Our Three Favorite Ways to Integrate Nature into Your Home

by | Jul 28, 2021 | Creative Design Solutions

Here in the DMV, we are able to experience an abundance of natural wonder. Many of our clients’ homes enjoy stunning views; whether it be a sunny park, the calm waterfront, or lush forests, there is so much to appreciate! 

At Sun Design, we have over thirty years of experience incorporating our clients’ love of nature into their homes with creative and universal designs! It is important to us that we look for opportunities to bring joy and inspiration into every home remodel, as we believe that doing so improves our clients’ quality of life. 

Keep reading to learn more about how we can help you bring your love of nature into your home!

 

1. Take Advantage of Natural Light

Perhaps the most popular way to incorporate the natural world into your home is by leveraging the natural sunlight already at your disposal. 

Natural light has been shown to increase our happiness, productivity, and overall well-being. Sadly, most homeowners will go decades without realizing that some of the best outdoor views available to them are not visible from the main areas of their home.

A fresh design solution, whether large or small, such as window expansion and/or addition, a layout reconfiguration, or removing a wall can make a world of difference!  It is important to have an architectural eye for this. Our team of designers and architects are able to view your home through a holistic lens, which allows us to seamlessly connect the best views with your favorite spaces. 

Here are some of the best ways to introduce natural light into your home:

  • Windows: While every home has windows, installing additional windows that strategically take advantage of the best views your home has to offer, and will add the most natural light, can make a world of difference.
  • Doors: Updating your existing doors to glass can be a great way to add light in your home, especially if you want to connect light from the back of the house all the way to the front.
  • Layout Updates: Sometimes our clients’ homes have been designed in a way that blocks out natural light; in which case, reconfiguring the layout to open up and brighten your space is a great option.

 

2. Creating an Indoor/Outdoor Connection

Many do not want to deal with the inconvenience of the outdoors, and all of the small discomforts that come with that, which is why we have perfected the art of bringing the outdoors to you and your family in a clean, comfortable, and aesthetic way. 

Creating an indoor/outdoor connection can be done in a variety of ways. The following are a few examples: 

  • Outdoor Kitchen: This is a super fun remodel for those families that love to entertain and take advantage of those perfect summer days. 
  • Screened Porch: This is a classic; a screened porch can eliminate the discomforts of the outdoors while still allowing you to enjoy the beauty there.
  • 3-Season Room: The difference between this space and a screened porch is that a 3-season room is considered a livable space. It has heating and AC, windows, and utilizes more comfortable materials. 

 

3. Sunrooms

When our founder first began Sun Design our specialty was sunrooms! These rooms give you an insulated space that provides an outdoor experience with all the comforts of the rest of your home. Generally, sunrooms utilize screened, large windows to let in light and air when you want it. 

There are 2 primary types of sunrooms:

  • 3-season sunroom: 3-season rooms use non-insulated glass windows to give you a more outdoors-like room in your home. While likely not warm enough for use in the winter and at times too hot for the summer, they are perfect for the spring and fall.  
  • 4-season sunroom: These rooms are full-on extensions to your home. Fully insulated and often fully HVAC compatible, these rooms are more insulated, but still give you a space where you can enjoy a taste of the outdoors.

 

See something you like?

Ready to integrate nature into your home? We’ve helped homeowners all over Northern Virginia, Montgomery County, MD and Washington D.C. to integrate nature into their homes to achieve their remodeling goals.

Contact us today to learn more and get started on your remodel. 

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Testimonials

 

 

We were thrilled with the work performed by Sun Design. We had used a different contractor to build a porch and it was an awful experience with long delays, so we were cautious. The Sun Design team listened to all our needs, presented multiple options to meet those needs at different price points, and delivered on time and on budget for our first floor renovation. They are exceptional at communicating with their clients on what to expect during each stage of the journey and carry our strongest recommendation.

Brendan Mahon

 

 

10/10 would highly recommend Sun Design. We found our kitchen layout was too small and wasn't working for us. We told Sun Design what our issues were and what was important to us, and their amazing design team created the kitchen of our dreams. It turned into a whole first floor transformation, moving kitchen, dining room, and living room around to a configuration that worked best for us.

Ashley Norman

 

 

I am a HUGE fan of Sun Design! The first time that we worked with them was over 15 years ago. We were ready to have a deck built, but not just any deck, and of course, Jeremy was the designer at that time and I remember how he went about designing it so that it looked like "part of the house" - It is beautiful. We recently refurbished it, and it looks absolutely beautiful!

Josie Zamolyi Caldwell

 

 

Sun Design transformed our "cookie cutter" house into a spectacular, unique home. Working with Ericka was a delight - her confidence and fun personality made the process enjoyable. Ours was a complete remodel - kitchen, family room, powder room, upstairs bathrooms, and some primary bedroom work. We loved working with Sun Design so much that we will be working with them again in the future when we are ready for an addition that will add a garage and in-law suite. Highly recommend!

Patti Ahlstrom

 

 

SunDesign came up with a creative design for our screened-in porch that beautifully fits into our existing landscape. Project was executed on budget and their craftsmanship is superb. Their responsiveness to a warranty issue we had with the door was immediately addressed. We highly recommend SunDesign — their teams are awesome to work with.

Gisela Ulmschneider

 

 

We had a fairly big project to build out part of our house. Sun Design has done a phenomenal job so far. We are getting close to complete. The design process was very collaborative and the execution of the build has gone well so far. Every part of the experience has been top quality and the team we are working with is amazing. The team is expensive but they are able to walk you through where every cent goes and why and they will look at different options to try to help reduce cost. They are well worth every penny. I would want to use Sun Design for any future projects and I highly recommend them.

Jen Navarro

 

 

Maryam and Jeff from Sun Design home care department are great to work with. Maryam is very responsive and attentive to all my inquiries. Jeff is my to go guy whenever I need work or maintenance in my property, very professional and thorough with his work. I have been a satisfied customer for 2 years now.

Brigitte Siegall

 

 

Sun Design handled the renovation of our large basement several years ago. We finished our laundry room and added two walls of built in cabinets, reconfigured a storage room and run-down kitchen into a guest room and sitting area, and finished a large rec room. Everything was redone - the floors, walls, ceilings, electrical work, etc. Sun Design did a terrific job - the rooms look wonderful. Our house was built in 1962 and we had a number of glitches along the way. But Sun Design made sure that, at the end, everything looked and worked properly. I highly recommend them.

Susan Louis

 

 

I have been working with Sun Design for over 15 years. They are a great company to work with, very friendly and professional staff. They are very clean, responsive, respectful of your property and I have nothing but the great things to say about Sun Design.

Goran Zukic

 

 

This review is to introduce you to Sun Design services and to recommend them for your next project. We used Sun Design for a deck – sunroom redesign, and the end result exceeded our expectations. Sun Design is easy to work with, thinks creatively, and effectively communicates ideas to enhance projects, and thus Sun Design has my highest endorsement. The staff is knowledgeable, courteous, and friendly. They truly care about every aspect of the projects they do. They arrive on time and leave the place spotless when the work has been completed.

H. Milton Richardson

Our experience with Sun Design has been nothing short of wonderful. From our initial meeting with Craig to working closely with Morgan & Emily, every stage of the design process has been refreshingly easy despite the fact that our kitchen restructure was complex. With thoughtful consideration to our 124-year-old home, Sun Design presented plans that maintained the character of our farmhouse & resolved issues with functionality & form— all while respecting our desired budget & overall objective.

Sarah & Erkan Orman

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