For a style-conscious homeowner in Tampa, Florida, there’s perhaps no more valuable addition to a home than a bright, modern sunroom. These rooms, typically added to the back or side of the house, are equipped with large windows to help the bright Florida sun stream in throughout the year, giving you a clear view of your surroundings while still protecting you from summer showers and other kinds of weather.
To make the most of your Tampa sunroom, embrace modern design principles together with thoughtfully selected smart-home technology. Bring the beauty of Florida’s stunning views into your home in a useful way that makes life easier and more enjoyable.
The right smart-home technology can help you obtain a higher value in a home appraisal. It can even make your home more attractive to potential purchasers if you’re planning to talk to a real estate agent about selling your Tampa home. Whether you’re anticipating selling your home or not, consider the following three trends to update and transform your sunroom into a marvel of modern technology that serves you and your family.
1: Create a Healthier Environment
Nothing is more important than your family’s health and comfort. So before you start adding decorative touches to your sunroom, give some thought to the many ways in which you can control and optimize the room’s temperature, humidity, light and sound control, and even the pathogens you allow into your living space. Smart home technology can help you achieve all these goals.
For example, many windows are now equipped with controls and “Internet of Things” connectivity to achieve a number of objectives. Noise-canceling features can keep intrusive outdoor sounds from infiltrating your sunroom oasis. Shades and other coverings can be automated to keep out the glare of a too-bright midday sun or opened to let more light in on overcast days.
If you have an exterior door in your sunroom through which the company might enter or leave, consider adding doorway cameras and speakers that allow you to identify visitors. Some models can even monitor guests for biometric markers of illness, such as increased temperatures. You can also install hands-free hand sanitizer dispensers near all your entrances to help remind folks to keep their hands clean.
Finally, explore the world of smart-tech thermostats and humidity controls. These devices can help you set and optimize your family’s physical comfort all year long. What’s more, these tools can also help you achieve and maintain energy savings by setting the temperature in your home higher in the summer and lower in the winter when you’re not at home.
2: Integrate Voice-Activated Assistant Tech
One of the most useful applications of smart-home and AI-powered technology is the use of voice-activated assistants. These devices can handle a wide variety of tasks for you without requiring you to get up and physically manipulate their controls. Tell your home assistant to lower or raise the lights or window shades to play a specific playlist for background music or turn on a smart-plug-enabled lamp or other devices. Install motorized doors and windows that you can then pair up with your home assistant technology for the fullest possible hands-free control.
Making simple, repetitive physical tasks automated so that you can get more done with just the sound of your voice helps you achieve the ideal of IoT-connected devices and technology. What’s more, you can incorporate mobile apps so you can control things like your home’s lighting, even when you’re not at home. This helps make your home seem full of people and activity, which in turn discourages criminal activity.
3. Don’t Forget Modern Style Elements
Even with physical smart-home devices, you don’t have to forsake style for function. Look for lamps, lighting fixtures, and other devices that evoke a cool, streamlined aesthetic to further the modern or contemporary style you’re after.
Natural and nature-inspired elements can help complete the look. Explore nature-print fabrics for things like window treatments and pillows. Bring in healthy, emerald green plants and small trees to turn your sunroom into a modern oasis, then place them in stone or woven cane-accented planters. Add a small indoor fountain to evoke the soothing sounds of a trickling mountain stream. Finally, use smart plugs with your existing outlets to turn your lighting fixtures and more into smart devices.