Just like with our first house, we tend to hop from project to project and room to room. Over the past two years we’ve worked on the living room, guest room, nursery, bedroom, kitchen, dining room, office, laundry, patio and deck, but a few spaces remained untouched (or slowly filling with clutter).
Until about a month ago, the untouched rooms were:
- the sunroom
- the playroom
- the hall bathroom
- the guest bathroom
- the basement
- the carport (we plan to convert it into a more attractive structure)
- the front porch (we want to frame out the columns and remove the scalloped trim)
That’s a lot of spaces to ignore for nearly two years, but in the last four weeks we started on the hall bathroom and the basement, so the current list of untouched areas is down to:
- the sunroom
- the playroom
- the guest bathroom
- the carport
- the front porch
Having five unfinished zones feels much better than seven. Even better: we’re excited to begin the sunroom renovation.
We’re also planning to move Clara into her “big girl” room soon. During winter we tend to get ambitious and tackle a lot of projects at once, so expect some busier updates soon.
To begin the sunroom project we took a hard look at the room, measured visually, and made a quick plan. The room has multiple walls with big windows that overlook patios and the yard, plus a brick wall that looks into the kitchen and another wall that opens to the living room. The layout needs to flow with those openings, so we started by sketching a layout to organize seating, storage and a bar area by the windows.
Our plan centered on placing the daybed against the brick wall (it fits best there), adding a low bar along the big windows that look out to the patio, and bringing in storage on the opposite wall. We also intended to reuse existing pieces—the jute rug leftover from our bedroom, bright blue stools from the kitchen, floor pillows and daybed cushions—to keep costs down and make the room feel cohesive with the rest of the house. Painting, window treatments and accessory choices will follow once the layout feels right.
The first practical step was clearing the clutter: sorting items to sell, store or donate until the room was bare enough to start experimenting. Once the room was emptied, we laid down the jute rug with a portion tucked under the daybed to anchor the seating area. The jute rug warmed up the tile floor and felt right for a sunroom, and we expect it to blend better once the walls are repainted and the room is styled.
Next we added floor pillows, the coffee table and plenty of throw pillows to get a sense of scale and coziness. Some leftover pieces—an orangey-brown set of drawers and a few stacked tables—are temporary and will be sold or relocated as the project progresses.
We tried the bright blue stools in the bay of windows with the idea of creating a bar that overlooks the stone patio. In practice they felt cramped and didn’t work where we imagined, so we reconsidered. That’s a familiar lesson: the first idea isn’t always the right one, and testing a layout in the space is crucial. The stools will be repurposed elsewhere in a way that improves flow and function without blocking the heating unit or crowding the rug.
One alternative we’re considering is placing a tall, rustic bar table and the stools in a corner, giving the windows a clear view and creating a casual breakfast or coffee spot. We’ll likely slide the rug further under the daybed to make that corner feel less cramped. Of course, plans may shift again as we live with the arrangement and let the space “shake out.”
We’ll share photos and updates as the sunroom takes shape. It’s exciting to start transforming an untouched space into a comfortable, functional room that fits our family’s needs. Are you tackling any neglected rooms in your home? Do you sketch ideas and then discover they don’t translate to real life? We’d love to hear about your process.
P.S. If you’re curious about a typical Thanksgiving for us, there’s a short family write-up on our personal blog with Clara’s perspective.