Hi, loves! Today I’m here to share the major progress we’re making in the sunroom. I can already feel that it’s going to be my favorite place to hang out ALL spring and summer and fall every year (too cold in the winter though).
This room is hands down what made us fall in love with this home. It’s the perfect place to sip a morning coffee or late night glass of wine. It’s a space to practice painting and open all the windows for a nice breeze. And we’re working to bring it to its full potential.
But first, a little reminder of where we started last spring! (click here for BEFORE pics)
This room was formerly an outdoor, second story porch. I know this because the previous owners left the original blue prints for us. Then, at some point, it was turned into a screened in porch.
We instantly knew it was a space we’d spend a lot of time in, but we wanted to really change up the vibe of the decor. The carpet had to go, we thought the bricks would be nice in white (something we eventually would like to do to the whole exterior!), and we envisioned string lights instead of these fans.
Fast forward nearly a year, and we’re making some really nice progress!
If you’re an old school blog reader, you know I used to be really into painting, and I even used my Etsy shop (selling a lot of paintings and art prints) to support myself for a couple years in my twenties while I transitioned my career. I made so many paintings, sometimes staying up till five or six in the morning to try to make money to pay our rent in those days. So as my career developed, I hit somewhat of a burnout phase and stopped painting for a long time. In recent years, I’ve been practicing, strictly for fun. It’s something I want to get more into, and I feel very inspired to have this new corner to set up!
Someone on Insta said it was like The Notebook…. into it!
The biggest change I want to make in this space now is that it needs WAY more plants. I want it to be a jungle in there. So I’ll be aggressively hunting this month for more, more, more! That’ll probably be my new weekend hobby.
The string lights are from West Elm last summer. We just got them hung this past week. The gold sconces are from Schoolhouse Electric (I love them).
If you want to learn more about painting brick, see here. We used a sprayer for this room.
I am still planning to update the paint color on the trim… we’ve got a pretty intense to-do list these next few months. We’re working to complete ten rooms by June!
These chairs are one of the two things that came with the house. I love them in this room, so this is their home. Maybe just need some cushions?
Well as you can see, we’ve come a long way, but we still have quite a bit to do. I’m happy we have a photoshoot deadline in June, though, because that means it will be complete to just LIVE LIFE IN for the rest of summer and autumn. What a nice thought! 🙂
Thanks for following along throughout this whole process! If you have Snapchat, my username is @elsielarson and I post random house updates almost every day over there. Have an amazing day! xx- Elsie
Credits//Author and Photography: Elsie Larson. Photos edited with A Beautiful Mess actions.
62 Comments
Being an old school blog reader myself, I have a copy of the Creative Studios book that featured your old painting room! So cool to see “throwback” Elsie, whose been true to herself all along. Hope your “Notebook” corner helps inspire you to paint more, so you can keep inspiring us <3
I love what you’ve done so far! http://www.hannamarielei.com
Love this! We’re moving into a fixer upper with a very similar space. Can you share where the floor tiles are from? Thanks! xo
Adding a big pop of color by painting the windows and trim is a stoke of genius! Oh my goodness! I would never think to do that, but it looks incredible! Our sunroom also completely sold us on our home. It’s our favorite room in the house – hands down!
Love the space Elise! I would look into propagating plants you already own to fill up the space and save some money. The plant you show in the first picture can be spilt up into several plants, so can succulents, cactuses and many house plants. I often due swaps with other people to add variety and save some cash.
goo luck
I really like the tiffany blue and marble accents ^_^
Laila from Townhouse Palette
Incredible, this looks amazing, like you’ve copied and pasted the sky onto the ceiling
http://Www.whimsicalzoo.blogspot.com
It’s looking’ good! I love you design style. So inspiring. I just bought a house, so it’s been fun to watch you decoration your new home. I love the painting corner. Makes me want to give painting another try too!
Laura
http://laurelandfern.com/
Love this pastel blue-ish colour <3
I just love how much brighter the room is with the change of the brick color and the aqua molding! Beautiful space!! Oh and the lights!! So much fun!
http://tootsplusdill.blogspot.com
Oh yes … I can see that room full of plants. The more foliage, the better!
The colors! Great work, always inspiring.
Love the baby blue detail!
This looks so lovely! I love this colours. You guys are so creative! Hopefully (when I own a house one day) I’ll be able to decorate it beautifully (like this haha).
Thanks for posting!
My blog: http://www.bymybedside.com
Please check it out – thank you very much 🙂 xx
This is actually a sunroom worth hitting on. So fresh, so bright, so….sexy? Think I’m in love.
What a gorgeous room Elsie, and the view outside is stunning! I can see why you’re looking forward to spending lots of time enjoying this space.
I love the string lights so much! How dreamy 😀 -Audrey | Brunch at Audrey’s
Completely off topic but your backyard looks amazing!
