Sunrooms/Porches/Decks Remodeling: Offering a Quiet Getaway Without Having to Leave Home

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Perhaps the single most de-stressing feature you can add to your home is a sunroom, porch or deck. All are built to provide a relaxing getaway without actually having to get away. Sunrooms and porches are located away from the hustle and bustle of daily life creating the perfect environment for your morning coffee, a good book, writing a letter or doing needlework. A deck offers the ideal place to relax, enjoy some sun and entertain family and guests. Ask us about how these remarkably affordable additions can add value to your home and internal calm to your well-being.

Brad and Coleen’s Tropical Paradise

This fun-loving couple enjoys entertaining friends, family and business associates at their home on a lake. Before hiring Brunn to add a new porch, Brad and Coleen spent a lot of time grilling on the upstairs deck and relaxing in a hot tub on the lower patio. Their dream was to create a space overlooking the lake that would have lakeshore appeal on the outside and resemble a Florida Keys resort on the inside.

The Challenge

Coleen and Brad wanted an indoor grill and hot tub on the same level that would shelter them from the elements, enabling them to extend their time outdoors. They wanted the exterior to match their existing home and expressed a desire to hide the back of the garage from view.

The Solution

What began as a “tiki hut” concept soon evolved to a stucco-walled, three-and-a-half-season porch that faces the lake on an elevated post-and-beam foundation that effectively conceals the garage.

The 600 sq.-ft. room has a “Tommy Bahama” look with a bamboo ceiling, cabinetry and hot tub skirting that was painted with a special formulation to match the home’s existing cherry millwork.

The room is not heated, but does feature two cozy gas fireplaces. Moving the hot tub inside required special venting and footings, making it useable spring, summer and fall. The floor has porcelain tiles grouted with silicone to withstand freezing and thawing. The walls are finished with stucco instead of drywall for durability and mildew resistance.

Four-track windows bring the outdoors in. They can be opened fully to catch summer breezes, yet shut tightly against the winter chill. A deck with glass railings surrounds the porch and allows for uninterrupted lake viewing. A re-routed staircase now leads visitors from the deck to the dock.

“Brunn did a fantastic job on the entire project and Luann Brunn’s decorating ideas were really instrumental in giving our porch that Key West-feel. It’s very unique —better than we ever dreamed possible.” – Coleen

Photos

Connie’s Quiet Refuge

Although Connie loves the front porch of her home with its dramatic pillars and inviting entrance, she really wanted a screened area to be able to enjoy the outdoors late in the day without getting pestered by mosquitoes and other insects.

The Challenge

Adding a screened porch to the existing wrap-around porch required matching the look and structure of the front elevation. The rear deck also presented some challenge to ensure it tied into the architectural design.

The Solution

Using pillars on the exterior of the porch gave it the strength it need structurally and carried the architectural design of the home seamlessly from the front porch. Installing pillars as support posts for the rear deck also enabled us to maintain the look and provided the stability it needed for solid decking.

The porch is easy to maintain too, because each screen is individually installed. In that way, if any of the screens are damaged, the panels are easily removed, repaired and replaced.