How to design and furnish a sunroom

Boy, it’s a hot summer here so far. So in honour of the season, I’m sharing my log room sunroom that I designed and furnished when we bought our log home a few years ago. So whether your sunroom is actually a covered porch, a screened in 3 season room, a Muskoka room or a free standing gazebo, these tips will help you.

Here’s how one side of the sunroom looks now.

Log home sunroom

And the other side.

Sunroom design

blue log cottage sunroom

Blue log cottage sunroom

This is what I started with.

Before sunroom

I bought more substantial and darker wicker furniture and had the cushions made with sunbrella fabric so that there was no worry about sun damage or a wet bathing suit. I chose blue fabrics that complemented each other but that were not the same for interest. Instead of a coffee table I went with an ottoman. It can be used for your feet, as an extra seat or for putting a tray on and using as a table.

Blue log cottage sunroom

The various throw pillows were made by me and I selected more contrasting patterns but with the same colours of blue as in the upholstery. I primarily used blue in this room but with little touches of a soft green. It shows up on the table base, on candle holders and on a few other decorative accessories.

blue log cottage sunroom

A small corner shelf adds a little display area and makes the corner interesting. A little round glass table holds a table lamp and in the other corner a larger table is for display and to place a drink or two. A floor lamp brings much needed light into this corner.

blue log cottage sunroom detail

My grandfather’s ice saw from the early 1900’s takes pride of place over the window. You can just see it on the picture below. An indoor/outdoor rug with a fun french poem written on it anchors the seating area.

blue log cottage sunroom

The little piano stool, from a barn sale, is painted a fun turquoise that matches the curio cabinet in the living room.

Turquoise piano stool used as table in sunroom

And here’s how the other side of the room looked like before.

before sunroom

First up we had to do a repair on the floor tiles right in front of the door. Since the existing terracotta tiles were not available nor would they have matched I went with a different pattern terracotta tile for this area, I think it makes it look like an accent rug.

blue log cottage sunroom

We also took out three of the six skylights as the lower ones were too close to the edge of the roof and leaked all the time. We kept it as an eating area and this is also where we often play cards. Removing the shelf allowed for a larger table and chairs. I also hung a black industrial style pendant light. And for a little bit of fun, I painted and placed some old oars as wall art on this wall.

log cottage detail

Log cottage sunroom

The other side of the room, which you don’t see has a large bookcase across from the table. And there are two sets of french doors which take up the rest of the wall space.

Sunroom detail

If you’d like to read about the other rooms in my log cottage, click on the links below. And stayed tuned, as I’ll be sharing more of the rooms throughout the summer. You can also read about my log cottage feature online in Ottawa at Home’s summer edition by clicking here. 

Log cottage living room 

Log cottage bathroom 

All photos except before pictures:  Melissa Kew Photography

A bright and fresh country kitchen – CDECA Silver award winner

Not a very humble title but I’m a little stoked to have my bright and fresh country kitchen win the Silver award for CDECA’s Decorating and Design Awards.

I thought I’d share the Youtube video showcasing my cottage kitchen.

Very exciting for me! And I’d like to say a big congratulations to all the 2017 winners.

Lisa

Are you ready for Navy?

So I haven’t picked up a paint brush in a few months, and I’m getting the itch.  So, which room will get hit first?  Hhmmm……I’m thinking……dining room. I have been toying with the idea of painting it navy blue for a few years… and yes, that is procrastination at it’s finest.

I have always been a navy lover, just ask my 20+ year old navy living room sofa.  So it’s a natural progression to paint the dining room a navy, since both rooms are open to each other.  Here’s a couple of the contenders.

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Benjamin Moore’s Hale Navy HC-154

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Farrow & Ball – Stiff Key Blue

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Benjamin Moore’s Van Deusen Blue HC-156

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Benjamin Moore’s Evening Dove 2128-30

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Benjamin Moore’s Stunning – 826

All are dark, moody and would be spectacularly gorgeous with a gleaming gold light fixture.  Some are a lot darker than they appear, at least on my screen.  So, there will be some wall tests, for sure.  Then I suppose, I will need to get new dining chairs, drapery and artwork, you know how things snowball when you start painting.  I can certainly see where this is going……

So which is your favourite and I’d love to hear from you if you’ve painted navy recently. You can check out my Navy Dining Room Pinterest board by clicking here.

Have a great weekend!

Lisa

Guest room completed!

It’s finished, it’s finished, it’s finished!! 
 
Now, that the nice weather is nice, it’s been hard to spend time doing my indoor decorating projects.  So, I was a little delayed but it’s all done now.

To refresh your memory, here’s what it looked like in March….

First up, I painted and stencilled the room.  (Click here to read the blog post on the painting.)

Then hubby and I designed and made an upholstered headboard.

I also made a tailored bed skirt with the same fabric, and a bunch of pillows.  

And….drum roll please……here’s the final result.

It’s even “Pixie approved”!  The blinds were already in the room and the lace sheers and curtain rod are from Ikea.  I also had the wicker chair but did pick up a new green cushion from Home Sense.

I bought this little lamp from Ikea and then I covered the white shade with blue and green ribbon purchased at Michaels.  It looks good from a distance……but I definitely need more practice on this technique. 
Here’s a close up of the pillows that I made.  The paisley fabric was used for the large shams, the stripe for the medium pillow and the small pillow was made with a remnant that I already had.
 
So for my budget minded readers, here’s the low down – 
1.  Paint $40 (due to my decorators’ discount and having a BOGO coupon)
2.  Stencil $50
3.  Pendant lamp $26 (on clearance at Home Sense)
4.  Mattress – we had already
5.  Duvet, duvet cover, linens, pillow forms – I had already
6.  Throw – $30 (Home Sense)
7.  Upholstered Headboard total $160 (see post for details)
8.  Striped fabric from Kravet $30
9.  Paisley fabric from Maxwell $30
10. Drapery fabric $39.99 x 4 (Ikea)
11.  Wicker chair – already had
12.  Cushion for chair $39.99 (Home Sense)
13.  Night table and accessories – already had – painted with spray paint – already had
14. Antique dresser and accessories – already had
15. Frames from Michaels and Ikea $40 with my own travel photos- $10 for printing
16. Beskada curtain rod from Ikea $12.99
17. Ribbon for lampshade from Michaels $5.00
 
$633.95 TOTAL!!!
NOT TOO SHABBY!
 
And I have to put a close up of Pixie for my own “Pets on the Furniture” picture in here as she wouldn’t leave so I could take the pictures.

I’m linking this post up to Metamorphosis Monday at Between Naps on the Porch and also to Amaze me Monday at Dittle Dattle.  So please be sure to click on the links below to check out the other amazing makeovers.