It’s Feature Friday!  On Fridays, I’ll be featuring one room in my house in its current condition even if there are some things I’d like to change about it.  If I do happen to improve something later, I can always revisit it when the time comes.  Plus, I’d kinda feel dishonest if I only focused on “finished” rooms in my house.  And if what they (the professionals) say is true, a room is never really finished anyways…you’re always tweaking it.  Concentrating on just one room weekly should give me some time to tidy it up a bit, too.  At least, I can throw all the toys into another room!  So, without further ado, let’s tour my sunroom.

Last week we ventured to the back of my house into the main living space and visited my family room.  Just beyond the family room is our sunroom which juts out into the backyard.  We prefer to call it our sunroom versus our morning room (which is what most builders name this type of room).  Why?  With 5 windows and a set of sliding patio doors, this room is flooded with natural light even on the cloudiest of days.  Plus, we don’t usually spend mornings here.  In fact, somehow this room draws us (and guests) into it in the evening time.  Maybe it’s because it faces west and we’ve seen more than one awe inspiring sunset beyond our backyard trees.  Whatever the reason, this room keeps us in touch with nature – one of my all time favorite inspirations.  We’ve been known to watch snow fall, rain pour, lightning strike and breezy winds tousle our trees from the confines of this sitting room.  One of my favorite memories of this room is comforting my lil’ guy, Everett, as he cuddled against me during a storm.  He was “skeered” of the “funder.”  To keep the focus on Mother Nature, I went easy on the decor. 

Here’s the view from our family room

The view from our kitchen

An overhead shot.  For furniture placement, I took inspiration from a room I saw in a magazine that had 4 rounded chairs all facing a table in the center of a square room.  The layout allows for easy conversation.  To keep the chairs from “floating” too much, I laid down a sisal rug from Natural Area Rugs.

This room is pretty much all IKEA:  the chairs, the table, the basket and the floor-to-ceiling curtains.  Many people with children are afraid of white furniture…for fear it will show dirt and stains easily.  But these slipcovered chairs clean up nicely in the wash.  (My sister even spilled the contents of a burrito on one and it didn’t stain!)  Plus, the fabric has a denim quality to it that makes it easy to spot clean if need be.  I added a few cushy pillows in a green leaf print from Etsy and a khaki leaf pillow and knobby green throw from Kmart.  The “Keep Calm and Carry On” print is from Etsy also.  The fake flowers (everyone asks if they’re real) are from Wal-Mart.

Even though we absolutely looooove looking out all those windows, it was necessary to add window treatments to block the hot summer sun that pounds down after 4:00pm.  (Not a great scenario when you’re trying to eat dinner in the adjacent dining area.)  I wanted something that would open and close easily.  Roman-esque shades were our answer.  I bought the inside mounted shades from JCPenney (got them on clearance for $20 each!). 

I added custom fabric and trim to the velcroed (is that a word?!) valances…

…then made ribbons from the same fabric and stitched ’em onto the shades so that they run vertically.  I was wanting some contrast against the all white room plus I thought it made the window treatments look less boring.

Here are the shades drawn shut…

…and half shut.

I had a round table in mind for the sunroom but the $8 price tag on this IKEA one was too cheap to pass up.  I change the tablescape easily on a whim when the seasons turn.

The basket below holds Lincoln Logs and a remote control car.  Betcha never woulda guessed that!

To soften up the room a bit, I added flowing curtains to either side of the patio slider.  I hung 2 panels on each side to achieve a fuller effect.

A few “for fun” images…

So ends my sunroom tour.  Swing by next Friday for a peek at my dining area.  Yup, that’s right.  I said area not room.