Looking for three season room ideas? If your vision for a bright, sun-filled home falls short, a glass structure may be the answer.
A three-season room is a great way to ensure you can enjoy your outdoor space whatever the weather, and with summer approaching, now is the perfect time to get the process started. With the cost of moving at an all-time high, it makes sense to make better use of what we own: adapting our garden ideas and patio ideas to the functional and fun needs of modern life.
Whether you want a classic design that complements your home’s architecture or a sleek glass structure that makes a contemporary statement, here’s our guide to the best three-season room ideas
Three Season Room Ideas – 8 Greenhouses That Blur The Lines Between Outside And Inside
Three-season rooms (also known as porches or screened porches) make a beautiful addition to your home, bringing in light, providing additional living space, and offering great views of the outdoor spaces as the seasons change. Here’s our guide to the best three-season room ideas, with advice from the experts.
1. Create a space to kick back and relax
Credit: Future/Emme Lee
Now that modern building techniques and technology ensure that three-season rooms maintain a constant temperature, they can be used comfortably all year round. This three-season room has been designed as a multi-purpose space, acting as both a quiet reading area, as well as a general relaxation area for the family to socialize and entertain.
2. Increase the value with a likeable structure
Credit: Future/Paul Raeside
“A well-designed three-season room with a sympathetic structure can complement the existing architecture of the home while increasing the property’s marketability and value,” said Mark Wild, designer, Malbrook Conservatories.
Three-season rooms can also be beneficial for city residences. In this property, sliding doors on the lower floor extend the relaxed living room to the rear garden, designed by landscape designer Luciano Giubbilei.
3. Blur the boundaries between inside and outside
Credit: Future / Simon Bevan
Glass has the ability to make the most dramatic difference in a home – possibly more than any other material. “It’s part of a desire for modernity and the fact that everyone loves natural light,” says architect Ben Adams of Ben Adams Architects (opens in new tab)†
“The idea of blurring the transition between indoors and out and being connected to the backyard is so appealing. And it’s glass that allows us to enjoy the garden for twelve months of the year, instead of three, even without insulation.’
4. Design a place for year-round entertainment
Credit: Future/Matthew Williams
Since that time, design, technology and engineering have accelerated, making the once traditional three-season room one of the most flexible rooms in the modern home. Heat-regulating glass and special blinds make the space comfortable to use anywhere, making it suitable for home office, playroom, dining room, opening into a kitchen or using as a family room.
The casual vibe of a three-season room is perfect for modern living, as Maison AD interior designer Steven Payne explains: “I’m often asked to design conservatories that open up the backs of older homes. Well-planned three-season rooms and garden room ideas bring the outside in, so that you can still enjoy the outdoor feeling on colder days.’
5. Create calm with a white decorating scheme
Credit: Future / Simon Bevan
Careful styling and clever color choices can transform a three-season room into a true restful retreat from which to enjoy the glorious view of the patio.
Take inspiration from your surroundings by using a palette rooted in nature. Not only will the room feel calmer, but the lines will fade from the inside out. White evokes purity and neatness alongside confidence and sophistication. It’s a wonderfully versatile color for three-season rooms and can be used in just about any style of space.
6. Choose the right glazing
Credit: Future/Mark Bolton
The key to designing a three-season room that is comfortable all year round and does not waste energy on the house as a whole is to ensure proper insulation and use energy-efficient glazing.
Thanks to advances in technology, many specialized and high-quality glass options are now available. “The type of glass that works best for your project is determined by the structure and the orientation in which it is placed,” says Stephanie Hill.
“Glass is now a very advanced material,” said Tom Pike, partner at Giles Pike Architects. ‘Glass-on-glass technology, which allows for minimal framing, and double glazing has changed so much that it is now possible to create dynamic structures made almost entirely of glass.’
For Giles, the ability to blur the transition between indoor and outdoor and create a strong connection to the garden is immensely appealing, so much so that most of his business projects now incorporate some form of glass. ‘It is no longer the case that these rooms are too hot in the summer and too cold in the winter; they can really be comfortable all year round,” he says.
7. Bring greenery to your three-season room
(Image credit: foli8)
Green room ideas promise to renew your connection with nature and are said to evoke feelings of balance, vibrancy and happiness, so why not add a touch of green life to your three-season room with houseplants?
Three-season rooms are the perfect opportunity for plant parents to show off larger specimens of plants that may not fit in other areas of the home.
“One of the great advantages of a three-season room is that they are usually so well lit,” says Foli8’s (opens in new tab) plant scientist, Kenneth Freeman. “This means that your houseplants rarely need natural light.”
8. Invest in a glass extension
Credit: Future/Nick Carter
An individually designed contemporary ‘glass box’ can make a dramatic addition to a home. “With this type of room extension for three seasons, you can create an almost completely unobstructed view of your backyard, or even over the hills or towards the sea,” says Stephanie Hill, design director of Trombé.
‘This link with the outside and the feeling of light and space make it a great option.’ For Stephanie, the benefits of this type of design lie in the unobtrusive framework, which is kept to an absolute minimum through the use of sliding doors, and large panels of glass: a single double-glazed unit can measure up to 6m by 3.2m in size.
What is a three season room?
Popular with gardening enthusiasts, three-season room ideas were built to warm their beloved exotic plant collections.
“Traditionally separated from the rest of the house by a series of exterior doors, the classic three-season bolt-on room is increasingly being designed as an integral part of the house, used to complement the living and dining areas on the ground floor,” says David Salisbury, whose company makes custom three-season rooms.
How do you build a three-season room?
A three-season room has to be built by an architect, so it’s important to think carefully about how you’re going to use the space beforehand.
“Along with the trend of using the room as an integral part of the living space, we are experiencing increased demand for three-season rooms, which can be more versatile and thermally efficient,” says David.
Today, these structures are not necessarily made of glass, as uPVC is sometimes chosen as a low-maintenance and more affordable alternative. As for other materials, wood is preferred for its durable qualities, traditional appearance and choice of painted finishes, and aluminum for its minimalist and clean style, strength and anti-corrosion properties.