I hate my sun porch.
I've made this completely apparent in a previous post where I asked you all what I should do to correct this issue. In an effort to freshen up the space as one of my new year resolutions, I forced this room into an unfortunate state of purgatory. Gone went the floral curtains and stained sisal rug...
...but the purchase of a new rug and blinds just didn't feel right.
I know you shouldn't judge a room when it's in the middle of an overhaul, but I couldn't help but feel like I had made a huge mistake (or two) with the new purchases. And because of that, I've forced my family to live with this hodge podge of new and old while I sat paralyzed with design fear. (Okay, I guess I can also say we've been working on a ton of other things too.)
I really don't think they mind the space as is. Mel especially loves this room to take long naps in the sun, and Lulu uses it as her perch to monitor the squirrel situation out back.
But it's been driving me crazy, and this weekend I decided enough was enough.
Alex was making a trip to our local hardware store, and I innocently asked him to bring home a few paint chips. He looked up, horrified at my request, knowing that the 20 or so strips I've already pocketed were met with distain once home, and he fought with me.
I think he said "What? No! Seriously? No! I don't know what to get. How I am going to...no. What do you...no. No, I don't want to. No." You see, he has this odd perception that every time I ask him to pick something up at the store, and I don't give him absolute and explicit instructions as to the specific items to bring home, he gets an earful from me. I don't know where this idea came from, but it's obviously completely unfounded...obviously. Despite his trepidation, he indulged me and came home with five Benjamin Moore paint chips in the "grayish tan" realm of colors I had requested.
I immediately laid the strips out on the sun porch rug in an effort to choose a color that would complement the new addition to the space.
Perhaps it was the name alone, but I quickly landed on a winner. Our kitchen and sun porch will soon become a hue aptly named London Fog. My hope is that every time I look at the walls, the color will remind me of one of my favorite cities in the world and of our wonderful Olympic trip last week. Hey, even Lulu approves.
Here's a closer look at London Fog, with Lulu showing it off a la Vanna White.
So this week we'll be transforming the space with paint, and my hope is that this important first step will bring me closer to falling back in love with this area of our home.
So where do we go from here? Thanks to everyone who left a comment on my raving post about how I ruined the sun porch. I'm inspired by all the great suggestions you all provided, and have come up with the following plan:
- Hang light curtains in the sun porch to soften up the space
- Donate the old wicker love seat and replace it with two chairs
- Center the asian table between the two chairs so it will serve as a place to drink a cup of coffee with the newspaper, or a spot to enjoy a glass of wine while talking to the person or people cooking in the kitchen
- Trim the bamboo blinds so we can mount them inside the window frames
We're also leaning toward making a surface for the wine fridge, and building some storage to go underneath it so it will serve as a buffet/wine bar. The storage is key since this is the door we primarily use to go in and out of the house. This rooms needs to have a designated place for shoes and dog paraphernalia.
What are your thoughts? Are we on the right track? Or are we veering even further from the finish line? We look forward to seeing how the color looks on the walls, and sharing the after photos with you. Stay tuned!