What to Use the Sun Room For

A Haven from the Weather

• Sun room owners can experience many of the aspects of being outdoors while enjoying an environment that offers protection from the heat and radiation of the sun, the chill of rain and snow, the disruption of wind and the bite and sting of insects. Sun rooms allow you views of nature you would have outside without having to go outdoors, and the glass and frames used in sun room construction typically offer energy efficient features. Double glass, or insulated glass, decreases heat loss, while low-emissivity glass limits the amount of heat transferred into the room, so that the sun room doesn't overheat on sunny days.

A Multi-Purpose Room

• A sun room can serve as an additional room of the house, providing an area where family members can read, relax, play games or watch television. The open space and greater light levels make sun rooms a good place to work on puzzles, crafts or hobbies that require attention to fine detail. The open nature of the space makes a sun room suitable as a mediation area or studio. Homeowners who offer feed for birds have full view of visitors to their feeders, and stargazers can explore the night sky while they track charts of the heavens on their computers.

A Pool Enclosure

• Swimming pool owners can swim in any weather if they enclose their pool area with a sun room. Pool owners can swim throughout the winter, getting a greater return on their investment, or try a night swim without having to emerge from the warm water into a chilling evening breeze. Swimmers with fair skin or the tendency to burn can relax around the pool without worrying, and children can swim without having to endure being slathered in sun block. Sun rooms with obscured glass offer a greater deal of privacy.

A Greenhouse

• Sun rooms can double as greenhouse space, providing an area to grow houseplants or food crops. Plants make fitting decoration that helps bridge the transition between this indoor/outdoor space. Modern sun rooms include glass that deflects or blocks UV (ultraviolet) rays, just as many greenhouse coverings do, sparing you and your plants from harmful light exposure.