Spring 2019 One Room Challenge-Moody Sunroom Retreat
Life is funny. You have grand plans and then life intervenes and forces you to change the path you started. I hit the “duplicate” button on my one and only fall ORC post. It started with an intro on how I left my company and was starting with a new one….how happy I was…..and how I felt like myself again. My goal was to focus more on the blog but life had other plans. I quickly dropped out of the fall ORC for a couple of reasons. First, the fabric I wanted for my chairs was on backorder (and just arrived a few weeks ago!) and second (and more importantly), last fall was the start of non-stop health issues for my two oldest chihuahuas as well as the next steps in our (in)fertility journey. Guess what? 5-6 months later and nothing has changed on either front but I realized that I can’t stop living so here I am.
This will be my second time as a guest participant. I participated previously and transformed my home office space.
This time around, we are working on sunroom. This room is off of our living/dining room and is our main access to the back yard. Having four dogs means we are going in and out of this room multiple times a day. With my husband being OBSESSED with his yard, that also means lots of muddy shoes coming through this space.
Below are a couple of pictures from the MLS listing. The sunroom is right off the dining area and separated by original metal MCM sliding doors.
A Mid Century purist would probably cringe at the fact that I hate these floors, but I hate them. Our house is a split level MCM style but it isn’t too “mid century’ so I do not feel bad eliminating them.
THE PLAN
COLOR: Black. Black. Black. The room was inspired by the kitchen area of The Handmaid’s Tale. While most people seem to love bright white, open, and airy spaces, I crave darkness. I find comfort and peace with moody spaces. So while it may seem counterintuitive to paint a sunroom black, I believe this will create a inviting and warm space for us to relax in. Because I value my privacy, all the windows will be covered in flowing sheer black drapery. It will still allow light to filter in but not let our neighbor peek in.
NATURE: Our sunroom has three walls of windows and is north facing. We have a fairly wooded lot so we do not get a ton of bright light but we do get enough to be a thriving place for certain types of plants. The room will have several plants introduced the space. Despite the fact it does not get a ton of direct sun, plants have historically thrived in this room. The one obstacle is watering them in the winter as that has resulted in the sudden unfortunate deaths of several plans due to freezing roots.
FLOORING: Now this is one of the most important aspects of the room due to heavy foot traffic. Two humans + four dogs + a cat who thinks planters are his bed= need durable flooring. Candidly, I do not know what the plan is for flooring. Life and time will determine what we will do. We have funds set aside for the floor but may need it for IVF medicine (thanks insurance) so we will have to wait and see.
FURNITURE: I have sourced a few pieces since the last attempt of the ORC. Two beautiful vintage Alky chairs will be transformed with the above ochre velvet fabric. Every room needs some wood and this room is no exception. A vintage desk will be welcomed into the space and will probably serve as the station for preserving and pressing flowers (my new obsession). I scored a gorgeous black marble plinth coffee table off good ole Marketplace. I still need to determine some additional seating, a rug, and minimal decor.
LIGHTING: We currently have two recessed LED lights in the room. They are bright and harsh. we never use them. I would love to covert these lights into pendants and find some type of textural pendant light (woven, rattan, etc.) Hello Leanne Ford for Target?!? We will see.
Candidly, I am winging this guys! As a last minute registration and a mind full of ideas, who knows what we will end up with. Hopefully you guys will fall along on the journey during the next 6 weeks and see what each week will bring! Be sure to go look at all the other great projects that are happening over at the ORC Blog!
