Sunroom Addition: Final Reveal

I have been SO behind on updating our sunroom progress!  For those you new to our blog, we started back in November with the idea of converting our covered back porch into a sunroom... And that idea grew into almost a complete room addition (you can read about our entire process)

I couldn't be happier with how it turned out!  And can't sing my husband's praises enough!  He built the entire room... planning, framing, wiring, putting up drywall, tiling the floors.  I still am amazed by how well he could do all of it!  We, of course, enlisted lots of great help from both our Dads, Jeff's brother, and lots of friends (especially from Amy's husband!)  Thank you to everyone who spent time helping us finish the room! 

So after a 5-month long process, we are finally done!  Well, done with construction... For those of you who know me, decorating is a definite iterative process (sorry, Jeff!)  Here is how it looks now...

Before:

After:

Before:

After:

One of my favorite elements in the room, the bead board ceiling....

Before:

After:

I wish I could capture on camera how much light this room lets into the kitchen and living room too, making the whole house feel much more open and inviting.  Definitely the perfect spot for entertaining, relaxing, or working at the desk.  Thanks to Jeff, this room is quickly becoming my favorite spot in the house!

What do you think?  What big projects have you tackled yourself?

Chairs, round two

Hope you all had a wonderful Easter weekend!  Jeff & I finally finished all of our painting projects, did a ton of work out in the yard, and spent Easter Sunday with both of our families.  It was a perfect mix of productivity and rest!

I'm also happy to report that I found a set of chairs for our sunroom!  After searching some of my favorite consignment shops and Craigslist, I found this pair at South End Exchange.

I swoon every time I see them... And my favorite little $12 elephant table fits perfectly too.  Now just a few more details, and I'll be ready to share how it all came together!

Psst... I also have to admit that these chairs were slightly out of budget, but I loved them so much that my sweet hubby (uncharacteristically) gave me a budget extension.  He originally told me that we couldn't get them, then surprised me this weekend by waking up one morning and asking, 'so when should we go get your chairs?'  I'm the luckiest... Thanks Jeff!

Two Nights of Grout

Wednesday night was grout night.  Jeff and Amy's husband Ray (once again!) teamed up to work on the floor.  They had all the grout done pretty quickly, and then it was time to clean (& that's where yours truly came in).

Apparently, you grout the tiles (which is quite messy), then go back with a damp sponge and wipe up the floor.  And repeat.  And repeat... Wiping with a clean, damp sponge until the grout (and eventual 'haze' that's left behind) is gone.

Easy right?  Ray headed home after two rounds of cleaning, and we were all convinced that it was maybe a few more rounds, and we'd be done in time to watch Modern Family.

Fast forward over two hours later... And we were still cleaning.  With a light haze still on the tiles (and slight grumpiness from both of us), we called it a night about 11 pm.

Fortunately, we were able to clean off the remaining 'haze' last night with sponges that have the scrubber side (and yes, that is the technical name).  And we are so happy with how the floors came out!

Jeff is planning to seal the tile tonight and hopefully put up the last of the trim this weekend... We're finally closing in on the finish!

Sunroom Tile: Check!

This weekend we made major sunroom progress... Our floors went in!  Friday night, Jeff and I headed to Lowe's to purchase the tile and other materials.  We had gone back & forth so many time on what to do with the floors in this room.  Surprisingly, after pricing out several options (including stained concrete and cork), tile ended up being the most cost-effective.

So Saturday morning, Jeff went to work.  A huge thank you to Amy's husband for coming over bright & early and helping lay tile!  The floor was a little bumpy and uneven in spots, so it was time-consuming to lay the tiles straight and flat... But the guys did such a great job!  And another huge thank you to Jeff's dad and brother for cutting tiles and helping out over the entire weekend!

With our small crew of free labor, the floor was almost finished by Saturday afternoon.  A few more pieces on Sunday, and the floor was down!

And, because I owe you a few other updates, the door trim is also done and columns are finished...

{even Ellie's doggie door got a little trim}

Up next:  Installing the shoe mold, painting all the trim, touch up paint on the walls, and grout & seal the tile!  Fingers crossed that we finish up by next weekend... making it almost exactly 5 months from when we started!

Decision 2011

I bought a couple of paint samples for the sunroom... Okay, five.  But I'd highly recommend the process.  I generally just tape a paint card to the wall and go from there.  However, with my recent itch to change the wall colors in our house (yes, almost all of them), I decided repainting for a third time would most likely be out of the question.  So I better get it right!

Here is the line-up...

And while these two were cut pretty quickly, I think the color on the left will be the perfect smokey blue for our bedroom!

Despite all the choices & my general lack of decision-making, the winner was easy to spot!  Granted, I still need husband approval, but my vote is with Chantilly Lace (color furthest to the left in the top picture).

It's a little hard to see on the primer, because it's a crisp white.  I've been thinking about white walls since last summer... And all the bright windows in this space have me even more excited about the choice.  Plus I think white would look incredible with the dark floors I'm currently begging for...

{source unknown}

Can't wait to get the paint and trim up this weekend!

Probably...

So I probably should have waited to post the sunroom update.  We decided last night to prime the entire room, while the floors and molding are not installed to make it a little easier on ourselves.

It's amazing what a difference it makes!

