We’re back to share phase two of our big sunroom makeover with you guys. After painting the dark daybed white and bringing in our old guest room dresser and mirror for the first phase (which we affectionately refer to as our work-with-what-you-have phase) it was time to add two things to accentuate what we already had going on in the room. Paint and curtain rods. Let’s delve into the paint category first. See, we had been dying to paint the sunroom ceiling an inviting aqua color for a while, especially since it’s a tradition in the south to have a light blue ceiling on your porch (and we figured we’d enjoy the color even more in the sunroom). Here’s what we started with – a ceiling that was the same tan tone as the walls in the sunroom since the day we moved in:
When we’re selecting a paint color, the first step for us is always to tape a few swatches on that plane (in this case the ceiling) so we can look at them in different lighting situations. After staring at them a few mornings, noons, and nights in a row we decided that Tide Pools by Behr was the one we liked best (it was semi bright but not too heavy and there’s no way it would be mistaken for white no matter what the light was like in there). So we grabbed a gallon of it in exterior satin semi-gloss paint (since the sunroom is an indoor/outdoor room that isn’t heated or cooled and we wanted a glossy pool-like effect).
I was actually on baby duty so John did this whole project on his own. All it took was some Frog Tape around the perimeter of the room to keep the wall color from bleeding onto the molding along with a small stepstool, a paint brush (for the edges), and a roller. Note: using a rod extender can ease the strain on your back but John must have been feeling unstoppable so he opted to rely on his long limbs instead.
Here’s the room after two coats of luscious semi-gloss paint (again, we used Tide Pools by Behr). We love the sheen and the pop of color. And the room looks sooooo much bigger and airier since it literally feels like we removed the ceiling and are now looking up at the big blue sky.
Oh and our tip for a nice crisp perimeter would be to remove your painters tape as soon as you finish your last coat of paint (if you used any- I prefer to edge with a brush but since John went it alone he didn’t trust his hands so he taped things off). Removing the tape right away ensures that nothing dries and pulls when you remove the tape, therefore resulting in a cleaner edge. And don’t forget to firmly press your tape down as you apply it since paint can easily bleed and seep if you don’t have a nice tight seal.
But now it’s on to the curtain update that we tackled. This is one of those why-the-heck-did-we-wait-so-long things. Look how crisp and polished they look:
A while back (waaaay back) we mentioned that John had McGuyvered the curtains (Vivan by Ikea by the way) into each corner with some twine and a few nails (scroll up to the first picture in this post to see how they appeared to float in place). But we knew hanging dark streamlined rods around the room would not only add some handsome hardware and tie into the deep color of the door frames, but they would also bring in a ton of function (for example, we can now pull the curtains along the rods, which comes in handy for diffusing light when we’re doing things like shooting Clara’s weekly photo).
All it took were some simple curtain rods from Ikea (these, but we didn’t put the finials on, so they have a much cleaner look). Of course they weren’t long enough for the 20′ length of the room, so we just mounted two of them right next to each other so they’d meet in the middle of the wall to create the look of one continuous rod.
And as for how we made the corners feel uninterrupted, we simply mounted two rods so that they could be extended a bit past the bracket to touch each other and mimic the shape of the corner.
Once we extended them so they touched and pulled the curtain panels along with them, it created a totally seamless corner curtain panel (here you see two curtain panels hanging, one on each rod):
Oh and one last thing on the agenda was to hem those Vivan panels from Ikea, since they were all waaaay too long and sloppy looking on the bottom. See? Messy.
We prefer not to use Ikea’s hem tape (the curtains come with some that’s webbed) so instead we spend a few bucks at Michael’s for the iron on hem tape that we love – which is called Heavy Duty Heat N’ Bond. It’s important first to wash all of your curtains and dry them so you know how much they’ll shrink up (quite a bit usually- be sure to follow the washing and drying instructions). Then hang them on the rod and note what length you’d like to hem them. We like when ours aren’t hugely pooled but they’re not hemmed right above the floor either (so they graze the ground for a nice breezy and casual effect).
