Make your sun room suitable for year-round use

If you're lucky enough to have a sun room in your home, you know about all of the enjoyment that you can get from this space in the warm weather. These rooms are really beautiful, with the sun shining through the many windows, giving their inhabitants the feeling of being outside while they're actually protected from the elements.

During the winter, however, these spaces become almost unusable. Too often there isn't ample heating, and the many windows leave this room vulnerable to the cold when it's chilly outside. It is for this reason that sun rooms are often nicknamed "three-season rooms," implying that homeowners can't use them during the winter.

Don't despair if you are preparing to say goodbye to your sunroom until the spring time. Rather than desert your favorite spot during the cold weather, winterize it and make this room feel cozy no matter what the thermometer says outside.

Thoroughly winterizing a room like this can be costly, however. Luckily, you can use insulated drapery to hold in heat, a much less expensive option. Even in the dead of winter, the shining sun will contribute warmth to this room. The problem is that during the evening, all of the heat from the space escapes out the windows.

Use velvet blackout drapes to hold in the heat in your sun room. These thick curtains will keep back pesky drafts and keep your room very warm. Best of all, they can be opened during the daytime, allowing the warmth and light from the sun to shine on through.

Don't let the changing seasons kick you out of your favorite room in the house. If you use the right curtains and drapes, even a three-season space will become usable year-round.