Step Outside
A versatile sunroom blends in seamlessly with the main house and the surrounding luxurious backyard patio area
How did this project evolve?
The owners originally contacted me with the idea of doing a sunroom off the back of their house — it grew from there into a much larger project. When we began talking about how they wanted to use the sunroom, it morphed into a whole backyard plan that included a patio, a pool, a pool house with a change room and bathroom, and a barbecue area.
Why put skylights in a sunroom?
This sunroom actually faces north, so even though there are lots of windows, it doesn’t get a lot of direct light. By introducing the pyramid skylights, I allowed the morning and mid-morning light to filter in.
“It saves a lot of time and money in the long run if you plan everything out”
How did you come up with a colour scheme for the exterior finishes?
The colours we chose were driven by the brick on the main house. That brick, with its clay and rose tones, has such a strong presence that you can’t compete with it. Greys, blacks, and copper work well to tone things down a bit. Once we had the exterior shades chosen, they then dictated the greys of the paving stones for the patio.
Tell us about the exterior finishes.
We chose a cultured stone for the outside of the sunroom, pool house, and barbecue area. It’s grey with a slight rose tinge that picks up on the very pink tones of the brick on the main house. I used a lot of copper, including custom copper eavestroughs. Once the copper develops its patina, it will work nicely with the brick and stone. The counter in the barbecue area is granite, while the cabinetry is an outdoor-proof product that’s often used on boats. The hardware is stainless steel. I designed a custom table to hold the green egg barbecue and to hide its less attractive parts.
And the finishes in the sunroom?
They’re very subtle — all greys. The floor is made up of 36-inch porcelain tiles, while the long “planks” on the back wall are actually cement tiles. They’re 48 inches long and eight inches high but just a half-inch thick, so they’re not too heavy. The fireplace is faced with granite.
What was your key challenge?
Heating the floor and the foundation of the sunroom so that it could be a four-season space. We put in an insulated floor with radiant heat, as well as a gas fireplace for extra heat. We had to build the sunroom in a way that would ensure water would drain properly and wouldn’t pool near the house. With that in mind, there’s six inches of space below the sunroom, which sits on piers over a gravel pad. There’s also an eight-inch gravel margin around the structure to allow for ventilation underneath.
What advice do you have for anyone planning a backyard design?
Before starting anything, look carefully at your site to see how it flows. From there, you should consider how you plan to use your backyard. Spend the time to design the whole space. When people start on a backyard project, they may not have enough money to put in all the elements at once, but it saves a lot of time and money in the long run if you plan everything out.