A record of Mini Sunroom Makeover

After giving our floor stencils a full seven days to dry (it is humid here!) we at last moved all of our furniture back into the sunroom and snapped a few photos of the whole room after our three phase mini makeover (see phase one here, phase two here, and phase three here). First let us take a look back at what that room looked like when we purchased the house four and a half years ago. Yeah, it had a thin matted rug that smelled like dog. Enticing, we know.

So we pulled up the rug (the quite first day we moved in) and stained and then later painted the concrete floor. It was certainly a slow evolution in there, but the strong views made it one of our go-to places to hang out fairly much from day one (after that stinky carpet was gone of course). Here is the room as it looked about a month ago before our mini makeover began. There is no denying that it was serene in there, but with tan walls, a tan rug, tan floor pillows, a tan daybed cover, tan pillows, a tan ceiling, some brown furniture, a brown floor, some white curtains, and some white furniture it was feeling a little flat. So we hoped to keep most of those neutrals but add a little color and lively (without spending over $150).

Now here is the room as it looks today, after we brought in a dresser from another room, painted the daybed, hung sleek looking curtain rods, painted the ceiling, and stenciled the floor (read about those projects here, here, and here). Note: This room certainly looks distinct in person than it does in these photos. It is hard to explain, but the floor is simply one plane, and the view out of the glass doors is three planes, so the view is certainly is a lot more emphasized in person than the floor stencils (but in the pics the view is sort of diffused thanks to the reflective glass and the stencils are extremely high contrast for some reason). We have had friends and family members over (even extremely “reserved” ones) and they all enjoy the floor- going as far as to describe it as a subtle change and the whole room as a soothing space. Sometimes things are simply hard to capture in photos!

We enjoy how the splash of aqua on the floor complements the sky blue ceiling (which truly makes the room feel much more open and airy). We enjoy the look of a blue ceiling, which is a popular choice (especially in the South). It is sometimes called “haint blue” and we have written a whole post about it.

We also enjoy that we gained tons of storage (for everything from board games to baby toys) thanks to this dresser that used to live in our guest bedroom before we turned that into an office/guest bedroom/playroom (see that transformation here).

In the small tweaks category, we tossed a few colorful beach towels on our towel hooks (read more about why we need those here) and moved our lively faux orange tree over into that corner near our shoe basket. I DIYed that tree over five years ago in NYC when I needed greenery in my apartment but everything kept dying, so thanks to a few fake stems from Pier1 I was in business (I in fact “planted” them in real dirt inside of a low-cost Ikea planter). I know it is odd to be attached to a strange little faux orange tree but it certainly has a special place in my heart. Although in my defense many people think it is real and do not believe me when I say it is fake- perhaps it is the real dirt, haha.

And we cannot forget our corner with the low-cost-o marble table that we snagged a while back (read about that here) and my beloved ceramic pooch, which I still consider to be a major steal (learn more about him here).

We truly like how the floor stencils peek out under the doormats, the area rug, and even the daybeds (thanks to the fact that they are both on legs, so you can see the stencils running under them). And thanks to the fact that the majority of the furniture and accessories are still tan and white, the touches of blue and green that we brought in truly feel playful and add dimension without being too much (especially in person, again, photographing a room with three glass walls was tough for us). We also enjoy that we can change them all out if we ever tire of them. The floor and ceiling are simply paint, which is low-cost and straightforward to redo- while the accessories are even easier to swap out on a dime and in a moment’s notice.

Oh and speaking of small accents, we picked up two $6 floor pillow covers (snagged on clearance at Bed Bath & Beyond, down from $19 each- they are in fact simply square Euro shams that happened to fit right over our old floor pillows from Target).

We figured that $12 upgrade brought in a bit more subtle contrast to the middle of the room (see how the old ones blended in a lot with the rug in the before picture?) so we are glad we switched those out at the last minute. And should we ever want to take them back to the more neutral looking pillows of yore that is a pleasant straightforward swap, which we appreciate. Speaking of $12, here is the budget breakdown for this mini makeover of ours:

• $0- Dresser and mirror (leftover from old guest bedroom)
• $0- Second daybed (leftover from third bedroom which is now Clara’s nursery)
• $0- primer and paint for daybed (already owned- see that painting walkthrough here)
• $20- Ceiling paint (Tide Pools by Behr in semi-gloss for sheen)
• $40- Curtain rods from Ikea (these without the finials)
• $20- Glidden oil-based porch/floor paint for stencil (color matched to Martha’s Lagoon)
• $30- Ceil stencil purchased from a local paint hero of ours
• $7- Sponge for stencil project
• $12- Floor pillow covers (clearance square Euro shams from BB&B)
• Total budget: $129.00

Not too bad considering that we updated everything from the furniture to the ceiling and even the floor. And small changes like those new curtain rods and the painted daybed truly make all the difference. Surprise, surprise- we find ourselves out in the sunroom even more these days. Simply soaking up the view out the window and taking in the scenery inside, too. We also find Clara staring at the stencils like she’s hypnotized. Kind of making this face. Hysterical. Apparently the girl already appreciates lively home decor. And if we ever tire of anything we can consistently paint it/replace it in a few swift phases without breaking the bank- simply like we did these past few weeks. Woo hoo for inexpensive changes that make you smile.

What about you folks? Do you have any mini makeovers in the works? Are there any sunroom transformations going on at your house? Have you ever plated something faux in real dirt? Spill it.

Psst- Wanna follow along with our sunroom mini makeover from day one? Here is the first phase, the second phase, and the third phase.