The Problem With "Bonus Rooms"
The room had three strikes against it from day one. No climate control meant it was unusable for about eight months of the year. The all-glass design gave the neighbors a front-row seat to whatever happened inside. And a narrow standard doorway made it feel like an afterthought - cut off from the rest of the house instead of connected to it.
The homeowners wanted real square footage. The kind you can actually live in.
What We Did
We reframed the exterior walls using 2x6 lumber - not the standard 2x4 — specifically to fit R19 batt insulation between the studs. That extra wall depth pays for itself over time in energy savings and year-round comfort. Three double-hung windows went in where the old glass panels were, keeping the natural light without the fishbowl effect.
Inside, we took out the old doorway entirely and opened up a wide archway connecting the addition to the main living area. The difference that makes is hard to overstate - one hour of demo work and the whole house feels bigger. We finished the walls with drywall and crown molding, ran new electrical throughout, added recessed LED lights, and laid warm hardwood flooring that tied everything together.
On the exterior, new siding and a painted foundation made the addition look like it was always part of the house - not something bolted on after the fact.