If you follow architectural trends, chances are you’ve heard of “biophilic design.” It’s a top 2024 trend – one with significant benefits for homeowners and cottagers.
Studies have shown the positive impact that the great outdoors can have on our mental and physical health – reducing stress, improving our moods, and even boosting focus and creativity.
Biophilic design seeks to blur the lines between our interiors and the natural world, embracing nature without leaving the comfort of the indoors. One way of achieving this trend is by adding a sunroom to your home or cottage.
This design trend, which seeks to blur the lines between our interiors and the natural world, is not new to homeowners. But it is gaining popularity, says Terry Dungate, who co-owns Dungate Windows and Sunrooms with his son Taylor. Sunrooms have gained popularity dramatically since he first started selling them in 1997.
With a sunroom, you get to enjoy the beauty of the natural world – the sounds of the birds, the rustling of the trees, the smell of the grass, and the warmth of the sun’s rays, without having to swat mosquitos or live by the light of a citronella candle.
As Ontario’s longest-standing Sunspace dealer, Terry says he has seen the impact sunrooms have made in his client’s homes and can attest to the beauty of their biophilic design.
A gardener doesn’t buy seeds for the joy of planting, but for the beauty that grows from those seeds. Similarly, Terry notes, you don’t buy a Sunspace sunroom just because it adds to your home’s footprint. You buy it for the calmness you experience outside with the comfort of being indoors.
No other space in your home, he notes, will give you the same amount of fresh air and the panoramic view as you get outdoors without having to contend with flies and mosquitoes.
“Where else can you get a panoramic view on all three sides of your room?” says Terry. “We are often told by our clients that their sunroom is their go-to entertaining area at home and the cottage because there’s no bad seat. Everyone has the best view, regardless of where they sit.”
As a local, family-owned business, Terry says quality has always been a top priority, which is why they’ve used Sunspace products for the past two and a half decades. Sunspace Sunrooms are custom-designed for your home and manufactured in a temperature-controlled environment for the highest quality.
They can be installed on an existing patio or deck or added to the blueprints of your new build. “We’re often sought out by architects who want to add our models into their client designs.”
What makes Sunspace unique, says Terry, is their diverse collection of sunroom styles, finishes and customization options. “They have the greatest variety of sunroom designs, colour options, and finishes, crafted with unmatched quality.”
While Dungate’s team is happy to guide homeowners through the selection process, Terry says it’s important to consider how immersed you’d like to be in the outdoors.
If you want to use the room year-round, to feel like you’re outside whether surrounded by sun or by snow, an insulated all-season 400-model sunroom is the way to go. Alternatively, if you want to embrace the breeze and maximize the view for three seasons, a screened-in 100-, 200- or 300-model sunroom may be for you.
One of Dungate’s most popular models is the 200-model sunroom, which features bifold windows that slide up or down effortlessly to let in the greatest amount of sunlight, maximize the view, and add 75 percent greater ventilation than standard side-sliding windows.
Each sunroom can be customized with the style of roof, windows and doors to your needs and preferences. Whether you desire French doors or bifold doors, simple screens or tinted window glazing, an acrylic roof or insulated roof, the choice is yours.
Once you’ve designed your sunroom, installation can be quickly completed by Dungate’s team or your contractor. Installation can be done in one of two ways depending on your needs and preferences. If you have an existing post-and-beam structure, it can be converted into a sunroom by simply adding your desired walls and windows.
If you don’t have an existing porch, your sunroom can be created on any existing concrete slab.
“In as little as one day, we can add a whole new living space that will become your favourite area to spend time in.”
TEXT SHELANNE AUGUSTINE
PHOTOS ANDREW FEARMAN