So there you have phase two of our three phase sunroom mini-makeover. The greatest thing about our transformation is that so far we’ve only spent around $20 on ceiling paint and $40 on four extra long curtain rods from Ikea since everything else was stuff that we already had lying around.
Of course we still have phase three up ahead, which is definitely going to be the most major change in the room so stay tuned. We can’t wait to spill those beans…
And speaking of phases, are there any mulit-phase projects that you’ve taken on or that you have on your to-do list? Sometimes breaking things down into nice bite-sized portions is a lot easier and less stressful. Do tell!
Psst- Don’t forget to check out our post over on BabyCenter today. We finally figured out the alphabet magnet situation for the magnetic wall that we created for Clara in the office/guest bedroom/playroom. Check it out here!
julie says
Love it!!! When are you coming to my house?
Amy Wolff says
LOVE IT…
thanks for all the ideas and tips.. Can’t wait till I am on maternity leave to get my sunroom completed.
Cait @ Hernando House says
The ceiling and curtains look great you two!
We break most of our projects into phases, for budget, time and stress reasons. Most recently we started tackling our living room, which is still very much a work in progress: http://hernandohouse.wordpress.com/2010/08/24/living-room-remix/
eriol78 says
I was starting to wonder when you ‘re going to lay your hands on the sun room.
I don’t anymore ;)
gemma@thesweetestdigs says
Love the blue ceiling. I can tell from the photos that the room feels much bigger and lighter. Lovely!
Looking forward to “phase 3″…
Amanda@The Hand Me Down House says
WOW you guys! I can’t believe how much painting the ceiling has changed your sunroom! I’ve never tried painting a ceiling — but after seeing so many of your successful endeavors with it — I’m thinking I need to follow your lead! Those curtains are wonderful, too!
I used to take on a WHOLE project — I mean the entire thing — I never broke it into phases. But I’ve learned it’s definitely easier, keeps my house cleaner, and less stressful on my pocketbook to break it into a few different parts. :)
Lynn van Slyke says
Tide pools is what I painted my master bathroom in Virginia =)
Looks great as always!! It amazes me that you always find ways to improve what already looks wonderful.
Christin says
Really great. Love it. :)
Hey – and on a separate note, I saw your bedroom on a Nest article posted through MSN.com: http://lifestyle.msn.com/your-home/room-design/staticslideshowtkt.aspx?cp-documentid=25323684>1=320679#
So cool!
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks so much for the link Christin! We’re so excited!
xo,
s
Carolyn H. says
The blue ceiling looks great. I know in the past you’ve used low-VOC or no-VOC paint. Is the Behr paint you used one of those paints?
We painted our house with Behr paints. Sometimes I wonder if we should have chosen another brand that would be better for us.
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Carolyn,
Since the sunroom is an outdoor room (not heated or cooled) we had to use exterior paint to ensure that it wouldn’t flake or crack when the temperature gets to high or too low. And that stuff is definitely not no-VOC. The good news is that since that room has three walls of sliding doors (and is closed off from the rest of the house with an exterior door which we kept shut) we were able to open all of the sliding doors to get a nice strong breeze moving across the room and we put the ceiling fan on high to keep things as ventilated as possible. Not only did the paint dry in record time, about a day later there wasn’t a trace of smell anymore! We definitely wouldn’t suggest using Behr exterior paint indoors, but their regular indoor latex paint is actually low-VOC these days (at least last time we checked) so you chose a great brand for your home (Behr is actually one of our favorites!). Hope it helps!
xo,
s
amy pottenger says
Did the same thing in my sunroom- love the ceiling. And I also love that you do your house in “phases”– nice to know I’m not the only one! Love your blog.
Kari says
So, as a person with lots of textured ceilings, I’m completely jealous. I’d love to paint a ceiling or two in my abode, but I’m 100% against scraping all of the popcorn off.
I never really noticed the lack of curtain rods, but I will say that I love the way it looks with them!! I didn’t imagine that this room could get even better, but then again anything you two do one-ups the before!
