Room of the Day: A Dark Porch Becomes a Cozy Sunroom
Energy-efficient building practices and creative vision help turn a formerly unused space into a spot for reading and gardening
When it comes to outdoor projects, John Crowley likes to get creative and energy-efficient. As a graduate professor at and former dean of the College of Environment + Design at the University of Georgia, he knows quite a bit about both. Faced with a dark, uninviting back porch, he put his skills to good use, creating a transitional sunroom of sorts where he can read, relax and tend to his tropical plants.
AFTER: Crowley and Imery removed the low ceiling and dormer window, and added a new double-height roof to enclose the space and give it a solarium feel. A new second-floor balcony extends off the home, reached by French doors that replaced the dormer windows, and a wall of windows was added between the porch and the patio.
For many of the new portions, Imery used green building practices, such as advanced framing, spray-foam insulation, low-VOC paints and high-performance windows.
Slate tiles replaced the former concrete floors, which were too rough to salvage.
Fireplace: Quadra-Fire
For many of the new portions, Imery used green building practices, such as advanced framing, spray-foam insulation, low-VOC paints and high-performance windows.
Slate tiles replaced the former concrete floors, which were too rough to salvage.
Fireplace: Quadra-Fire
Metal shelves extend from the balcony to hold some of Crowley’s ivy plants.
There is no mechanical heating or cooling in the space, but a wood stove provides heat in the winter and a ceiling fan circulates air year-round. Two louvered skylights offer ventilation as needed.
There is no mechanical heating or cooling in the space, but a wood stove provides heat in the winter and a ceiling fan circulates air year-round. Two louvered skylights offer ventilation as needed.
Crowley sometimes brings groups of his graduate students over to show them a real-world example of green construction and interior landscape design. “Beyond its educational value, I’ve gained considerable energy-performance improvements, and I intend to enjoy it daily,” he says. “Until they carry me out feet first.”
Fan: Hunter
More
Key Measurements to Help You Design the Perfect Front Porch
What to Know About Adding a Deck
28 Outdoor Projects Everyone Should Know About
Fan: Hunter
More
Key Measurements to Help You Design the Perfect Front Porch
What to Know About Adding a Deck
28 Outdoor Projects Everyone Should Know About
Room at a Glance
Location: Athens, Georgia
Who lives here: John Crowley, professor at and former dean of the College of Environment + Design at the University of Georgia
Size: 156 square feet (14.4 square meters)
Builder: Imery Group
For his formerly unused porch, Crowley imagined a “buffer room” between the main house and the outdoors that would feel open to the outdoors but still connected to the home.
For help, he brought in the engineering and construction expertise of Luis Imery, founder of the green building firm Imery Group. “We wanted to create the feel as if this room had always been part of the existing home,” Imery says.
To do that, the pair carefully researched and matched new brick to the existing brick for the new double-height portion of the wall seen here. They also chose windows with a pattern resembling the home’s original window pattern.