Last you saw our sunroom, it looked pretty rough. Since then we’ve made significant progress: the ceiling has been lofted with the help of a professional framer to make sure the roof remains solid. I only grabbed one quick iPhone photo before a rainstorm rolled in, but it was enough to show that the room is starting to feel more like a proper space. We’ll share the full ceiling story next week after the electrician returns to convert the loose wires into junction boxes for two fans.
Today the focus is on the floor plan — specifically, our plan for the sunroom floor. We’ve weighed several options carefully, debating the pros and cons of each approach. The simplest route would be to stain or paint the existing concrete, which is what we did in our previous house’s sunroom. That method is straightforward, inexpensive, and quick, and it can dramatically change the feel of a room.
However, a stain or semi-transparent finish was immediately out for this concrete because of leftover glue stains from the carpet we pulled up. Those marks are too visible for any translucent treatment. Painting the concrete a solid color was technically possible, but there were several reasons we didn’t want to go that route.
First, the brick border that frames the concrete looks charming from a distance but is rough up close: glue stains, nail holes, and gouges from old sliding doors make the border look uneven. Second, the concrete becomes very slick when wet. Our daughter Clara often runs in with wet feet after playing at the water table or a small pool, and the slippery surface is an obvious safety concern. We wanted something with more grip that felt appropriate for an indoor-outdoor transition — something along the lines of textured patio tile.
Most importantly, painting the concrete would close the door on tiling in the future. Paint prevents tile thinset from bonding to concrete, so once painted, the surface becomes effectively untileable unless you remove every bit of paint by hand. That was a deal-breaker: the cheap and easy fix would have permanently limited our options if we ever wanted to upgrade to outdoor tile. With that in mind, we decided to start exploring tile now instead of painting as a temporary solution.
We fell in love with large-format tiles early in the shopping process. They had the scale and visual impact we wanted, but the price tag quickly made us rethink. A stunning tile we liked was around $6.29 per square foot, which would have made tiling our 200+ sq ft space very expensive. Fortunately, we noticed a Labor Day promotion at a local store offering significant discounts on purchases and supplies. That spurred us to look for alternative tiles that would meet our needs without breaking the bank.
Our criteria were straightforward: the tile needed to be outdoor-friendly, have a rough texture for slip resistance, and cost significantly less than the high-end option. A tile professional recommended porcelain for outdoor use in our climate because of its durability and suitability for exterior conditions. With that guidance, we narrowed our search to three porcelain tile candidates that mimicked natural stone — each with different tones and textures.
We purchased a sample of each tile (one of the three was available only in a larger rectangle that they couldn’t bring home). We placed the samples in the sunroom near the deck to see how they read next to the wood and how they would perform visually with the slight step up into the room. The one we liked right away was a deep, textured tile modeled after slate, which we’ll refer to as Mountain Slate Iron. Its darker color and warm brown undertones complemented the deck and provided enough contrast to highlight the small change in floor height, while its texture offered better grip when wet.
The other options felt cooler or washed out when sunlight hit them, so Mountain Slate Iron stood out both aesthetically and functionally. It also happened to be the least expensive of our top choices and had the greatest texture — a real win on multiple fronts. Choosing porcelain tile meant a higher upfront cost and more installation work than staining or painting, but we think it will elevate the space and solve issues that paint or stain couldn’t address.
We placed the order last night. The tiles won’t be ready for pickup until next week, and we plan to finish the ceiling — beadboard, new fans, and paint — before installing anything delicate on the floor. Still, it feels good to be moving forward and to have caught a sale that lowered the price from $3.48 per square foot to $2.61. Clara was so excited she made a call to her toy phone to tell Elmo about the new tile, which was an adorable little celebration.
So that’s where we are: a ceiling nearly framed, a tile choice finalized, and an installation on the horizon. Tiling will be more intensive than painting, but it checks the boxes for durability, safety, and the long-term vision we have for this sunroom. We’ll share updates and installation photos as soon as the tiles arrive and the ceiling work is wrapped up.