Rachel says
Your palette and the simple changes you’ve made are very inspiring. The living room in our new house is already painted tan so I think I’ll take a cue from you guys and bring in some pops of aqua. I love the way the colors look together in your sunroom!
amelia says
love it! blue ceiling is amazing…don’t know how you selected the perfect blue out of all those paint chips you had taped up, but great job!
out of curiosity…you mention that your sunroom is not heated – what do you do with it in the winter? do pack some stuff up? do you leave it as is (with some seasonal decor changes of course)? do you use the room in the winter at all???
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Amelia,
In the winter the room looks exactly the same (the daybeds, bedding, etc all stays out there) but we don’t use the room except as a pass through from the back patio into the house. Another room for a sunroom here in Richmond is a three-season room, so you can enjoy it from spring through fall and count down the days until the following spring when you can go back out there and relax!
xo,
s
Katie says
I LOVE the magnets you decided on for Clara’s wall! I was hoping you went with something other than the boring white magnets! ;-) You made an awesome choice!
I love the color for the ceiling that you chose, too. You guys rule!
Amanda says
I was wondering what you were going to possibly do to the sunroom room to make it look any better than it already did…..WOW!!!! It is amazing!!!! Great job you two!
susanne says
We just painted the cover over our front entry blue….We love it. It does feel like the sky…!
Tracy says
BAMBOO ME!
Note writing? Not so much–no time!
Dana says
Love the haint bue!
Bethany says
Love the ceiling and total project. Where are the chairs from that are with the table? Ikea? They would be perfect in our kitchen. Thanks for sharing!
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Bethany,
We actually got those chairs from eBay (they were a natural wood color but we painted them white to match the table we built). Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Liz says
Your sunroom is beautiful! I especially love the curtain rods. I’m an architect and I love clean simple lines. You two do great work and I’m always inspired by your blog. Keep up the good work and I look forward to what you guys come up with next…
bria says
mmmm, looks so serene! I WANT TO GO TO THERE!
working on a 3 season room makeover of my own, but I just can’t quite get it right! I’ll keep trying though and thanks for the inspiration as always!
Heather says
I’ve been checking in on your blog consistantly for the past year. You two are adorable and incredibly talented! Good job on the drapery! I’m a interior designer specializing in custom drapery in Chicago. I’ve done Ikea for my own place and it’s amazing what can be done if you know what you’re doing.
Jess says
So… your sunroom’s turquiose-y blue ceiling has convinced me to paint my kitchen’s ceiling NOT-white. (I’m thinking something less bright & more grey-toned, but still a blue-green.)
Anyway, I ended up perusing one my fave blog’s photo-gallery of turquoise ceilings & FOUND Y’ALLs NURSERY ON THERE!!! Ha!
http://www.houseofturquoise.com/search?updated-max=2010-07-21T09%3A20%3A00-05%3A00&max-results=10&reverse-paginate=true
(Scroll half-way down the page & you’ll find the pic four photos down from a Canadian House & Home living room with what looks to be the EXACT same color scheme.)
Thanks for sharing & I can’t wait for Phase 3.
YoungHouseLove says
No way! We looooove House Of Turquoise! Thanks so much for the link!
xo,
s
Nichole@40daysof says
Love the ceiling! It really brightens the room up. Here is progress on my multi-stage project:
http://40daysof.wordpress.com/2010/08/31/green-i-mean-pink-bathroom-progress/
Quinn says
Love the ceiling! I’ve heard that the reason porch ceilings are painted blue is because wasps think it’s the sky and won’t create nests.
