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OUTSIDE IN

A four-season sunroom
lets you enjoy the
outdoors year round.

Design and construction

by Sunrooms Etc.

Text by Laurie Kaiser

Color photography

by Steve Vierra

Many homeowners are looking to bring the outdoors in – without bringing in the bugs and elements, too. And many would like to enjoy their back yards year round while remaining in the comfort of a climate-controlled space. For this reason, sunrooms have become popular additions. Industry experts estimate that half a million sunrooms are added onto homes in this country each year.

The owners of this 1970s Osterville ranch opted for a 12- by 14-foot sunroom to expand their living space, specifically the dining room, which they felt was too small to accommodate extended family. They chose Sunrooms Etc. of Carver and Cotuit to create the new space.

Osterville resident Scott Mitchell, president of Sunrooms Etc., specializes in post and beam additions. While many sunroom companies offer structures in a limited range of styles that look added on, Sunrooms Etc. builds custom additions that blend with the style of the house. The sunrooms are fully insulated, four-season rooms with tongue-in-groove wood paneling. The average sunroom addition takes about three weeks to install and costs $35,000. And because the lumber is prepared off site, at Mitchell’s shop in Carver, the homeowner endures a minimum of disruption.

“It’s all custom,” Mitchell says. “Some people get the sense it’s a kit. It’s kind of a hybrid. It’s all custom design, but it doesn’t happen on site.”

The exterior work is done first and then the interior. After the first week, the room is weather tight, which, Mitchell says, prompts many enthusiastic homeowners to move their furniture in before the sunroom is completed.

According to these Osterville homeowners, the construction of their sunroom resulted in no real disruption to their daily lives.

Here’s the process: a project consultant visits the homeowner to hear what the homeowner is looking for in a sunroom. Together, they come up with a design for the addition. Homeowners can opt for a rustic look by leaving the natural wood coated with their choice of stain and three coats of polyurethane or for a breezier, seaside look by painting the wood white, for example. Windows, doors and trim can be made to match the rest of the house.

Of course, windows are a major feature of a sunroom. But, with a custom sunroom, homeowners can choose the window style. The owner of an older house might choose traditional double-hung windows, for example. Casement and rolling windows complement more contemporary construction.

The choice of flooring is left entirely up to the homeowner, as well. Many select tile, Mitchell says, because of ease of installation and maintenance.

As for other features, about 70 percent of homeowners install a woodstove in their sunroom, Mitchell says. A fireplace is another option. And about 10 percent of homeowners install hot tubs.

For their custom sunroom, these Osterville homeowners opted for plaster walls painted in Benjamin Moore’s Lemon Ice, tongue-in-groove ceiling panels, rolling windows and an off-white tile floor. The ceramic tile floor offers ease of maintenance – especially important when the couple’s three preschool-age grandchildren visit.

These homeowners say they enjoy their sunroom in all seasons. The room captures the morning sun, affords a 180-degree view of the beautifully landscaped back yard and provides plenty of fresh air when the windows are open. When warranted, the room offers climate control through heat and air conditioning. And it opens up the dining room, achieving the homeowners’ main goal.