Sandra Clerici knows how to make things work. Thus the one-time industrial engineer was on familiar ground when she renovated her 1,500-square-foot kitchen house with space efficiency in mind. “I intend to live here a long, long time, so I tailored the rooms according to how I would use them,” says Sandra, who collaborated with Mike and Katy Thomas of TNT Construction to revitalize, among other things, a dilapidated screened porch. “Mike suggested a sunroom to extend my living space while maintaining a connection to the back garden.” The verdict? Sunny success for the ages.
1. Retained the original copper roof but tore down wimpy wood supports, removed old screening, and replaced an unfinished concrete floor with tiles.
2. Framed an enclosed sunroom atop the porch’s original footprint and spaced posts to correspond with 10 eight-foot mahogany panels fitted with slim windows that mimicked the new siding’s proportions.
3. Added two sets of French doors that open onto the courtyard from the sunroom.
4. Made it livable with an easy-to-clean floor, a fan, lighting, and built-in seating for an eat-in nook.
