Room with a View

Room with a view; The homeowner wanted this space to be a bright area of refuge while minimizing the impact on the environment. In order to accomplish this goal in a room with an incredible amount of sunlight, film was added to the glass to help regulate the interior temperature of the room by minimizing the escape of heat/cool from the interior to the exterior and vice versa. The existing sunroom was antiquated and did not have the technology to reduce energy consumption and carbon footprint. Replacing all of the existing lighting with new LED bulbs will have not only an impact on energy consumption but on waste and maintenance as well. Reuse and recycle was a key element in the features in this design. The brick wall treatments are comprised of 100% recycled brick. To reduce the amount of waste going to the landfill from demolition, beams from the screen porch demolition were reused in the restructuring of the ceiling in the new sunroom design. For the French antique accessories the homeowner desired, the designer hand carried these accessories back with her during a trip to France. This extra effort reduces the carbon emissions from the methods of international shipping and freight. Sensors are utilized to control the lighting so that the lights are not in use if there are high enough levels of sunlight coming into the room.

Sustainability is an important consideration in any room, especially a sunroom. The glass in a sunroom can cause major energy loss to maintain the temperature of the room. By adding a film to the glass, the temperature inside the room is regulated reducing energy consumption as well as energy costs. The designer made a commitment to reuse elements in this room from the homeowners existing antique collection as well as materials from other areas of demolition on the homeowner’s property. Selecting a rug without synthetic fibers and only using a rug with silken wool fibers. Reusing brick from other areas for the brick wall treatments in the sunroom. All of the original lighting was changed out to LED bulbs.