What's the difference between a sunroom and a conservatory? Simple. The sunroom is a large room, with large windows designed to let in as much sun as possible. It usually has an opaque ceiling which does not allow sunlight to enter.

The conservatory is a much smaller room, and because it's smaller it can have a ceiling made of load-bearing glass as well. Thus a sunroom is a room in which the whole family can play games or otherwise enjoy themselves, while a conservatory is typically for a single individual or a couple who merely want to bask in the peace and quiet and

Betterliving has several different conservatory designs to choose from, in Victorian, Edwardian, and traditional styles, and they construct these conservatories out of the highest quality vinyl, so they'll never have to be painted, and care is as simple as running a damp cloth along the frame. These conservatories are elegant little rooms of glass, and give quite the appearance of style and elegance to your home.

And as elegant as these conservatories appear, they are strong - with a metal-reinforced substructure to withstand the heaviest winds and snow. They use specialty high-performance glass, so that you can choose the best energy-efficient level for your geographic location.

Betterliving Patio Covers and Retractable Awnings

Let's face it. A sunroom or patio room costs money, and some of us don't have that kind of money to spare. But we still want to be able to spend some time outdoors in relative comfort. Betterliving has the solution: patio covers and retractable awnings.

A patio cover is actually a roof extending over your porch or patio. Betterliving makes its cover panels out of high-quality aluminum, with a baked-on polyester paint finish. And of course Betterliving's patio covers are fully engineered to meet all of the local wind and snow loading code requirements.

The Betterliving retractable awning cover is another good choice. They are custom designed in your choice of fabric - over 500 designs to choose from. The awnings can be either manual or motorized. Also, awnings can be mounted to your roof or to an external wall. Thus, you can extend the awning when the sun is too distracting, and retract it whenever you're in the mood.

As with building an add-on room, you also need to check your local zoning codes to ensure that it's okay to put up a patio cover or an awning. But if you're looking around for affordable, and pleasant looking, ways to enhance your home, these materials deserve your consideration.