Brian tackled getting the walls back into shape with some scraping, priming, and painting. When we were planning Liam's nursery, I was originally going to go with a nautical theme, but ultimately decided against that. So I figured I would use those few accessories to jazz up the sun room a bit, so those decorations were already in there.
This year, I felt like there needed to be more color and more function to the room. I grabbed these two pillows from Target, and the life preserver thing with the mirror in it (what's the real word for those?) was leftover from Liam's original nursery idea. The shells I found at TJ Maxx. I also have a new area rug for the middle (the blue one was left by the previous owners) but I haven't put it out yet.
| ahhh...color!! |
| ahhh....fresh coat of paint! |
| ahh...makes me want to go to the beach now! |
I always struggled with the other half of the room; we come in and out of the sunroom a lot (it leads out to our patio and backyard) so we are always kicking off shoes, and I have to have a place to store citronella candles, sunscreen, bug spray, etc... Of course, without a designated place to put those things, they just end up all over the room.
Solution?? Garbage picking! A few weeks ago, I was driving home after getting the kids from daycare and I spotted 2 wooden fruit crates out with our neighbor's trash pile. At the time, I had no idea what I would do with them, but thanks to things like HGTV and Pinterest, I seem to have a compulsive need to upcycle various items (including trash). I had both of the kids in the car, and each crate had a huge roll of carpeting stuck in it, so I called Brian and we had this conversation:
Me: Hey, what's your comfort level with stopping on your way home to pick something out of our neighbor's trash?
Brian: *silence* Oh, this is a serious question? I'm going to go with a zero.
Me: What? Why? There are these awesome wooden crates, they're in great shape! (of course, I had no idea if this was true, but I went out on a limb to make a better argument)
Brian: So let me get this straight...you want me to stop on my way home from work while in my suit and go garbage picking at our neighbor's house in broad daylight?
Me: Well, if that makes you uncomfortable, you could always change clothes and go back out in the dark.
Brian: So I should creep around our neighbor's house in the dark? Even creepier. I'll make you a deal, you walk down there, introduce yourself and ask if it's ok, then I'll stop and get them for you.
*HAPPY DANCE!*
So, I did just that. What better way to meet new people than by asking them if your husband can pick up their garbage? Turns out, it was a very sweet older lady, who was "ticked to death" (her exact words!) that I was going to take them. She was putting her house on the market and had to clean out and get rid of a lot of stuff. I was able to call Brian back and sell the whole task as a good deed.
So, back to the sunroom. I decided they could live there AND be functional!
The 2 baskets were awesome bargains from Gabriel Brothers last summer. The one on the left has sunscreen, bug spray, hats, Gracie's leash and towel to wipe her feet. The one on the left has citronella candles. Our shoes now have a home on the bottom shelf, and the upper shelf is for the blanket that I keep in that room to spread out on the lawn when Liam plays out there. I already had the sailboat, and the sign says "All You Need is Love and Sunshine", which was a pinterest find.
On the window sill are 2 glass bottles with cork tops. I went to a nautical themed shower a few weeks ago and those were the favors, so my mom gave me hers to use in the room...I filled them up with sand from the kids sand table and viola! (Thanks Aunt Jodie & Kristin, for the favors---I'm putting them to good use!) The picture on the wall is one of Jake at the beach the last time we went, and I picked up the frame from Gabriel Brothers.
So, there you have it! A fresh coat of paint and a few new accessories, and the room is now inviting and provides some storage solutions.
No comments:
Post a Comment