Michelle @ Ten June says
Looks great! We’ve been doing a few porch updates lately and actually painted our porch ceiling blue a few months ago! On my blog post about the porch update, I linked to an NPR article which details a little bit of the history behind why Southerners paint their porch ceilings blue! Kind of interesting, so check it out! :)
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5645263
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Michelle,
So interesting! Thanks for sharing!
xo,
s
Tiffany S. says
A million thanks, as usual, for all the inspiration! We are thinking of putting our Seattle house on the market so we ripped the carpet off the stairs. Though they’re now kinda loud, we have the option of painting all of them, just painting the treads and staining the risers, or recarpeting the whole staircase. (I’m voting for B and giving buyers credit to recarpet the upstairs since there’s no way I’m going to be able to clear it to totally re-carpet unless we’re actually moved out.) Thanks for allowing all of us to be inspired by possibilities!
YoungHouseLove says
Ooh that sounds fun! Send us before and after pics if you can!
xo,
s
Laura says
Love the changes! I am a fan of Behr’s Tide Pools as well (I used it in my living room which you featured in a Reader Redesign last year). I am in the process of updating my sunporch as well–will send pics when it’s done.
Danielle says
sunroom looks amazing!!! love the ceiling – can’t wait to see the other changes you make.
i just bought some of those ikea curtains for my house so thanks for the tips on washing and hemming them – great timing!
Cheryl says
Love the choice of colors! We don’t have a sunroom but we have a patio and hung some canvas Pottery Barn outdoor curtains this summer — to block out horrendous sun in the afternoon and to give us some privacy that hugs us when we eat out there.
Problem: the wind blows these curtains all over the place. I secure them with velcro straps during the day and we mounted a hook on each side to further secure them. But when we have them down, they blow too much. Any ideas on how to weight them down so they won’t catch the breeze? The hem is machine-sewed really tight. I thought about putting baggies of sand in ziplocks and sewing those into the hem but that’s a huge project and may not work–they would slide all over the place in that hem for one thing. Then, I thought about, somehow, sewing heavy metal magnet-circles into the hem but that doesn’t seem practical either.
Has anyone had this problem with wind and outdoor curtains? any solutions that worked to share?
Meanwhile, we keep the curtains secured and to the side, never use them, because it’s impossible to sit out there with curtains flapping around you!
YoungHouseLove says
Maybe you can try using coins to weigh them down? With velcro or crazy glue on the inside of the bottom seam so they’re not visible? Good luck!
xo,
s
K Harris says
I have heavy duty canvas tarps we use for curtains on our outdoor living space. I put a 1/8 wire cable threw the bottom grommets and connected it to the wall on both sides and the middle. Works great however you must have good brackets holding the rods.
Jen says
Aww! LOVE the painted ceiling! Looks SO great with the other pops of blue in that room along with the other rooms around your home!
xoxo!
Jen
OwningSingle says
I love what you’ve done! Love the curtain idea. I am currently in a phased project which is my kitchen. First phase is to paint my cabinets a dark chocolate color. Phases are the way to go especially if you’re on a budget.
Amanda says
Holy Schnikes! The gloss is perfecto. It’s like a watery pool of sky up there. Great color choice too! I could totally spend every single afternoon in there.
Laura (Blogging Over Thyme) says
Wow! You guys are constantly doing so many projects, I’m always so impressed. I’m guessing the BIG update is either new windows (?) or a new floor–I can’t find anything else in the room that offers a hint!
Is the brush you use for painting edges in your Amazon shop? Thanks!
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Laura,
Here’s a post on our favorite trim brush (we couldn’t find it on amazon to add it to our shop). Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Sara says
Impressive!! My mom & dad were always doing major (new staircases & moving beams in the basement) & minor (painting) diy’s while I was growing up. It rubbed off on me. Clara is another lucky girl, even if she does not always enjoy stepping around missing sections of the livingroom floor (or maybe that was just me).
GreenInOC says
One tip I have for painting your ceilings is to REMOVE all ceiling fixtures.
It’s more work and a pain but if you change the current ceiling fixture either because it breaks or you are tired of it, it’s going to be a pain to repaint. After a couple of years, the paint probably isn’t going to match.
Why my strong sentiment? When I painted my house, 6 years ago, I told my house painter to remove all ceiling fixtures, outlet covers, move the refrigerator and stove, etc… I thought he did do those things and I was happy and I paid him.
