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Homeowners across the United States increasingly embrace natural light in their living spaces, recognizing its numerous benefits, including enhanced aesthetics, improved well-being, and potential energy savings.

According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, lighting accounts for approximately 11% of house energy consumption. By strategically incorporating sunrooms into their homes, homeowners can maximize natural light while enjoying additional advantages, such as relaxation and entertainment.

This blog will explore the advantages of adding a sunroom to your home and provide insights for homeowners contemplating a sunroom project. 

The Benefits of Sunrooms

Bringing sunshine into your living space through a sunroom offers compelling benefits that significantly enhance physical and emotional well-being. By harnessing ample natural light, sunrooms minimize reliance on artificial lighting, leading to reduced energy consumption and cost savings.

Exposure to sunlight stimulates vitamin D production, bolstering mood and promoting healthy bone development. Sunrooms also provide a seamless connection to the outdoors, allowing you to relish the beauty of nature while being shielded from the elements.

Top Considerations for Sunroom Construction

To ensure a successful outcome with your sunroom construction project, several factors must be considered: 

Choosing the right location

Assess factors such as the sun’s orientation, the surrounding landscape, and the proximity to existing structures. Examining these elements will help optimize natural light and ensure seamless integration with your home’s architecture.

Exploring sunroom styles

Thorough research, seeking expert advice, and considering your specific requirements are essential when choosing the sunroom style that best fits your needs. Take into account the architectural style of your home. 

For instance, a Victorian-style sunroom might be a good match if you have a traditional house, while sleek and modern sunrooms tend to complement contemporary or minimalist homes.

Selecting the best sunroom materials

Opt for a high-quality glass that provides excellent insulation, UV protection, and energy efficiency. Consider durable framework materials such as aluminum or vinyl, which require minimal maintenance. Adequate insulation, including weatherstripping and double-paned glass, is essential for year-round comfort.

Navigating the legal requirements

Check local building codes and regulations to ensure permits, setbacks, and compliance with requirements. Consulting with a professional architect or contractor well-versed in local laws can streamline the process and prevent potential setbacks.

Why Seek the Help of a Sunroom Expert

Homeowners considering the addition of a sunroom to their property should strongly consider seeking the help of a sunroom expert for the following reasons:

Design expertise

Sunroom experts possess a deep understanding of architectural principles, space utilization, and material selection. Their expertise ensures a sunroom seamlessly integrates with the existing home design and meets your specific requirements.

Streamlined process

Building a sunroom involves complex tasks that sunroom experts address by managing project logistics, coordinating with contractors, and ensuring adherence to timelines. This saves homeowners valuable time and effort, resulting in a hassle-free construction experience.

Avoid costly mistakes

Sunroom professionals ensure the sunroom is built to the highest standards by assessing insulation, structural integrity, and electrical safety. These steps help reduce the risk of future repairs or redesigns.

Understand building codes

Building codes and regulations vary across locations, making it essential to work with sunroom experts familiar with local codes regarding structural stability, electrical installations, and energy efficiency. 

Let Us Bring Your Sunroom to Life

Embrace the benefits of bringing sunshine into your living space through a sunroom. When undertaking a sunroom project, consider critical factors, such as location and style, and engage with a sunroom professional to achieve the best possible results.

Experience comfortable year-round sunrooms through top-notch insulation, ventilation, and sunroom customization services. Conservatory Craftsmen is a family-owned Minnesota business specializing in sunrooms, custom conservatories, and commercial atriums. With over 20 years of experience, we ensure exceptional craftsmanship that enhances your sunroom’s functionality and visual appeal.

Call Conservatory Craftsmen at (612) 281-4985 to discover the art of sunroom design!

As the lines between work and home continue to blur, creating a functional and inspiring workspace in the comfort of your own home has become more important than ever. And what better way to achieve this than by converting your conservatory into a home office? With abundant natural light and tranquil ambiance, a conservatory can provide the perfect setting for a productive work environment. But where do you begin?

 In this blog, we’ll explore some creative and practical renovation ideas for your conservatory home office that will transform it into a stylish and functional workspace you’ll love to spend time in. Before calling a conservatory installation company to work on the renovation, read on for some top tips and inspiration.

What Makes a Conservatory an Ideal Home Office

Here are some of the reasons why a conservatory is ideal for a home office:

Natural Light

Conservatories allow a good amount of sunlight while being considered indoor spaces. This means that when we use natural light for our home office, we save on electricity consumption. With the sunlight passing through a conservatory, you may only need to turn on the lights for about 1-2 hours daily.

