The house my husband and I bought last fall wasn’t the house we were looking for. In our minds, we were thinking a home built between 1900 and 1940 with tons of character, light, and a big backyard. It didn’t take long before we realized that kind of house in the neighborhoods we liked wasn’t exactly in the budget.
We bought a 1950s house with the right balance of charm, affordability, and projects. It has some pretty outdated features (popcorn ceilings, dark wood paneling, some carpet, and a kitchen that makes us cringe) but we love it. To pieces. The updating has been slower than we thought of course. Like a lot of first-time home buyers we underestimated how long things take and how much they cost!
One of the first things we started on was the sunroom, which I referred to as “a one weekend project” (as my husband likes to remind me). Two to three tubes of caulk, three gallons of paint, and four months later, the room is finally a bright white. We haven’t started the trim because at first I thought I’d want to leave it wood. But the reason I wanted to show you guys this room today is — LOOK what was underneath the carpet! We were positive it was plywood under there, but were so thrilled to find porch floor boards. This weekend we put insulation in the crawlspace underneath and started removing the carpet.
We envisioned the room with bold black and white tiles on the floors, lots of plants, books, a couple of comfortable chairs, and a kilim rug or two. But now that we have floorboards to work with, I’m thinking a painted pattern instead of tile, just like:
(spotted in We Own The Night)
More inspiration —
Bright bold rug and lots of books, Ford Wheeler’s home on The Selby; stand-out windows, plants, and vintage furniture, Nina Shen’s home on Design Sponge; Lori Dunbar’s painted floors on Design Sponge
Vincent C. Richel’s rustic wood shelving on Remodelista; a Kilim rug on The Brick House; plants from Air Plant Supply Co on Etsy
So excited!!
