'California Rooms' a Hot Trend in Homebuilding

The Riverside Press Enterprise reports today on a hot new trend builders are incorporating into new homes in Orange and Riverside counties - partially enclosed outdoor space to allow buyers to enjoy the great California lifestyle year-round.

As reported by veteran housing writer Leslie Berkman:

A room with outdoor serenity and indoor comforts has grabbed the imagination of Southern California homebuyers and architects, who predict it could become as widespread in the post-recession housing market as walk-in closets and three-car garages.

The concept was introduced as the "California room" by the Irvine Co. in houses built last year on the Irvine Ranch.

An outdoor space that is furnished as luxuriously as if it were indoors, the California room is connected by sliding glass doors to the "great room," that combination of kitchen/family/dining area that in newer homes has supplanted formal living rooms and dining rooms.

The concept has been popular in custom homes for a number of years but has now made its way into production homes.