Recently I had a ceiling fixture replaced that goes over my staircase on a cathedral ceiling (read: must hire professional who will charge you more because of the danger). Low and behold when he took the old fixture down, hiding underneath was the OLD paint!!
Double ARGH!!!!!
marianne says
YAY! I was one of the ones that recommeded those letters. Love Etsy!
Kara from Kara's Korner says
LOVE this!!! We’re actually tackling our pool deck area right now, and have been looking at blue ceiling colors as well. My hubs is a little on the fence about it, but I’m sure after he sees how amazing it looks in your sun room, he’ll be right on board! I’m loving the flow-e-ness (yep, I make up my own words a lot) of the curtains. Great job guys!
heather s. says
Huh. I lived in GA for eight years and no one painted their porch ceilings blue. I prefer the old color since the blue, to me, chops up the room a bit. However, I do love the new curtain rods.
Mary Ann @ frosted gingerbread says
This post came at the perfect time. We’re in the process of painting our bathroom and my husband keeps asking about painting the ceiling — how to get the edges nice and crisp. We both always thought you leave the tape on until it’s completely dried and cured, and now we know better. Thanks!
leah says
I love love love the ceiling! Who would have thought how much it would change the overall look of the room. So impressed.
Yulia says
Love the update! I just wanted to mention that Ikea sells curved corner connector pieces for rods. I’m not sure if they come in all colors, but I have them in the silver and they work great!
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks so much for the tip Yulia! It’ll definitely come in handy for some folks on the lookout for them!
xo,
s
Mike says
Working in phases? YES! We bought our first house 5 months ago and in the midst of planning a wedding we made over 11 rooms at the same time. Our phases are based on need… like we need curtains because the sun wakes us up, or painting the cupboards because we need to put our food somewhere but painting the doors later because we can live without them for a month. Haha. We’re 90% done with each room though and excited for some “afters”. So far we’ve been calling everything “Before and During.” Thanks for showing us your “durings” – it inspires us to keep going :)
Mike
Sarah K says
I have to admit, I totally doubted you guys when I read that you were painting the ceiling blue. My parents taught me that ceilings should ALWAYS be white. BUT your sunroom looks GORGEOUS!! I love it. Thanks for the inspiration.
Handy Man, Crafty Woman says
Love the blue ceiling! We did that on our outdoor porch on our old house.
People ask us how we have the time to complete all the home renovations we do (we’re on our 3rd house, renovated each from top to bottom.) Even before we had our son, we both worked, so we would do small pieces here and there as we had time. Paint a ceiling, or even a wall, or just build one thing per day (Hubby is handy). We would work for 30 minutes or even an hour or two. We did some marathon 8-10 hour sessions on weekends once in a while, but a lot of our work has been just a little at a time. Less overwhelming that way.
Amanda @ Our Humble A{Bowe}d says
I am currently painting the inside of our pantry a similar color blue. Just need to finish one or two more coats…
http://ourhumbleabowed.wordpress.com/2010/06/18/things-i-love-about-our-house/
robyn says
Bethany, the chairs (or identical ones) can be found at Target. The regular price is 2 for $69 but sometimes they’re on sale for $10 off. The white ones that Target makes scuff very easily. We got the wood colored ones.
A photo is here:
http://therobynnest.wordpress.com/2010/08/08/the-breakfast-nook/
Suzie @ cupcake monkey says
This room is so beautiful! I picture having a huge cup of coffee out there and just staring at the trees!…hope that isn’t creepy! :)
My husband swore he would NEVER paint another ceiling after we painted our living room. He cursed his way through it, though. Great job, guys!…as usual! :P
QS says
For Cheryl:
Not sure if these would be heavy enough, but you could try picnic tablecloth weights. They clip on the bottom so no sewing. They come in all kinds of designs. HTH
AbraCat says
Wow, that really looks fantastic! The aqua looks amazing surounded by all the greenery outside; I’d love to see an updated picture when the trees are bare.