Sunroom

From the exposed stone arches, French doors, peg board wood floor, huge windows and skylight, this room was love at first sight. Even Before. Take a look at the previous owners’ sunroom:

But for us, we needed this room to function as more than just a(n albeit bright and sunny) throwaway. We wanted a family room. A cozy nook of a space in which we could cuddle up and watch TV or read, and, more importantly, where our daughter would have a space on the first floor to play. In our old house, we had much less room, and so each area, inevitably, had scattered toys and crafts. And I couldn’t stand the clutter. I wanted my kid(s) to have a space that was comfortable and informal and inviting; a room in which my daughter could sit and draw for hours or snuggle up under a blanket to a movie. And so, this is our ever evolving after:

I spy with my little eye something Lola. This is Lola’s spot too. She’s always loved the sunny spot.

Here’s Lola’s nook. Cozy, right? She seems to think so. She loves this room.

And you can see that we had blinds installed that enhanced the richness and privacy of the room while simultaneously not compromising any brightness or lightness. We used the incredible Blinds 4 U and could not have had a better experience. In fact, the owner, who is a family friend, encouraged me to choose this color (when I was leaning towards white) and boy was he right. 

This little area is a blast from my past, as both the wood sign and wooden shelf were in the basement of my parents’ house. Like everything else they’re no longer sure about, I adopted these pieces. The fabric letters are from Anthropologie and yet another perk of having children who share the same first initial. Since the main goal for this room was coziness and informality, we chose to go with this rich leather couch from Raymour and Flannigan and topped it with an assortment of pillows from a small specialty boutique and West Elm. The throw was actually a poncho I bought while pregnant at Deconstructed Living, and now has it’s second life as a blanket.

The chest at the side of the couch is also an inherited piece from my sister’s childhood bedroom, and it is filled with baby toys, and the lamp is from Pottery Barn.

Don’t you just want to bury your head into that furry softness? Or perhaps you’re more of a delicate, rest your cheek on silk type of person. It’s ok. I’ve got it all for ya. 

Here is my daughter’s spot. She has her easel from Ikea. She has her drawing table and chairs from Pottery Barn Kids  (plus a mini replica behind it for her dollies). And most importantly, she has neatly organized bins of crayons, paint, markers, stickers, toy figures, art kits, puzzles….and they are not all over my house, wreaking havoc. This makes the mess freak in me very happy. ‘Both windowsills in this room are filled with framed photos of our families and loved ones. The photos, hands down, are my favorite part of the room. I love my peeps. 80% of the frames are Ikea, with a peppering of Home Goods in there for good measure.

I also filled the shelves with little things like antique books, mercury glass candles and dried flower vases. It’s always evolving. 

This shelf was an example of where I had to get creative. I wanted to stay in the blue/turquoise family with most of the “art” on here (you know how I am about color), but my budget didn’t allow me to make pricey purchases. So my solution was to look through catalogues and magazines, cut out photos that I found pleasing to the eye in the right color scheme and frame them. I think it works.

This shelf also houses some of our favorite books (Hemingway for me, Palahniuk for my guy) and some special heirlooms and  things we have purchased together. On the top right shelf sits a framed playbill from a play called “Queen Esther”. This is the first thing my husband and I ever bought together, in a tiny antique shop in Hammondsport, NY.  We were not yet engaged, nor were we living together, but it was a sign of commitment. You wouldn’t want to have to chop that thing in half. The Namaste sign was purchased in our happy place, St. John, so I will cherish it forever. The trunk up elephant, a sign of good luck, was a really good TJ Maxx find and the silver pieces on the bottom shelf are from my grandfather, featuring our family monogram. Good day, sunroom. We love you so.

And as in the rest of our home, all shelves, trim and doors were painted in Benjamin Moore Decorator’s White.