Whether they're called sunrooms or conservatories, the glass additions to a house are having their moment again.
Originating, not surprisingly in England, where every ray of sunshine is valued, a sun room or conservatory was a valuable addition to a home, providing a chance to catch the sun all day long.
In New Zealand they were adopted in the bigger villas and bungalows, and then had a revival as aluminium or cedar add-ons to 1970s houses. For a while they were outdated, but are now seeing a revival.
Pocket Space Interiors boss Laura Lochhead says the original idea of a sun room as a room separating the house and the garden, has become redundant in modern houses with their banks of windows and doors opening to decks or gaden.
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But, she says, they can be re-worked for modern living. She has ways to turn a old-school sun room into a modern jewel of the house.
Her ideas are great when you are selling a house to make the conservatory a useable addition. For buyers, she has ideas to use the space, not knock it down.
“We see them now being used as an extension on someone’s living area or for people to add a dining room. If you don’t update them, it’ll drag down the overall house of your look.”
The biggest use of sun rooms is a playroom for children with a lot of storage, Lochhead says.
“All their toys will be in that area instead of spilling through the lounge. Generally, a sunroom is a heart of a home near the dining and a kitchen, so it’s a good focal point for keeping an eye out on toddler.”
If you don't want to spend a lot on redesigning the sun room, an effective way update it is to use the same flooring and interior design as in the living area and kitchen.
That way, the sun room is not a separate zone but is the extension of the living space, where you can read a book and have a glass of wine with pals.
Remember that sun room gets a lot of sun, so when updating furniture, she says to pick outdoor materials with UV protection to avoid colours quickly fading.
To make your sun room extra hip, Lochhead recommends sticking with a “fairly monochrome” colour scheme and layer it with different textiles, which can be “cosied up” with a fur in the winter.
With the rage for potted greenery, Lochhead loves a Moroccan-style sunroom where loads of pot plants pop againt a colour palette of paprika, green, a hint of blues.
Bayleys agent Victoria Bidwell who is marketing a classical brick Devonport villa with an Italian-style conservatory, says it is the head-turner when people come to view the house.
The glass-enclosed conservatory was added to the Victorian brick villa to create an exotic indoor-outdoor room. Photo / supplied
Built in 1880s villa had a major renovation about 30 years ago when the “authentic” conservatory was added with brick and wooden window frames fitting the original style of the house, Bidwell says.
"It’s done to stay completely in character with the home so when you go there it looks like it’s a part of the original home and it’s not.”
Bidwell says the conservatory is a valuable addition to the four-bedroom home as it’s almost considered as a separate room.
The sunroom is a year round living room, open to the weather in summer, warm and sunsoaked in winter. Photo / supplied
“I think a conservatory like that is an attraction because it’s a stylish addition to the house and it adds another room to the property. It’s not just a conservatory – you can use it as a living room - eat out there, drink out there,” she says.
