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Sunrooms vs Screened Porches: Your Dream Outdoor Space

One of the most awe-inspiring home additions is an outdoor living area. Becoming more popular all the time, these spaces often quickly become a family’s go-to venue for unwinding, entertaining, and spending time as a family. In this blog, we’re comparing two of the most popular choices: sunrooms vs screened porches!

At Choice Home Remodeling, we’re a full-service home improvement company that can do everything a homeowner could ever need – both inside and outside of the home. So, from bathroom and kitchen renovations to building brand new decks, porches, and sunrooms, our teams do everything! We’re breaking down the sunroom vs screened porch decision and highlighting what makes BOTH of these options great!

Comparing an Enclosed Porch vs Sunroom

Both of these dream spaces are about making the outdoors as comfortable as possible. When deciding between an enclosed porch vs sunroom, it’s not about finding which is better (because either one is awesome!), but which is better for YOU! Here are the key differences you need to consider:

If You Intend to Use it Year-Round – This is one of the biggest practical differences between sunrooms vs screened porches. Screened porches provide impeccable shade and protection from bugs, but they can’t be used in cold weather. The open walls mean that they won’t be comfortable in the early spring, late fall, or all winter long. However, insulated sunrooms, with their own climate control, serve as true 4-season rooms! It all depends on if you care about year-round use. Get more sunroom inspiration right here!
The Look You Like Best – While the design skill of the company you trust makes an enormous impact – and can make either space equally beautiful – both of these outdoor spaces boast vastly different looks. From the outside, sunrooms tend to look much like any other room on the house, just with ample windows. However, a screened-in porch will have a much more minimal look that resembles a traditional outdoor living space. The walls that make up a screen porch can be very unobtrusive, and this space can really make the most of a wonderful backyard view! Check out our project showcase to see what we can build!
Your Plan for the Space – How you plan to use the space determines which you should opt for when deciding between an enclosed porch vs a sunroom. If your home is lacking on interior square footage and you want an extra sitting room, dining room, or TV room, then building a sunroom can meet that need in spectacular fashion. However, if your house has more than enough indoor space, then a screened-in porch may feel more exciting!
The Look of Your House – The last thing to consider is the style of your home and which addition will look better on it. Our team is skilled at building sunrooms that match the look of the original home without at all looking like an add-on. This works especially well for homes with traditional vinyl siding as it pairs well with the sunroom look in particular. For more unique looking homes, especially ones built with brick or stucco, a sunroom may not look as natural. In this case, the more minimal style of a screened porch will enhance the home’s style more fully.

Design with Our Team Today

Choosing between sunrooms vs screened porches can be difficult – especially if either one will be a great fit for your home! If you still can’t choose which one you want, we recommend reaching out to the Choice Home Remodeling team. Our expert designers can help you find the perfect option for your goals and your home.

Whether you want to have an at-home design consultation or meet in our centrally located inspiration center, our team is here to help. Not only can we help you make this decision, but we can create a one-of-a-kind design and give you a price to take care of everything!

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Client Reviews

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Last year we renovated most of our home and replaced 15 windows, 4 doors, added 5 new windows, 1 large quad French door unit and 2 new screen doors. The primary reason we purchased everything from Choice was because of the wonderful, patient, responsive customer service from Christie Flory over a period of many months of going back and forth as we narrowed down our choices. We had many questions and concerns and she cheerfully helped us make good choices and cared about the details. The showroom is also a huge help, and the knowledge of the staff was very nice. We tried the competition and gave them a chance, but we ultimately came back to Choice because Christie was FAR more helpful and responsive when we had questions. If you have any need for new windows or doors, don't shop around, it's not worth it...just go here and start asking questions, and you'll quickly realize that the people at Choice just make everything easier. I highly recommend this place!

Had a double dining room window replaced. Did have to wait five months for it to come in and get installed. But it was worth the wait… Very well pleased! Dominic and Brandon were the installers and they were very professional and informative. Would definitely recommend choice and these two young installers! Thank you!

We only have good things to say about Choice Windows! New windows in a big house and also some doors...all done in less than a week! These guys are the BEST! Good with Lexi our Pomeranian too! I'd advise anyone to give them a call..u won't regret it..I'm almost positive!

They're doing work on our house. Reliable, professional, knowledgeable and courteous.