inside the unit is a fan and a set of self-adjusting louvers. The louvers can be configured by the remote control to sweep back and forth and up and down, or point the cool air in a specific direction or directions. The louver directions are easily set with the remote control. We love our mini-splits because they are quieter than the industrial-strength fans we used to have, and they provide near instantaneous cooling. When the unit is off, the louvers close, making the unit look even sleeker. In this photo, the louvers are closed almost all the way: indoor unit closed The indoor unit is connected to the outdoor unit by two insulated refrigerant pipes and a power line. We only have to drill a 3″ hole through the wall to run the pipes and wire. And, of course, the hole is behind the indoor unit and made weather tight from the outside....See MoreLaminate flooring in a sun-room
Comments (33)jane ny, I was in a similar situation last year. For me the sequence was paint first, then flooring, then baseboards, But it looks like you may have baseboards already installed. Painting first worked for me because I did it myself and there were spatters on the subloor before I was finished. You might want to check on whether your subfloor is indeed covered with plywood, because you may need an underlayment before installing your floor, depending on what you choose. Best to check where you buy the flooring. With some help from a friend who knew what he was doing and owns a Skill Saw, I installed a plywood underlayment in less than two hours. I too wanted tile with a slate or similar look, but the room was already over budget (long story) and I chose to spend my money on high end French doors because the floor could always be changed later. I got some advice from the flooring forum while deciding. You can always post a message there before you proceed. We narrowed floor choices down to either loose-laid sheet vinyl or vinyl tiles. My friend chose the tiles because the color and pattern seemed to fit well in the sunroom/porch. The original intention was to keep those tiles for about a year while I shop for tile and find a good tile installer. But the floor has held up well, despite some abuse like beach sand, rain coming in when some airhead (...See Morehelp decorate our new sunroom. Help Decorate our sunroom
Comments (4)We need a little more info but first IMO you need some sort of heat and light blocking so solar shades would be a nice choice and a floor plan with as much detail as possible like the measurements of all the spaces and doorways for sure . Is the sofa staying, is that a good indication of your style. Some pics of the other spaces in the home would be helpful...See MoreQuestion - Can I put up sheers in windows of living room into sunroom?
Comments (10)Instead of curtains, I suggest frosted glass, which is very easy and inexpensive to do. I also love stained glass windows, which would be another option but would cost quite a bit more. They would add beauty to both rooms....See More
User
6 years agorocketjcat
6 years ago
PROBeverlyFLADeziner
6 years ago- PRO
Patricia Colwell Consulting
6 years ago Nancy L
6 years agoNancy L
6 years ago
millworkman
6 years agoNancy L
6 years agoUser
6 years ago
PROFenstermann LLC
5 years agoHey There:
Sunrooms are a great way
to improve living quality in your house as well as increasing the value of it.
Enjoy outdoor experience on a rainy or cold day and watch the stars at night –
bring the outdoors inside and extend the time you can enjoy it. Besides the
design of your new sunroom, you must consider how to bring shading to it - you
don’t want to sit in a glass house and get cooked.The shades should easy
adapt to your shading and privacy needs for example with a bottom up top down
operation for pleated blinds, roman shades and venetian blinds.Must be able to cover
triangles and odd shapes (most sunrooms have some non-squared glass)Must be able to be
installed overhead for skylight or similarMust be minimalistic to
keep the open sunroom feelingMust be available in many
colors, prints and designs to choose fromSunrooms and window
treatment go hand in hand for a perfect sunroom experience.
Window Treatments for Sunrooms and 4 Season Rooms · More Info
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