A Guide to Choosing the Right Sunroom Furniture

Choosing the right sunroom furniture is not only dependent on your personal style, taste and budget. The main factor influencing your furnishing choices will be the purpose that your sunroom is going to have in your home. Whether you use it as:

• A formal sitting room
• A cozy family room
• An indoor garden
• A dining room
• An office
• An art studio

The main purpose of your sunroom, how often you plan to use it and how many people will be using it will all help to determine how it should be furnished. It could easily become your favourite room in the house, used for everything from enjoying a morning coffee by yourself to entertaining a crowd.

What Sunroom Furniture Should I Buy?

Everyone has their own taste, and your sunroom should reflect you and your family. This list of ideas for furniture based on the purpose of the sunroom can be a good starting point.

Family room – To use your sunroom as a family room, think comfort and fun. Add some string lights and choose cozy furniture with cushions and blankets, a TV and entertainment centre, coffee table, storage solutions, footstools and even beanbags or chair swings - perfect for when your kids have their friends over. You can also play with textures and colour in a room with soft, fluffy rugs and coloured throw pillows.

Formal living area – If you'd prefer to use your sunroom as a place where you will entertain guests, consider what you might need to make your visitors comfortable. A classic sofa and armchair set placed around a good-sized coffee table will create an intimate but more formal sitting area. You may want to include a dining table and chairs and a buffet or sideboard from which to serve drinks and snacks.

Office – To use your sunroom as a workspace, you'll need to include a desk, chair, shelving and maybe even a lockable cabinet. To make sure your room still feels like home and not just like the office, consider a loveseat and a couple of statement armchairs too.

An Indoor Garden – If you want to make your solarium feel like an extension of your garden, rather than an extension of your home, consider using furniture you’d usually see on decks, such as the iconic wood Adirondack chair, which can be painted in a variety of colours and accessorized to match your theme. Loungers, hanging chairs and even hammocks can be used to create a room where relaxing year round is prioritized. Make sure to include plants inside your sunroom to help create the feeling of an indoor garden. Tropical plants, succulents and cactus especially thrive in the warmer sunroom environment.

Dining Room –Sunrooms can become gorgeous dining spaces. If your house doesn’t have a dedicated dining room, your sunroom could be a great solution. Choosing a light, modern dining set will ensure the room retains it’s bright, less formal feel. Consider adding a buffet and hutch to store and display your tableware or even a wine fridge.

Do I Have to Use Specific Materials In My Sunroom?

Since a four-season solarium is fully enclosed and has year round climate control, you can really choose whatever materials best suit the style you are hoping to achieve.

Three-season sunrooms don’t have climate control, so some consideration may need to be made for the extremes of hot and cold weather. For example, in the winter, dampness could cause some materials to become mouldy. To avoid this, choose cotton and polyester blend materials which are less susceptible to damp.

If you do wish to have more of an ‘outdoors inside’ feel to your furniture, the following materials have the look that many people enjoy in a sunroom:

• Wrought iron – although usually used for outside furniture such as bistro sets, due to its durability and decorative finish it works well in a sunroom

• Wicker and rattan – a light and easy to maintain material, wicker and rattan furniture comes in an array of styles from very casual to more formal, and can be extremely comfortable with the addition of cushions

• Bamboo – long-lasting and strong, bamboo is an eco-friendly option which brings a more casual, vacation vibe to a solarium

What Else Should I Consider When Furnishing My Sunroom?

Once you have made some decisions around the key pieces of furniture your sunroom needs, you can start to think about how you will place them in the room and what other decorative pieces will suit your style goals.  Consider:

• Furniture placement and flow - Make sure furniture like seating is placed to optimize the view and that it doesn’t block any walking routes to internal or external doors

• Want the room to have multiple uses? – Area rugs can be used to define parts of the room with different purposes.

• Need to include storage? – Think creatively about storage solutions such as built in benches, footstools with storage space or baskets that slide under chairs

• Colour – Be adventurous, use pops of colour so you can change them seasonally, or choose a theme, (beachy, nautical, indoor garden) and let the colour and décor flow from there

There is lots of inspiration out there when it comes to how to style your sunroom and it’s always good to look online or in local stores to see what colours and accessories you like.

Add a Spectacular Sunroom to Your Home with Modern Windows

Thinking about investing in your home by adding or replacing a sunroom? Our team at Modern Windows can work with you to design the perfect sunroom addition for your home and talk you through the numerous options on finishes and styling, including:

• Insulated foam core in the ceiling and walls for insulation

• The addition of skylights to maximize natural light

• The addition of shades on windows to block harsh sunlight

• Tinted glass for UV protection

• Built-in gutter systems like our seamless gutters

Sunroom ideas are endless! There are so many benefits to adding a sunroom to your home. Don’t delay, contact us today to ask about a free quote and hear about our financing options through SNAP financing. Serving Vancouver Island, Powell River and the Sunshine Coast since 1984, Modern Windows is a one stop shop for your home’s exterior needs including windows, doors, siding, decking, gutters and of course, sunrooms.