We define a large sunroom as one that is 400 square feet or 20′ x20′. This is the size of a small two car garage. My first apartment was 390 square feet so rooms this size are literally larger than loft apartments.
Large rooms are fantastic for hosting parties and having a dedicated entertaining space. They can also be used for gaming rooms like ping pong or air hockey, or exercise rooms.
I knew a person trainer who converted her sunroom as an exercise room, and offered training at her home.
Another person uses their large sunroom as a band practice room. This requires some soundproofing, but it is a great location separate from the rest of the home. It also gives them a chance to rock out as they are practicing. Also, this size room can be used to host a mini-performance as well.
The disadvantages for large rooms is the cost of construction. They will also require significantly more energy use for heating and cooling. Sunrooms aren’t insulated to the same level as other areas of the home. For this reason, you’ll find that you are spending disproportionately more to make that room feel comfortable.
We also find sunrooms this size to be less than ideal as media rooms. At first, it feels like a wonderful idea to create a large theater style room in your home, but it turns out that 20’x20 is just too much space. Residential projectors simply aren’t designed to be shown at this magnification. Furthermore, the larger rooms will have difficulty filling the entire room evenly with sound.
The final drawback to a large sunroom is that it has the most likelihood to have a negative return on investment. A small sunroom will be a welcome addition to most potential home buyers. There are always options for a room this size as at the very least, it can be used as a storage room or guest bedroom.
For medium rooms, this requires someone who has a use for a larger space. The potential buyers also have to feel the room would be a good use of space for them. While you may love the media room, the next homeowners may be less into TV and just not feel they want to dedicate that much space in their home to a special purpose room.
The large sunrooms may even be a detractor to some potential buyers. I had a family friend who found the perfect home exactly in their budget except that it came with a barn. Ultimately, the decided against the property because they didn’t want to be responsible for and have to the upkeep on the separate structure. I feel there will be some potential buyers who view the large sunrooms in this same manner.
