Sunroom Makeover | Fall 2018
This room right here is my happy place. Our wraparound sunroom has become the favorite all around and I hope my photos can do it even a little bit of justice, as it’s hard to really capture just how beautiful it is. Cuddled up with a furry blanket, a hot cup of coffee, a good book, some of my favorite magazines, and the best views all around… this is where I love to be most in our house. Now, of course, this is assuming that I get a few moments of peace and quiet to read, flip through a magazine or three, and drink my coffee while it’s actually hot! But I don’t mind sharing the sunroom either. It truly is a great place to snuggle and take in nature. My two year old, Keira, and I frequently spend quiet mornings in here watching the sunrise, the wildlife, and all the pretty scenery.
When we first toured this house, we knew we loved it right away and we knew this room would quickly become the best spot in the house. The room wasn’t always all white though. Originally when we moved in, the room was all knotty pine with the current wood flooring, and although beautiful, it felt a bit monotonous and dark.
I’ll be honest in telling you that Teddy was NOT excited about painting this room. Not about the work involved. Not about painting over the knotty pine. Not at all excited. BUT, he knew I wanted to and he trusted me that it would look beautiful when we were finished, and so we went for it! I started by brushing three to four coats of the BIN primer on all of the knots. And that was A LOT.
Because we didn’t go to the extent of stripping or sanding all the wood before painting, every bit of the wood needed to be primed before painting. For the knots, we used the BIN primer because we had read that it was the best primer to seal and avoid bleeding, especially for knots. We used that for most of the trim as well and some of the walls, but when we ran out, we switched to another less expensive sealing primer by Zinsser. The entire process of painting the sunroom was a ton of work. We brushed, we rolled, and we brushed some more (we had to get between each of the seams well so that none of the wood showed). Overall, the knots got three to four coats of primer, the trim got a nice thick coat of primer, we cut in and rolled a single coat of primer over all the boards, and then had to brush primer between the seams of each of the boards. We then repeated the process using paint with the exception of brushing over the knots. For the walls, I used Behr- Whisper White in satin and for the trim I used the same color in a semi-gloss sheen.
I thought I never wanted to see another paint brush again after this project, but it was so worth the work we put in. I am absolutely in love with the results. It is such a dreamy space!
As you enter the sunroom, you walk through a narrow portion that leads into the larger sitting area, which is currently equipped with a daybed, a beautiful well loved trunk that we are using as a coffee table, and an arm chair. We keep lots of cozy blankets handy and the trunk doubles as more storage for blankets, pillows, and other bedding.
Because the sunroom wraps around the front of the house, it closes in most of our formal dining room. In order to allow the natural light into the dining room, previous owners put two large windows in between the two rooms, which are the perfect solution for allowing more natural light into the dining room.
Aside from painting the walls and trim in this room, we also added blinds to all the windows, put up curtains, and we swapped out the old dated lighting fixtures with mini ceiling fans. The ceiling fans not only look better but are very functional for the space, especially on a beautiful summer night with the windows open. The blinds and daybed were more functional design options, as the sunroom doubles as another sleeping space for guests. Because it’s more often a sofa than a sleeping space, I added lots of pillows to the daybed to make it a super comfortable space for sitting or lounging.
Although I don’t do a lot of indoor decorating for fall, I like to add simple touches here and there throughout our home. Natural elements are a natural choice for me, as they’re beautiful and free! I snipped a few small branches from our colorful fall trees and placed them in a large Ball jar for the perfect natural fall decor. And what’s better than real? I also bought a few extra gourds to place throughout the house and some yummy smelling fall scented candles. I’m not usually a big candle person, but fall scents are my favorite!
Books and magazines are also great to display in your decor, especially ones as gorgeous as these! I thoroughly enjoy every beautiful issue of The Magnolia Journal (great reads!!) and of course all the lovely home magazines like Country Home and Better Homes and Gardens.
The rug is a 5×7 from Home Depot. It is unavailable online right now, but you can find it HERE. The 24″ mini ceiling fans were ordered from Home Depot, and you can find those HERE. The blinds are from Home Depot, but they are unfortunately no longer available. We snagged them all on clearance, as they were bringing in a newer updated style. These are white faux wood blinds.
The curtains on the interior windows into the dining room are from TJ Maxx, and unfortunately I was unable to find them online. The faux fur blanket and large white and cream euro shams were also TJ Maxx purchases, but again are not available online. The duvet cover on the daybed is from Ikea and can be found HERE.
Because we have the blinds on all the windows (there are 13 exterior windows in this room!), we didn’t feel the need to have functional curtains on all those windows. Instead, we hung semi-sheer curtains at the ends of each bank of windows on small sash rods, just to add a soft decorative touch. Those semi-sheer curtains were purchased at Meijer. The arm chair is a hand-me-down that I can’t seem to part with. I have dreams of getting her cleaned up and looking new again! I think it fits right in with this room though.
I love combining a healthy balance of new and old in my decor. I love that they balance each other out so beautifully. This room is a perfect example of that, with the older furniture and newer accents. Add some fall goodies, cozy blankets, and a cup of coffee and I think I’m in my own little heaven on earth!
I hope you enjoyed touring our sunroom with me. And thanks for stopping by the blog! I so look forward to sharing more with you on this journey. If you enjoyed checking out our sunroom or if there’s anything you’d like to see me blog about, leave me a comment below! 🙂