Beautiful View of Your Garden

Most people specifically request conservatory installation companies to place their conservatories close to the garden. Thus, using your conservatory as a home office gives you a calming view of your garden. What better way to take a short break from your screen, but to look out on the beauty of a garden.

Large Space

The best thing about a conservatory home office is that all the space is yours. You can shift from sitting to standing and walking while working. Studies have shown that this practice is good for employees’ overall health. Throw in the greenery a conservatory usually contains and this is adds to the health benefits.

 Now, let’s talk about transforming this space into an ideal workspace.

Top Conservatory Home Office Ideas

Now that you’ve learned how a conservatory can be an ideal home office, you might be tempted to search for conservatory installation companies to work on the renovation right away. However, you have to contain that excitement first and check out these ideas you can adopt for your conservatory workspace. After all, it saves time and money to plan a renovation properly.

Temperature Control is the Key

It can be warm inside a conservatory, especially during the day, so invest in a temperature control system for your conservatory workspace. Think of a ceiling fan or an air conditioner, for starters. There are several automated additions that can help regulate temperature.

Opt for Outdoor Furniture

Exposure to sunlight can age your furniture pieces in a short time. For this reason, we advise you to select mostly outdoor furniture for your conservatory home office. 

Add Remote-Controlled Blinds

Blinds are excellent and cost-effective temperature control tools. They can be drawn out when the environment is too bright for deep work and concentration. With remote-controlled blinds, you can change the brightness in your workspace without leaving your desk.

Prepare Your Wi-Fi Connection

A good Wi-Fi connection is a necessity for most jobs. Set up your internet connection in advance and see if your workspace has a good reception.

Ensure Adequate Electricity Outlets

Some conservatories do not have electrical outlets, while some have very few. If you wish to transform your conservatory into a home office, you’ll have to check if the number of outlets is sufficient for all your devices.

Build Your Dream Home Office With Conservatory Craftsmen

Transforming your conservatory into your very own workspace can inspire motivation and good health while working from home. Just be sure to consider having a temperature control system, adequate electricity outlets, good internet connectivity, and appropriate furniture pieces when talking to a conservatory installation company about your renovation plan. 

 At Conservatory Craftsmen, we don’t just build conservatories – we are skilled artisans who take pride in creating the conservatory of your dreams. You can count on our cutting-edge technology to make it the most desirable room in your home.

Are you ready to have your dream workspace? Is it time to build a conservatory? Contact us today.

So you have a conservatory or garden room. This amazing space is not only a wonderful place to spend time, it is obviously the ideal environment to grow and nurture plants. Wondering where to start? Looking for suggestions? We have put together a guide to help you choose plants that will thrive in this space and then a few tips on how to keep them healthy and happy.

For Starters

You have this incredible space for greenery, but in order to have the best plant success, it is important you know the seasonal light changes, what direction your building is facing, and then how much exposure your plants will have. These factors will determine the amounts of light, heat, and cold experienced inside by your plants inside the conservatory.

The goal of any conservatory is modulating temperature so that plants don’t overheat in summer or freeze in winter. So for example, a south-facing structure will require ample ventilation and blinds installed that can regulate temperatures inside during the sunny months from April until September. Where a north-facing conservatory will contend with the challenge of low levels of light in winter but are great in the summer months. So knowing the orientation of your structure is important.

Choosing Plants

Conservatory Craftsmen’s Owner and Master Gardener Jim Hewitt has a few favorite plants he recommends to conservatory owners.

Jim’s Recommendations for Easy to Care for Plants

Most frequently, a conservatory has an entry palm. This is a traditional plant used in large and small conservatories.

Jim’s Recommendations for Hardy Plants

If you are seldom home and don’t have anyone to care for plants, succulents can be a life saver.

However, if you are actively enjoying your growing space, then consider the following:

• Bromeliads: easy to care for and there are many varieties to choose from with visual interest.
• Calathea is an attractive plant. There are about 200 varieties to choose from. Keep moist, not wet. Light levels are easy
• Monstera or split leaf philodendron is also a very responsive plant and will achieve some size.
• The majority of conservatory owners like to dabble with citrus. Most are easy to grow.
• Anthuriums are showy and also fun to grow. Jasmin are easy to grow and can add a lot of fragrance to a room

Jim’s Recommendations for care

Most plant growers fail from invasive insects then from light or water. An infestation of thrips can take over before you even know you have them. Be deligent with regular care. Keep leaves clean and dusted top and bottom. Spray with a mixture of neem oil, isopropyl alcohol (I add a touch of Dawn) and water. Totally safe, no poison.

