Tomorrow (Saturday) brings the official start to my favorite season: fall. I love the changing colors, the smell (yes, fall has a specific smell), football and the crisp cool air. I love to bundle up in a sweater and a blanket and sit in the fresh air in the fall months. And a cup of hot cider doesn’t hurt either.
For me, this is the best time of year for a screened porch. During the day, it’s the perfect temperature to comfortably sit outside and enjoy the outdoors without the bugs and at night, it’s the perfect time to snuggle up in the blanket and enjoy the cool air.
Screened porches are a great way to add value to our home and your outdoor living experience. In most areas of the United States screened porches can be used the majority of the year. Screened porches not only protect you from bugs, but also the harsh outdoor elements like the sun and rain (I love sitting in a screened porch when it’s raining, it’s the perfect time for a nap).
Our Archadeck Outdoor Living franchisees have designed screened porches in every shape and size. Like sunrooms, it’s important to create a usable space that doesn’t detract from the look and feel of the existing home. One of the more difficult design considerations is how it can affect the rooms it is attached to. Natural light into the existing rooms may decrease with the addition of a sunroom. To circumvent that issue, many of our screened porch designers will include skylights in the porch’s roof to keep light flowing into the home.
Ceilings in screened porches come in a wide variety of finishes. While some homeowners may want a wood finish for a rustic/outdoorsy look, others want the ceiling to match the rest of the home’s interior. Whatever your taste, it’s all doable.
Additional features that Archadeck Outdoor Living often include in their screened porches are fireplaces and fans. When designing and building any custom outdoor living space, the designer and homeowner have to consider how and when the space will be used. Ceiling fans are a great in screened porches for those hot humid days of summer when you want be outside without being too hot. On the flip side, homeowners may want to use their porch even when the weather is cool, so adding a fireplace makes perfect sense for them. They can light a fire and enjoy the cool night, and maybe some s’mores, outdoors.
If you are interested in learning more about adding a custom screened porch to your home, please contact your local Archadeck Outdoor Living office.