Sunroom Update

Are you tired of hearing about our kitchen yet?  I'll switch it up for you today.  Here's a little peek into my new favorite spot in the house. And maybe my favorite spot in the world.

 

This past weekend, we spent some time working in our sunroom.  But first, let's take a look back to when there was snow on the ground.  That word makes me shudder.

 

Back in early March, right before we started our kitchen renovation, we spent a day in the sunroom to clean and brighten it up with paint and a new fixture

We wanted the room to reflect us.  And while the yellow is a pretty color, it wasn't really the look the wanted.

We toned down the walls by painting them white using BM Simply White in eggshell, and we used the same color on the trim in a semi-gloss.  Simply White will be the trim color throughout the house (except in the kitchen where we used BM Dove White).

I wanted to keep the walls subdued because I wanted to draw the eye up to the ceiling.  Oh how I love a beautiful ceiling.

I've always wanted a haint blue ceiling (southern style).  And this seemed like the perfect space to use it.  We painted the ceiling in a very subtle blue with BM Blue Bonnet.

We also updated the light switches and electrical outlets.  Has anyone tried tamper-proof outlets? We've installed the Pass & Seymore outlets (from Lowe's) all over the house and they seem to work great.  I tried the Home Depot  ones (I can't remember the brand) in the last house and I always struggled when having to plug an electrical device into the outlet.

Then we swapped out the dated ceiling fan with this lantern from Amazon.

  

Then the room turned into a storage zone for tools and appliances.  And it got really dusty for a while.



Now that the kitchen is wrapping up, this room has been emptied out and we can finally use it for it's intended purpose.  I saw this area becoming our quiet lounge space.  A place for a good book and a warm cup of coffee.  Or a few cocktails with friends.

The sunroom faces East and it floods with morning light.  But doesn't seem to get too hot since this is fully insulated and temperature controlled.  We still haven't placed shades in the windows.  Slightly because the spring and summer brought us an unexpected natural privacy screen from the neighbors.  But mostly because we've been preoccupied.

This past weekend, I spent my time seeking out furniture and accessories and turning it into a space for us.

The dogs love this space.  They spend their entire day in this room.  Not only do they have full views of the backyard to monitor the wildlife, but there is plenty of sunbathing opportunities.  And it's just the perfect spot to chew on a kong.

It's definitely my favorite landing spot in the house.

The lantern is really quite bright (even with 25W bulbs) so we moved the lamp in the room for some softer lighting. 

Justin and I had been looking for furniture for a few months, and many seemed too big (or out of our price range).  I love these chairs from PB and they were the perfect size, so when I found them marked down I couldn't pass up the deal.  The couch is the Ektorp sofa from Ikea, and the (indoor/outdoor) rug is from Target.  The garden stool I painted a while back found a home in here, and so did the bluetooth speaker Justin got me for Christmas.  It's perfect for streaming some Ray LaMontagne while I'm flipping through the pages of This Old House.

We choose to go with a white couch since we get so much sun in here (anything else would've faded).  It's nice that the Ektorp is slipcovered so it's easily washable.  I do wonder if it'll yellow from the sun...Anyone have experience with white fabric that get's a lot of sun?

When it comes to future plans for this room, we would like to work hidden storage space in here against the opposite wall (that's not shown...since I have still  have tools and cleaning supplies leaning against it).  The garage is out that door to the right so it would be nice if we could incorporate a space for shoes and hooks.  We're still working up those plans.

Here's a photoshop version of what we imagine the lounging area of this room to look like eventually.

We need shades for privacy (at least in the winter months when the trees lose their leaves) and to control the sunshine in the morning.  A coffee table would be nice to rest drinks, and since this is a sunny space, we'll incorporate more greenery.  Anyone know where I can find a Fiddle-Leaf Fig? I'm keeping an eye out and haven't had luck yet.

One day we'd like to have some more fun with this room by adding a stained plank ceiling.  Like this one we saw at Sky Blue in Nashville.

We snapped that photo in April when we visited Nashville for the Marathon. Notice the light fixture? That one looks a tad bigger than ours, but it's almost exact.  Great minds think alike ;)

So what do you think? Do you like the bright yellow walls, or do prefer the lighter version we created?

The dog's votes are in.  They just care about the sunny rug.