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A California room is an outdoor space that boasts indoor amenities—similar to a porch but more posh. California rooms are an increasingly popular feature in homes today, particularly in warmer climates. So if you spot this term while perusing real estate listings, it’s helpful to know what it is—and whether it’s right for you.
What to know about 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, vice president 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—and thus aren’t factored into a home’s square footage—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, with electric lighting added for evening use and often a fireplace to add a touch of ambiance.
