When you want to bring the beauty of nature into your home, a sunroom or conservatory makes a perfect addition.
While the terms are often used interchangeably, sunrooms and conservatories are two very different types of rooms. Both present various benefits while differing in purpose, style and materials.
To help you choose the fitting addition for your home, we’ll break down the key differences between sunrooms and conservatories and describe the various advantages they provide for your home.
How Are Sunrooms Different From Conservatory Rooms?
While you set out to plan your home’s new addition, your choice of room will come down to how you’d like the new space to function and your style and comfort preferences.
What Is a Conservatory Room?
A conservatory is similar to a greenhouse enclosure with a glass roof and walls. Typically, you’ll find this type of room attached to the side of a house or as a standalone unit on a home’s property.
What Is a Sunroom?
A sunroom is an extension of a home or a modification of a preexisting room or porch with screened openings. Also referred to as patio rooms, sunrooms provide homeowners with a view of nature while blending seamlessly with their house.
While the definitions might sound similar since both rooms provide light and a buffer from nature’s elements, there are three critical differences between a sunroom versus a conservatory.
1. Purpose
The most significant difference between conservatories and sunrooms is the overall purpose they serve.
Conservatories function as in-home greenhouses, where you can house your plants and provide care within a temperature-controlled setting. Roof windows provide extra lighting to help plants grow while offering them a barrier between extreme wind and cold weather.
Sunrooms function as an extension of your living space for recreational activities. For instance, you might use a sunroom as your office, dining area or family room.
2. Materials
Sunrooms and conservatories usually cost around the same price to build, though they use different materials to serve their unique purposes.
Conservatories feature transparent materials such as glass and plastic. In contrast, sunrooms typically use opaque roofs to reduce direct sunlight and blend materials for their structure, rather than just featuring glass.
An optimal greenhouse or conservatory design incorporates wood and aluminum for its enclosure and glass for the roof and surrounding windows. Mahogany is a popular choice due to its durability and natural aesthetic.
On the other hand, sunroom designs use steel, foam insulation and drywall to create a seamless extension of your home. The walls of a sunroom typically match the walls of the rest of the house.
3. Sunlight
Due to their different materials and number of windows, sunrooms and conservatories typically provide contrasting levels of sunlight.
A conservatory serves to mimic the outdoors as much as possible to help plants grow. For this reason, they let in more direct light, with windows covering almost every inch of its surroundings.
Sunrooms implement more tempered or shaded glass to shield you from direct sunlight. Since sunrooms don’t always include roof windows, they serve to protect you better from direct sun and heat.
While a conservatory is visually appealing and perfect for horticulture, you might find that it’s not as comfortable as a sunroom for this reason.
Benefits of Sunrooms
With a sunroom addition for your home, you can enjoy the beauty of nature while experiencing added comfort, gorgeous natural light and extra living space.
Optimal Comfort
Imagine grabbing a cup of hot cocoa on a cold December evening and relaxing in the gorgeous snowy landscape surrounding your home. But instead of frost and wind on your skin, all you feel is warmth and coziness — that’s what a sunroom can do for you.
A sunroom ensures your comfort no matter the season. With designs that incorporate precise sunlight control and insulation options, you’ll stay cool in the summer and warm in the winter. Sunrooms might also make use of your existing HVAC so you can enjoy comfortable temperatures at all times in this year-round living space.
Natural Light
With a sunroom, you’ll enjoy the perks of having gorgeous natural light in your home, from its mental and physical health benefits to its aesthetics enhancing your home’s interior. But save the sunscreen and bug spray in the summer — you won’t need it when you opt for a sunroom. Choose a sunroom with vinyl-glazed windows to block harmful UV rays, protecting your furniture from fading and keeping your skin safe.
Sunrooms also provide ample light for gardening and planting seasonal flower boxes. You’ll appreciate your new room for growing healthy and luscious plants no matter the outdoor temperature.
More Living Space
When you add a sunroom to your home, you enjoy all the benefits of extra living space. Say you always wanted a game room or a playroom though your current layout won’t accommodate it — a sunroom complements your home’s interior design while providing room for those fun activities. And when you need a space away from other house distractions, using your sunroom as an office or library is a great way to focus and get work done.
Sunrooms help you rest easy with more space to branch out, relax and have fun.
Benefits of Conservatories
Conservatories can provide a luxurious and eclectic look to your home while increasing its curb appeal. You’ll find that conservatories offer benefits from their use in gardening to their gorgeous architecture.
Ideal Gardening Space
With its large windows and barrier from strong winds and cold temperatures, conservatories make the perfect space for gardening. They also give you the opportunity to grow plants that can’t always survive in the U.S., such as those native to hot and humid climates.
Beautiful tropical flowers like Mandevilla and Hoya will find a comfortably humid home in a conservatory. At the same time, cacti and succulents will thrive in the direct heat from the expansive rooftop windows of your enclosure.
Beautiful Aesthetics
Most conservatories utilize eye-catching architecture and bold styles that can add to the value of your home. From a striking arched roof to grid windows and crown molding, greenhouses are decorative by nature. You can even find conservatories in octagonal shapes with high lookout towers for added effect.
Conservatories are beautiful on the inside, as well, providing views of the outdoors while you showcase your collection of plants.
Choose a Quality Sunroom Contractor
Sunrooms and conservatories make stunning add-ons to your property. While a conservatory provides eye-catching architecture, sunrooms are ideally suited for every season and can be optimized for your comfort.
If you’re interested in a sunroom addition for your home, look no further than Garrety Glass for reputable contracting services. We’re a locally owned and operated business specializing in glass installation throughout Northern Maryland and South-Central Pennsylvania to make your sunroom the talk of the neighborhood. We use only the highest quality materials to ensure your comfort while meeting your budgetary preferences.
To schedule a free consultation, fill out our online form or call 717-741-9949 today!