Columns Up!

We had such a productive weekend back around the house.  I kept telling Jeff that it was like we were trying to make up for our weekend out of town!

There was a lot accomplished on the sunroom.  My dad came over Saturday morning to help Jeff, and by Sunday the wall between the sunroom and the kitchen was almost finished!

{hard at work- framing the old window space}

{in progress}

My dad is a (semi) retired architect and had great advice for us on what to do with the wall between the kitchen and sunroom.  We had originally planned to keep the existing brick, add to it, and paint.  But in the end, we decided that even painted, you'd really be able to see the lines where new brick was added.

So we continued the bead board (obviously to be painted to match above) as a pretty accent on this wall.

The openings on the left and right will stay as half walls to keep the views & light from the windows.  There was so much to consider on this wall... And we were really limited by the existing steel header above this opening. 

It would have been almost impossible to open this wall up any more and keep the structural integrity.  So we tried to balance the structural needs of the header above (most important), how it would look best (with opening centered), and what would create the most useful space. 

Finally, the space to the right of the half wall will be built-in shelving for storage!  They won't be too deep, but a perfect spot for displaying a few pieces.

And for fun, a before (post-window removal)...

And after (as of this weekend)...

Now we just need to finish the drywall on the kitchen side, trim out the columns, and add molding to the entire room.  Then it's time to add flooring and paint... Then, we are (unbelievably) done!

Decor Dilemma

So the eggplant sofa is officially on Craigslist... Now just keep your fingers crossed that it sells!  Hubs & I made a deal that if it sells, I can get something else for the sunroom (if it doesn't, it obvs stays) 

I decided that even if we did cut the skirt off, it would still be too formal (and purple!) for how I envision the final space.  And it goes along with my new 'if you don't love it, get rid of it' motto.

I need some help sorting out my vision from here though...

Plan A:
The Inspiration:

{via Ashley Goforth}

Possible Furnishings:

{Ikea Karlstad}

Plan B:

The Inspiration:

{via Lonny}

Possible Furnishings:

{Craigslist}

So the question is: How 'sunroom-themed' should the room be decorated? Or should we decorate it just like an extra living space?

I'm kind of in love with the Craigslist (vintage!) bamboo couch, and for the cost-savings I could easily try sewing some off-white pillow covers for it... But I just don't know if I'll eventually wish it was decorated like a 'regular' room... Thoughts?

Take a vote in our poll on the right side of the blog... Help me decide, before another couch is purchased & then listed on Craigslist (just kidding, Jeff!)

Weeknight Demo

If I haven't mentioned it before, my husband really plans before we start a project... He considers the budget, timing, return on investment, placement of potential furniture... You name it, we discuss it.

But once Jeff gets started, we are off... Exhibit A:

{view from sunroom looking into kitchen}

{laundry room window removal}

Just a typical weeknight... Coming home from work and ripping out windows & walls in the Whittaker house...

{view from dining area into sunroom}

{view from kitchen}

Now that its nice and open, we're reconsidering the pocket doors.  This weekend will be the test, since no pocket doors & a doggie door means that Ellie has the run-of-the-house all the time! 

I tried to very nicely explain to her this morning that she should be good, so that I can keep the rooms open to each other... Fingers crossed.

Tomorrow we'll be priming, finalizing our choice for flooring & maybe even taking down a little more of that wall.  Happy Weekend!

Four Walls

Jeff has finished so much work on the sunroom recently!  Last weekend, he finished the molding around the windows...

And finished hanging all of the drywall...

And while I was out of town, he finished off the drywall with joint compound (mud).  It's hard to believe that this week we'll be removing the wall between the kitchen & sunroom, and then priming the room for paint over the weekend!

It's Electric

I know, I know... I've been behind in posting our sunroom progress!  Things have been moving right along over the past few weeks.  And since it's Valentine's Day, don't mind my gushing about how hubby is talented/ amazing/ skilled/ hardworking...  He has done such a great job on this project and devoted tons of weekend and after-work hours... Who doesn't love a handyman?

As a quick recap, last weekend was running electrical and running a gas line for our little corner heater.

In other words, almost two entire days of crawling around under the house... where Jeff also found a leaky pipe that required a few extra hours of repair time.  A huge thank-you (once again) to my father-in-law for fearlessly tackling our crawlspace along side Jeff. 

When they were finally out from under the house, the exterior lights were also installed... One on the deck-side of the sunroom, and one by the driveway-side entrance.

Next up?  Window trim, insulation, and drywall!

Cork It

As I mentioned before, we've decided on cork flooring for our sunroom.  I have to give Jeff credit for this, and admit that it took me a while to get totally on board.  All I could picture was this...

Not my style!  But I've found that you can actually get the flooring in a wide variety of shades & colors and lay it in a variety of patterns.  Here are a few of my inspirations...

{images via}

I still can't believe that some of those are actually cork!  Plus the flooring has tons of benefits... Number one being that it is eco-friendly!  Not to mention that it is an ideal choice for kitchens and bathrooms, due to the water-resistant nature... and it's a great insulator (making it warmer and softer) for on top of our current cement floor in the sunroom.

I may just lobby to replace our manufactured hardwood flooring in the kitchen with this too... What do you think?  Would you try out cork flooring?