How to Heat a Screen Porch in Winter

So that wonderful screen porch that you enjoy so much in spring and summer is a little chilly in the winter? Well I’ve got a few ideas to keep you toasty during those cold winter days and allow you to snuggle into the night as you watch the snow sparkle with your cup of hot cocoa! To start, you can put up thin, off-white or light cream colored muslin on either the outside or the inside of the screen to hold off some of the wind. This would also serve to protect any curtains you may have up from being ravaged over time by the sun and wind through any season. Places like http://www.onlinefabricstore.net and http://www.cottoninc.com are good places to order wholesale and still get good quality muslin fabric or other fabric for curtains and more.

Another way to keep out the cold but still get to enjoy your view is curtain off the area you won’t be looking out of regularly. Using the “typical” rectangle shaped porch, with your glider or rocking chairs on the house wall and looking out of the longest part of the porch, put curtains on the door and the area around the door, as well as the other “short end” of the porch. Another idea for curtains is to create a “bay window” effect on the longest part of the porch with the curtains hanging in four equal parts. You can have the two “end” curtains closed at all times and use tie-backs for the two “center” panels. Or use tie backs and have two equal “windows” looking out of your porch. Quilt-type curtains offer the most protection from the elements, and are still a gorgeous asset to your dÃ?©cor.

On the other hand, say you don’t want to close off any part of your porch with curtains… how would you keep warm? Well… with the wonders of technology, you can use a mixture of space heaters and a faux fireplace or wood-burning stove! Most faux fireplaces will end up running you between $300 and $600, but they’re a wonderful addition to any home, inside or out! You can find these fireplaces online at http://www.qvc.com or http://www.bellacor.com as well as pick them up at Sears, Lowe’s, Home Depot and other department stores. Wood-burning stoves are a bit more expensive – buying them brand new will sometimes run you up to $1,800! However, you can pick them up for less at local antique stores or consignment shops. They may not work, however, they’ll be for decoration, not use. You can use “fake” wood-burning stoves with “Real Flame” fuel and logs to achieve the look without all the cost. Places like Lowe’s and Home Depot also carry decorative outdoor heating items like fire pits and fire bowls. These items will cost between $80 and $200 and give off heat safely.

Now, onto the strategic placing of space heaters. You can pick up good quality space heaters at Sears, Walmart, Lowe’s and Home Depot without breaking the bank. Place one on either side of where you’ll be sitting the most, with a few more in corners around the porch and have them plugged in to Christmas light timers, which you can pick up at any drug store or department store for under $10. Set them to start heating roughly 30 – 60 minutes before you plan on spending time on the porch and let them go for a few hours. Once the space heater reaches an optimal temperature (either that you set, or is pre-determined by the manufacturer) it will shut itself down, and restart when it starts to get chilly again.

The last thing, is don’t forget your comfy blanket and cup of hot chocolate! Having your significant other to snuggle to doesn’t hurt either!