Sherry and I felt a surge of excitement the first time we saw the sunroom at our new house. The sliding glass doors barely budged and the carpet was damp, but that raw condition is what made the house affordable—and we welcomed the chance to shape the space ourselves.
When I started imagining possibilities, I kept picturing our first sunroom makeover: a quick transformation using floor and ceiling paint, sheer curtains, and cozy furnishings. That simple refresh had worked so well before that it felt like a natural template for this room as well.
Sherry, however, had a different idea. She noticed a major difference between this sunroom and our old one: this room is surrounded by deck on all sides. The two sets of sliding doors on the long wall were frozen shut and kept us from fully enjoying the outdoor space. She wanted to remove them and create an “open and glorious” covered porch—something with a vaulted ceiling, an outdoor rug, and a tiled floor, rather than a glassy fishbowl tacked onto the back of the house.
I was nervous at first. Would the space be usable in winter? Would bugs be a problem? Sherry reminded me the glass was already drafty in winter and that a ceiling fan can repel bugs by keeping air moving. Then she showed me a photo of a covered, cozy porch setup that won me over instantly. I realized the deck is already our most-used outdoor area—Clara loves her baby pool and water table out there—so opening the sunroom up would only enhance how we use it.
We started by removing the sliding screens and glass doors. The glass panels were heavy, but lifting and tilting them off their tracks did the trick. The hardest part was moving the doors out and stacking them by the garage; we plan to donate the intact pieces while the broken sliding hardware will be discarded. With the doors removed, I unscrewed and pried away the frame pieces that kept the side panes stationary. A few taps with a hammer and a lot of effort later, those panes came out too.
In total, removing twelve glass doors and four screens took roughly two hours, not including photo breaks. With each panel out, Sherry’s vision became more tangible. The room already felt brighter and more connected to the deck. Next came removing the metal jambs and threshold pieces, which were both unattractive and posed a tripping hazard. That required removing dozens of screws and tugging metal free from hardened caulk. I opted for a practical, hands-on approach instead of fully stripping interior trim because some frames were warped and unlikely to slide out cleanly. The frames gave way after a lot of twisting and prying, leaving some bent metal behind, but the job was done.
There’s still work to finish, but we’re thrilled with how liberated the space feels. Walking freely between the sunroom and deck without wrestling with stuck doors has made a big difference. We’ve even started jokingly calling the space the veranda to mark its transition from enclosed sunroom to covered porch—just remembering to say veranda and not Verdana (the font) keeps us amused.
Here’s our tentative makeover plan as we move forward, laid out in manageable steps:
- Remove the old carpeting (done).
- Remove the sliding doors and tracks to open the space (done).
- Add fresh casing to the openings and heavily caulk to restore weatherproofing.
- Possibly raise the ceiling and install painted beadboard if the structure allows.
- Install a hanging ceiling fan (or two) and consider recessed lighting.
- Repaint the columns and interior surfaces with exterior-grade paint.
- Install outdoor-safe tile flooring and add an outdoor rug for comfort.
- Shop for patio furniture and consider outdoor curtains for shade and privacy.
- Long-term: build an outdoor fireplace to make the space cozy year-round.
One practical upgrade we handled immediately was swapping all outlets for weatherproof outdoor outlets—no one wants exposed electricals in a wet space. Fortunately the interior walls are wood painted with exterior paint, which we think is a clue the room was once a covered porch before someone enclosed it. Once we add casing to the openings and thoroughly caulk all seams, the space should be sealed against the elements again.
Overall, this will be our first major makeover at the new house, aside from laying hardwood upstairs before we moved in. We plan to tackle the veranda project in bite-sized stages and hope to complete much of it before colder weather sets in. For now, we’re enjoying the freedom of the opened space and looking forward to the day it becomes a comfortable, weather-resistant transition between the indoors and the deck.