A Fresh New Sunroom

Hope everyone is enjoying this beautiful weather we've been having. It's been fun running into neighbors we haven't seen since October and seeing their faces when they realize they're going to be getting a new neighbor soon :)

This post is a little delayed but we were able to pull the Sunroom remodel off in a little over a week, thanks to my wonderful, handy and patient husband! We had to patch several cracks, paint the walls, paint new trim, build some furniture and do a little shopping (my favorite part) but we made it just in time for the wonderful baby shower that Marcy and my mom threw for us at the house.

This would be the second remodel for this room, the first coming after the ceiling fell a few years ago. We used to live in this room before we redid the kitchen and main room because it was our family / TV room. Since we placed the TV over the fireplace, the room has been a bit neglected and Tequila staked his claim. Here's a quick peek at what it used to look like after the first remodel:

Brian relaxing after building our bench seating

A view from the other side

We even added a table

We wanted to turn the room into a duel purpose room - an office and a new playroom for Baby Girl Schorr. Baby toys/gear take up so much room so they needed a space dedicated for play.

The first thing we needed to tackle was the cracks in the wall. The sunroom used to be the original porch that they walled in and true to form, cut some corners and so the room settles differently than the rest of the house and is a little (or a lot) uneven in several areas. There was a huge crack that ran floor to ceiling and several near the windows that have come through over time. Brian grabbed the mud and started filling in the holes and sanding.

It really looked like a lot once the mud was up

A view of the other side with our new door

Once the mud was sanded and redone several times, it was time to paint. Since we were on a super tight deadline we started working on our next project before the paint began drying - the desk. There is a space between the old sliding doors and the old outside door that is an odd size and it was hard finding a desk to fit in the space, so we decided to build one.

We found plans on Ana White's site and cut the measurements down to fit the space. She makes it so easy to follow, we cut all of the pieces of wood down and then started tacking them together. It was freezing outside during this part so we did everything in our packed garage and I only got a few pictures once we moved everything inside to put together:

A view of the frame before adding the top

We flipped it over to attach the top

Then I started staining the desk while Brian put the last coat of paint on the walls upstairs and started attaching the new base boards. One suggestion for those staining furniture...be patient and wait to do it when it's nice out or when you can open up windows/doors to air out the house. Since I have had such horrible congestion this entire pregnancy, I couldn't smell the fumes at all until Brian came down almost choking and I realized I had burned my nostrils and the back of my throat. Whoops...that wasn't a fun couple of days.

While I was downstairs in all the fumes, Brian was able to get the upstairs in better shape. He cleaned up the windows and cut the baseboards to fit with the help of his new miter saw (his Christmas present). It was snowing outside so all of our projects were messy indoor ones, but we got through it.

New wall color and baseboards

The work zone - pretty nice saw, isn't it

We chose to go with Benjamin Moore's Goin' to the Chapel. We thought it would be a little more gray than it turned out, but we are still happy with it. The paint definitely lightens up the room a lot. After some clean up and some more caulk and paint, we had a blank slate to start with:

So much cleaner

We finally have trim around the door!

Instead of putting the window benches back up we decided to add a day bed that we found at IKEA. It is dual purpose, providing us a comfortable piece of furniture to lay around and read books with Baby Girl and it's an extra place for guests to stay as it pulls out to a queen size bed. Anyone that has ever bought anything at IKEA will know that the directions are not always as easy to follow, but we got it done and set up!

The boys enjoying their labors

Then it was time to add a little color with a comforter set we found at Home Goods. I don't think people quite realize my addiction to home goods, but it's pretty serious...and I definitely found my Home Goods Happy :)

A perfect place to relax

Tequila has already claimed his space

Once the stain dried on the table, we added poly and it was time to move the desk up to the room. We plied my little brother with Old Chicago to come help us move everything in and got everything set up.

A perfect fit, and an added touch with a new chair - Home Goods gets me

Another look

Then we added a small bookshelf to keep all of the Manus books in one space...we didn't have time to build one, so it was IKEA to the rescue.

New IKEA bookshelf

Then it was time to add the finishing touches...which couldn't have happened without another trip to Home Goods to find the perfect lamp for the space. (Another addiction - I love lamp!)

That's a good lookin' lamp

Another view of the desk

Added the bouncer and the Baby Girl's new swing

One last look at the room

We are pretty pleased with the turn out and we are already using the room a lot more than before. The best news - we got it all done just in time for the baby shower. I cannot say enough how lucky we are to have such amazing and wonderful people in our lives. It was so good to see everyone and show off all the changes we made to the house since our engagement party. Baby Girl was definitely spoiled and now has several sassy outfits and fun toys to choose from! A huge thank you to everyone that came and we can't wait for you all to meet Baby Girl!

And can we talk about the cookies...if you ever need cookies for a party or event, you need to call Icings by Ang. She is awesome and took pictures from our nursery and created these works of art:

Seriously awesome cookies - and they taste as good as they look!

I didn't get a chance to take many pictures because we were having too much fun so I am borrowing some from our hostesses!

The hostesses with the mostest(es)

I love these ladies!

We still have some finishing touches to add to Baby Girl's room so once they are complete we will share more pictures. For now we plan on taking it a little easy so we can start getting ready for Baby Girl's arrival. The countdown is on!

XOXO,

Sara, Brian, Tequila and Baby Girl Schorr

Baby Girl Schorr Update: We are 32 weeks and at our last ultrasound on Monday she was weighing in at 4.7 oz, right on schedule. She is rebelling against the theory that she should be sleeping 90-95% of the time like the books/websites say. Instead she likes to kick, punch, roll, wiggle and dance all day and all night. We will definitely be looking into gymnastics and karate when she gets older. Sleep is rare right now because we are especially active at night and have flipped upside down so that her head is sitting where it shouldn't be...hopefully she'll roll back around soon. She likes to punch or kick at Dad and Tequila when they are close and gets really excited when we share pineapple sorbet. We have about 8 more weeks to go and time is flying fast! Looking forward to meeting Baby Girl!