Cottage Style Sunroom Reveal

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I am finally sharing our DIY cottage style sunroom reveal on the blog and I am so happy with the way this space came together!

To watch the entire video click here.

I have long anticipated our cottage style sunroom reveal and I’m so excited to be sharing it with you all today! If you have been following along on Instagram, you may have seen sneak peeks in my stories over the last month or so. This project was so much work, but it came together much faster than I ever imagined it would. 

This post contains affiliate links. For my full disclosure, click here.

When we moved into this home, the sunroom was one of my favorite rooms. I had dreamt of having French doors in my home even as a little girl flipping through JC Penney catalogs, clipping pictures out and gluing them to a piece of construction paper labeled “my dream home.” 

It might seem silly, but when I look at those doors I think about that little girl and all her dreams. How God was watching all along, and how much He cares about the little details.

But the beautiful French doors weren’t the only reason I loved our sunroom. I loved the way the room filled with light in the afternoon, and how I could see all the way up and down our street through all the windows. 

It was a beautiful space, but it was very awkward. With windows on every wall, furniture placement was difficult and no matter what I tried out there, nothing ever felt right. 

Back in April I shared all my plans for the sunroom, and if you watched the YouTube video you saw how we insulated the walls to make it more cozy in the wintertime. 

Just last week I shared about my new desk built-in and how we transformed an unused bench into a wonderful office space. As I type this blog post I’m sitting at that very desk! It’s been such a blessing for me! 🙂 

Today I want to focus on the other side of the room – the DIY window bench and why I love it so much in this space. 

DIY Sunroom Window Bench

After insulating this room last month, the first thing we did was cover the walls with bead board. It was a pretty simple project, and we actually had so much bead board left over from our entryway makeover that we only had to buy one sheet! I was so happy about that. 🙂 

Bead board instantly adds so much character to any room, and if you’re interested I have an entire blog post on how to install it, here! 

The next thing my husband wanted to tackle were the built-in shelves on either side of the window bench. He decided to use 3/4 inch hardwood and cut all of his pieces beforehand with his table saw. 

He used his Brad nailer to attach the sides and shelves and put it in place to make sure it fit okay. I knew I wanted the built-ins to be unique and really look as if they were original to the home, so I asked if he could add an arch to the top of each shelf. 

This is so funny, but I happened to have a very large, oval shaped platter that we used as our guide for the arch, haha! We are so fancy over here lol!! We laid the platter right on the wood and traced it with a pencil. Then my husband used his jig saw to cut out the arch. So simple!

I wanted the backs of the shelves to have an accent color, so I chose to paint that area with Stone Hearth by Benjamin Moore, the same color I used on my desk. We then painted the shelves before installing them so that we wouldn’t have to tape off the wall. 

After the shelves were in place, my husband went to work on the bench. He constructed it using 2×4’s and made sure to work around the cold air return. He then wrapped the entire bench with bead board just like he did on the walls, and trimmed it out with some lattice for a paneled look. 

We used quarter round molding along the floor to match the home’s original baseboards, and we decided to use cove molding for the ceilings. You may have noticed that the shelves look thicker than what they did when my husband first built them, and that’s because he nailed 1×2’s to all the outside edges. 

He also added a 1×3 to the tops of the shelves before wrapping the cove molding around them, and I love how it makes the shelves look as if they have crown molding! 

In order to gain even more storage space, Mike made sure to hinge the top portion of the bench seat, which I LOVE! Now I finally have a space for all my blog equipment which has been so wonderful! 

The brass wall sconces were the final touch, and I love how simple yet impactful they are. They were intended to be hardwired, but my handy husband just wired them to some lamp cords that plug in and have a switch. Luckily for us there is an outlet inside the bench, so he just drilled some holes in the inside corners of the shelves and fed the wire down. I love how cozy they make this room feel in the evenings when the lamps are on! 🙂

I have to admit something though..I spray painted the shades with fabric paint! They were a little too off white for my taste, but some bright white paint did the trick. You can’t even tell, can you? Hehe.

Decorating our Cottage Style Sunroom

There are a few other changes in this space that I have to mention, the first being our new Roman shades from Select Blinds. I am in LOVE with these gorgeous shades and I cannot believe the difference they made in this space! 

We decided to go with the Designer Ultimate Woven Wood Shades in Fiji Honey, and I love the warmth and texture they add to this space. They pop so beautifully against the white bead board, and the Roman shade style is just so timeless. 

The best part about these shades? They are CORDLESS! No scary cords to worry about my little boys playing with anymore!! You can easily pull them down and pop them right back up, be sure to watch the video linked above for more details! 🙂

The final change we made in the sunroom was the rug. This lovely, blue green rug from Well Woven honestly looks vintage. I love how it’s partially faded to look antique, and the small fringe detail on the end is just perfect.

This is the Prospect Global Vintage Persian Oriental Rug and it’s a beautiful blend of blue, green and cream. You can use code PINE15 for 15 percent off your purchase of $75 or more through June 3rd! 

This cottage style sunroom turned out more beautiful than I ever imagined it would. I kept the decor pretty simple, and simply shopped my home to fill the new shelves. It’s a little odd using my own artwork for decor, but it makes me smile to see something that will forever remind me of this strange time. As we near the end of this quarantine, it’s almost bittersweet. What a special time this has been for our family. 

We gather in this space so much more now, everyone sits on the bench to watch the sun set in the evenings and listen to Mommy (try to) play piano. I am so thankful for my amazing husband and how he makes all my crazy dreams a reality. 

So? What do you think of our cottage style sunroom?? I hope you love it as much as we do! Let me know in the comments below!

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