Sun Room Refresh

One of my favorite places to read, eat, relax, and spend time nine months of the year is our sun room.  It adds some cozy square footage to the first floor of our townhouse.  It’s a small area that provides a quiet little get-away nook that I truly enjoy.  Even though you can’t see it, we just spent a chunk of money on our sun room.  We don’t know when the previous owners added the sun room or how old it is.  However, the glass panels were clear, untreated glass that did not provide any sun protection.  The area gets the afternoon sun which meant we were only able to enjoy it in the morning hours.  The intense sun just made the room too unbearably hot in the afternoons and evenings.  It was sort of like sitting in a pizza oven.

 

 

Fortunately, I was able to track down the company that installed the sun room originally, and they replaced the original glass panels with treated and tinted glass panels that cut down on 60 percent of the glare.

 

 

 

We also had the rickety door replaced with a nice sliding door.  When we grilled out or ate outside, getting in and out of the old door when my hands were full of food and dishes was a real challenge.  Now I can just slide the door or screen door open and leave it open while I’m grilling, setting the table, etc.  That in itself was a major improvement.  You can see the difference the tinted glass makes.  I opened the door for comparison. You can tour our courtyard here.

 

 

With the new glass in place, I decided to do a mini refresh.  Although you have already seen the indoor/outdoor rug (which is on sale) that I bought in the spring to spruce things up, there are a few other tweaks.  I brought my favorite wicker rocker from the guest room to the sun room.  I bought this rocker at an antique auction when I was pregnant with our son for just $20.00.  It was in such bad condition that I think Mr. Right was embarrassed to carry it to the car for me that day.  I rocked both of our babies in it, and so it has a special meaning to me.

 

 

Although it has been many colors, I love the blue best of all, and it looks right at home in its new spot.

 

 

 

I also painted the top of the old pine bench that I bought at my grandfather’s estate auction years ago.  There was a stain on the bench, and sanding wouldn’t take it out.  Adding a coat of Napoleonic blue chalk paint solved the problem, and it brightens up the room even more.  Using a narrow bench as a coffee table works in a small space.

 

 

 

Another tweak was bringing in this industrial light from Mr. Right’s office.  I bought it at a local shop a few years ago.  It works so well in this space.  Other than the rug and a lamp, every single thing in this space is old.  Maybe that’s one of the reasons I like the room so much.  The history of each piece just adds some character to the small space.

 

 

I should probably mention the little rocker.  My father rocked in it when he was a little boy.  When our son Cory turned three, it was passed on to him.  Now it is here for Little Miss and all other future grandchildren.  Daddy is 94 years old, and I love having some things of his around.

 

 

There you can see an old set of his golf clubs that he used back in the 1960’s.  I like having them tucked away in the corner.

 

So, that’s it for our sun room tweak.  If you need me, I will probably be in there drinking some tea and reading blogs.

 

Take care.

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