LOVE! Are those real Bertoia Diamond chairs?? if so I’m incredibly jealous they came with the house. That’s one of my all time favorite chairs (I actually just splurged on one). Anyways, can’t wait to see it finished!
this room looks so idyllic for a sunday morning in the summer, once you have completed the whole house and can just enjoy and relax. great job with painting th brick, looks so fresh and clean =o)
http://dreamofadventures.blogspot.com/
Adorable!
http://www.petiteandhungry.com
I’ve never seen string lights used in quite that way – very pretty! It looks so open and bright!
http://danielleandco.com
This looks SO beaut – I love crisp whites with greenery abound!
It’s going to end up phenom, just like all your other do-overs, though seriously I could just chill in this room as it right now.
Great work yew! x
This looks amazing!!
http://looklikeget.com
I absolutely love your house pics! That room is looking so great! What style of home did you buy?
Awe!! Thank you so much Rachael!!!
xx- Elsie
Thank you so much Hanna!!
:)) xx- Elsie
Oh my, that looks like a great place to enjoy a drink of tea and just enjoy the view. Great progress 😀
http://www.marsyajauzi.blogspot.my/
Hi Liz! I got them from a local place in Nashville (Floors Direct if you’re in the area), but they have similar 12×12 marble tiles almost everywhere. :))
xx- Elsie
That’s a great idea!! I have never had ANY luck with it, though! Do you have any tips??
xx- Elsie
Thank you so much Laila!!
xx- Elsie
YES! You should!
xx- Elsie
Hahahaha!! :)))
-Elsie
Thank you so much Stephanie!!! 🙂
-Elsie
….off to google to try to figure this out!
-Elsie
It’s a 1970s L-shaped ranch.
xx- Elsie
Those are Bertoia Wing Chairs, made by Knoll starting in the 1950s! You can buy colorful cushions from sites such as Metro Retro Furniture, which are modeled after the original cushions that the chairs were sometimes sold with. I’ve also seen people drape a sheepskin throw over them, which looks so comfy and inviting!
Whatever you decide to do with the chairs, keep in mind that they are antiques so thought and care should go into their use. What a great bonus that they came with the house!
Scored with the left behind chairs!
And I still think it’s a pretty brave thing (though popular) to jump in and paint brick. It’s like, not easily reversed! But, looks great … And was the right patio move.
Don’t forget to check craigslist for plants! I found some of my best house plants there 🙂
It looks amazing!
However – i wondered if maybe you could share some pictures of your garden? I am so intrigued overtime you share pictures from your sunroom! 😀
It really is a beautiful home! wish you lots of happy years in the new home 😉
xx
This is BEAUTIFUL – I want to have a room like this to do my own art work 🙂 It’s gorgeous and I can only imagine how it will look when it’s full of plants.
Lucy xoxo
lucyannblog.blogspot.co.uk
I love it all! It’s already been a year?!?!
So jealous. I wish my house had a sunroom! What a beautiful space to relax & be inspired in.
It already looks amazing,I can really imagine sitting there on a lazy Sunday. And the light is perfect for painting!
https://www.makeandmess.com/
It is looking absolutely great! I love the colors that you chose. The sunroom feels so fresh and vibrant.
http://annescribblesanddoodles.blogspot.com
Wow, I’m jealous! What a beautiful space! Nice job!
Hi Elsie! Found you have a great project there!! I am delighted to see how the trim color matches a tissue I have bought for my barbecue table benches pillows and something like that would certainly enhance your chairs! I will send you a photo through the Instagram!
Tks for sharing!
kisses ML
Please please please get a wide angle lens. These house updates are killing me without wide angle shots.
Are you going replace the ceiling fan with perhaps a corner wall mounted one on the days when you need a bit of breeze? love the artist corner!
Close to it! We closed last year in May. 🙂
xx- Elsie
Hi!
Check out the Bertoia Loom Chair — I think it’s amazing and is *defo* up your alley! I bet you can make something amazing in that style, if you like it!
We’re not. So, the room has an AC unit (for those HOT summer months) and it works REALLY well at cooling the space. Then when it’s nice out, like during these spring months, we open the windows a lot. So hopefully we will not miss the two fans. 🙂 The new lights are much more pretty at night.
xx- Elsie
Thanks Alyssa!!
We actually do have one, but with these progress reports I’m not always ready to share the whole room… it’s still very disheveled. It’s coming through! I promise!
-Elsie
Amazing space! I love everything especially the rug ♡
wow 10 rooms…. My house has 7 rooms and I don’t have a small house. So funny the dutch houser are so much smaller than the american…
I love these photos. I love sunrooms. We have one here at our home as well and it is totally my favorite room. I’m even sitting there now. I’ll tag you on Instagram, Elsie so you can see. Love all the progress you’ve made. That white brick is SO much better.
I haven’t been to Nashville, but might it not get too hot in there without ceiling fans in the summer?
I love the trim paint color it is now!
https://www.etsy.com/shop/InsaneSucculents I’d be honored to serve you fine ladies!
I always love your color choices!
I love plants! I want a jungle, too. 🙂 It’s looking great so far. You might want to check out Moore & Moore on Highway 100, right by Chaffin’s Barn, close to Loveless, for more plants. Good luck in your hunt!
Thanks, Elsie!