Tips on How to Keep Your Conservatory Plants Thriving

Education. These days Google and YouTube are great places to discover what to do (and what you are doing wrong) with plants. Join a Facebook group about conservatories or indoor plants. Being knowledgeable about the varieties you have chosen will help your plants thrive all year round.

Certain plants will need more attention than others. All plants will need watering, but that schedule will be different for each variety. All plants will need extra nourishment by means of plant food or fertilizer and then just regular inspection for pests or diseases. If they are growing well, repotting will be on the agenda. Don’t forget to attend to the glass of your conservatory, making sure it is clean for the plants to get the best sunlight while remembering that although the sunlight is good, summer can place plants in heat stress if not regularly monitored or provided shade.

During winter months because the hours of light are less, make sure not to overwater plants. One big factor in conservatory plant success in winter is providing them with stable temperatures. Keep plants from sources of heat or cold, moderating the temperature they live in.

Whatever the time of year, adding plants (or more plants) to your conservatory or garden room will keep your space tranquil, calm and peaceful. And if you don’t have a conservatory or garden room and are interested, get in touch with Conservatory Craftsmen to discover the kind of space we can create for you!

Garden rooms are a dream to design. They can be anything you want them to be: a functional greenhouse, a receiving area, lounge room, meditation room, private office, home spa, gym, art studio — take your pick. Garden rooms can be in different forms, though, so whatever you have in mind, it has to be compatible with your garden room’s design and construction.

If you had yours built by Conservatory Craftsmen, you should have a conservatory-style garden room that can be a full-fledged room or an enclosed patio. After all, our specialty is building attached and stand-alone conservatories that you can transform into indoor or outdoor garden rooms.

What Is a Conservatory Room?

A conservatory room is a fully-enclosed room with walls, ceilings, doors, and windows. The structure can be concrete or brick and mortar. Its primary features are its windows: massive glass panels that may or may not open. Attached conservatory gardens typically have glass doors that lead to the front porch or backyard, depending on its location.

With these structural features as a guide, here are some tips on how you can design the interiors of your conservatory garden room.

Outdoor and Indoor Garden Room Decorating Ideas

Plants

Garden rooms are incomplete without flowering blooms! But in case someone in your household is allergic to pollen, you can populate the room with lush, potted plants instead. Mix up indoor plants that grow upright with sprawling varieties (pitcher plant, peperomia), large leaves (monstera, fiddle-leaf fig) with ferns or palms, and deep greens with variegated leaves (snake plant, spider plant). Assemble the large plants on the floor, the smaller pots on tables, and hanging plants (Boston fern, chenille, trailing jade) on the shelves or corners, where they can be seen without being in everyone’s way.

Seating

Whether you have a detached, outdoor garden house or a room extension converted into an indoor luxury garden, comfortable seating is a must. It makes the room look inviting and whimsical. It’s also a practical design move: you and your guests will be able to stay in the garden room for as long as you like.

We recommend a classic park bench (preferably with an ergonomic seat and backrest) if the floor space is limited. If it’s a spacious garden room, you can put a chaise lounge or loveseat. Add accent pillows and quilts, and you’ll have the perfect spot for reading books or taking a nap. For extra seating, you can add beanbags on the floor or stackable stools that you can put away in a corner when not in use.

Lighting

Most people like to keep their garden rooms warm and cozy in the evenings because they get plenty of bright, natural light during the day. We recommend recessed mood lighting on the walls and ceiling for a dramatic effect. Stand and desk lamps with options for white and warm lighting are also excellent garden room lighting ideas because then you can adjust the settings to set the room’s mood.

Functional Furniture and Decorations

The key to successfully designing and decorating a garden room is its use. Is it merely a personal lounge area, or is it an extension of your living room? Is it connected to the dining room? Do you often bring your laptop there to work? Once you’ve pinned down the conservatory’s purpose, designing it becomes easier and a lot more fun.

For a garden home office, you’ll need a desk, comfortable chair, and a desk lamp. For a garden living room, you can have a wide sofa facing the glass walls. If there’s a solid wall that separates the garden room from the rest of the house, you can add a gas, electric, or wood stove next to it for a cozy touch. Meanwhile, a dining room extension would look charming with a bay window seat with a round breakfast table and two or three more chairs.

Use these garden room design ideas to transform your conservatory into the indoor garden you’ve always dreamed of having.

Don’t have an enclosed garden in your home yet? Minneapolis based Conservatory Craftsmen builds classic and modern-looking conservatories. Get in touch, and we’ll give you a cost estimate. Contact us today.