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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Excellent

Choice Windows, Doors & More, Inc.4.8

I recently hired Choice to replace 12 windows and a sliding glass door in my home, and they did excellent work. I want to provide this review for anyone in the Lancaster County area looking for new windows: save yourself some trouble and just hire Choice. The original windows and sliding door in my house were cheap builder grade units that were ~25 years old and all failing in one way or another. I did my due diligence and requested quotes from five different contractors, including a big box home improvement store and a couple of the national window chains. To make a long story short, Choice was the best price, the best product, and the most comprehensive installation work! Everyone who I worked with at Choice, from the sales, finance, and install teams, was extremely friendly and professional. They installed wonderful, PA-made Okna windows and doors, and they installed them properly; no shortcuts taken (unlike some of the other contractors who I received quotes from). The install team were great; they had all the work done in exactly the time they quoted, and they were very mindful of being as clean as they could. They also informed me that some of the existing windows were installed very poorly, with very little insulation and flashing. They installed the new windows correctly, and the difference was immediate and incredible. I could not be happier with the work they did and the products they provide. The new windows and door at my house are such a huge improvement over the old ones. If you're looking for a contractor for your next home improvement project, look no further!

Response from the owner:Thank you, Devon, for the wonderful review! We work hard to provide not only quality products and expert installation, but also an easy and helpful experience from the very first contact. We truly appreciate you taking the time to share about your experience with us!

Choice Remodeling was professional from start to finish. They were prompt, informative and did excellent work replacing the windows in our whole house. I would recommend them for any job!

Response from the owner:Thank you Molly for taking the time to leave us a review. We appreciate your referral and are happy we were able to provide a positive experience for you!

The new storm door with roll up screen and the new sliding door for our deck look wonderful. The sales person, Tim Simmers, was great to work with and the men doing the installation work were terrific. I will be using Choice Home Remodeling for all my future projects!

Response from the owner:Thank you Daniel for your review. We appreciate you taking the time to share your experience and look forward to partnering with you in the future!

I can't rave enough about my experience with Choice Home Remodeling! After a long search for a team that was not only professional and knowledgeable but also friendly and patient, I found exactly what I was looking for. Tim, Nate, and the entire crew did an outstanding job installing a new sliding door in place of an existing bay window on my block-style home. From start to finish, they answered all of my questions with confidence, kept me informed throughout the process, and completed the work with exceptional care and craftsmanship. Choice Home Remodeling earns my highest recommendation!

Response from the owner:Karen, thank you for your five star review and kind words. It was a pleasure working with you and we are happy to hear you felt the same way! Please let us know if there is any thing else we can partner with you on in the future.