Before and After: A DIY Redo Fills This Dreary Sunroom with Good Vibes
Name: Mary Vincunas (@oldnewspace)
Redo: Living room
Level: DIY
Natural light is a true commodity at home — but sometimes, even a room with lots of natural light still needs a little help to make the most of it. That was the case for homeowner Mary Vincunas’s sunroom in her 1950s house. “The ‘before’ of our sunroom felt like the exact opposite of how a sunroom should feel,” Mary says. “Even though the room was constantly filled with sun, it always felt like the most dreary room in the house.”
The dreariness was in large part due to textured wallpaper painted white and boring beige tile floors, neither of which did much to make the space feel welcoming. “Overall, this space felt more like a closet we would pass through rather than a sunroom to sit in and enjoy,” Mary says. And since there are windows looking from the living room into the sunroom, she adds, “I was tired of seeing the sad-looking space every single day.”
Over about a month, Mary was able to totally transform the sunroom into a space worthy of spending time. She started by peeling off the old textured wallpaper, finding old faux wood paneling beneath. “We weren’t able to just paint over it due to the condition it was in so this was our first journey in completely drywalling an entire room — quite the learning process, but we did it!” Mary says.
Once the drywall was up, she painted the walls a pale, creamy orange (Behr’s Dainty Apricot). To add more character to the boring floor, she used peel-and-stick carpet tiles arranged in a quirky checkerboard pattern.
Finally, Mary outfitted the room with furniture and accessories that fit in with the fun-loving style, including an oval ottoman and a clear acrylic coffee table. Now, the space is anything but dreary.
“I love everything about this room! It makes me feel as though I am transported when I go in there and bask in the warm sun when there is still snow out on the ground during the winter,” Mary says. “Or even throughout the summer, opening the windows and letting the breeze in, watching the surrounding curtains blow in the wind while I sip my morning coffee with our dogs.”
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