How to Choose Sunroom Flooring

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Sunrooms are the perfect cross between being outdoors and staying cool and comfortable inside. A sunroom is literally a room filled with sun— lots of large windows that let in large amounts of natural light. With comfortable furniture, a sunroom can truly be a place that you can enjoy all the days in your home. And, while you may have already chosen your windows and cultivated the look you want your space to have, you might be wondering: “What floors do I choose?” Let’s talk about vinyl flooring and why it’s the best choice for your sunroom floor.

A Brief History of the Sunroom

Sunrooms have an interesting history. While people have been building south-facing windows to let in heat for centuries, the sunroom, as we know it today, actually started as “patio enclosures” in post-World War II suburbia. These enclosures were built by simply adding windows to porches. However, as time has gone on, more and more families requested them, so many families have sunrooms today. 

The Best Flooring for Your Sunroom

Vinyl is definitely the best flooring for your sunroom. Here’s why: 

• Waterproof: Our luxury vinyl flooring is 100 percent waterproof. If you don’t know that your sunroom windows are leaky until a particularly nasty summer rainstorm, you run the risk of ruining your flooring if it isn’t waterproof. With our waterproof flooring, you can rest assured that any leaky windows won’t also ruin your flooring — a perfect way to cut costs and prevent unnecessary damage.
• Heat and sunlight resistant: Since the primary purpose of a sunroom is to enjoy the sun, your sunroom will naturally experience higher temperatures and increased exposure to sunlight.  So having flooring that is resistant to both increased heat and sunlight is of the utmost importance.  Our luxury vinyl flooring has a limestone based core, giving it stability to heat and sunlight.  

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• Natural: The luxury vinyl we offer looks completely natural, a replica of real hardwood. It looks like it belongs in any room. Your sunroom will have a continuous look to it, especially if you have hardwood in other parts of your home. If your sunroom is right off your kitchen, why not make the floors the same in both areas? Combined with our durable kitchen cabinets, you’ll have both rooms in your home looking seamless in no time. 

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• Stability: Since real hardwood isn’t very stable, luxury vinyl is a great alternative. Today’s vinyl looks exactly like real hardwood— perfect for anyone who wants the look of hardwood but doesn’t want the hassle to maintain it. Our luxury vinyl also has a higher level of thickness than other vinyls, which is perfect for your sunroom. 
• Style: Our FirmFit flooring comes in a few different shades to match any look in your home that you’re going for. Whether you want a beachy feel with gray undertones or you’d like an Italian style with rich browns, our vinyl flooring is great for any room!

Why Not Hardwood?

Many customers want to place hardwood in their sunroom. And, while that’s a great idea in theory, it’s actually not the best option. Hardwood isn’t waterproof and it damages very easily. If the windows leak or bust open from a particularly nasty storm, your floors will be ruined. Then, not only will you need to replace your windows and furniture, but you’ll also have to get the floors redone. It’s important to choose flooring that can withstand weather and water in your sunroom. 

Necessities for Your Sunroom

So, you’ve chosen the floors, the windows and even the paint color (white, naturally). What else do you need? Here are some things we feel every sunroom needs:

• Durable furniture: Choosing furniture that is also classified as outdoor furniture can really go a long way in creating the perfect sunroom. While you might be tempted to get that beautiful leather couch and matching chairs, take a second to think about whether it’s waterproof. And, if your sunroom also has large doors that you’re opening, they’ll want to be materials that don’t get ruined by exposure to sunlight. Plus, stain-repellent furniture is the go-to— consider your sunroom your indoor porch.

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• Shades and blinds: While your sunroom is a great feature, sometimes the summer weather can be too much to bear. Keep it cool by installing retractable blinds on your sunroom windows. Your electricity bill will thank you!
• Plants: Did you know that sunrooms are often confused with solariums? Solariums, which are all glass buildings where even the roof is glass, are great for plants because of the amount of sunlight they receive. They’re basically a mini-greenhouse. That doesn’t mean your sunroom can’t have any greenery, though. Get a couple of plants that thrive in lots of sunlight and place them throughout your sunroom.