What is a California Room?

A new term is popping up in real estate.  The California Room.  Sounds dreamy, doesn't it?  But what is a California Room?  Simple- it's an outdoor space featuring indoor amenities.  Kind of like a killer, lux porch.  California rooms are becoming more and more popular in homes today, especially in warmer regions.  If you're wondering whether a California room is right for you, keep reading.  And click this link to read more about them.

What is a California room?

Technically a California room isn't a room at all. Builders tend to define rooms as structures with four walls. Instead Melissa Hazlett, VP of marketing and sales for Baldwin & Sons, a homebuilding company based in Newport Beach, CA, likes to call a California room "one part porch and one part room."

Although California rooms are technically classified as outdoor spaces. Thus aren't factored into a home's square footage. Though they do have protection from the elements. For instance, California rooms have a roof to keep out rain and sun. Yet unlike sunrooms or solariums, which are enclosed on all sides with windows, California rooms are open to the outdoors on one or more sides.

Also setting a California room apart from the sunroom is the fact that these "rooms" don't have to be attached to a house, says Kathryn Bishop, a Realtor® with Keller Williams Realty in Studio City, CA. The California room can be built freestanding in the backyard. Electric lighting can be added for evening use. Often a fireplace is added for a touch of ambiance.If there is not enough backyard to support a separate structure, some homeowners will convert their original patio area or even their garage into a California room.