Sunroom progress

Before I show you the sunroom…..

Quick personal update:

I’ve been kinda slow to blog much. But I’m still truckin.

I just finished a 13 week Griefshare class. That was really good for me -- entirely exhausting. But then that’s just grief -- so not the course’s fault. But that’s had me kinda just introspective and quiet.

Because we switched churches, I’m joining more groups and classes, I’m making more friends, doing more stuff on occasion. That’s been refreshing.

Besides that I’ve been picking out stuff for the kids' school year next year. First year officially teaching two kids. Kinda excited. Kinda scared. (That toddler quotient, that ups the ante a bit….eek.) 

But yeah that took up a lot of time and energy, and I’m still not sure I’m done. But I know where I’m leaning. Choices are so nice, and yet so draining. I like to really look into things, so it get’s kinda crazy.

I’ve also been sewing lately. Hemming things. Jeans, linen pants, bedsheets! (My kids beds have no more box springs, so sheets look sloppy and droopy, on the lowered height. I just hemmed them yesterday and... wow I feel SO accomplished because the room looks so much more put together. (By the way I need to show you the girl’s room. It got a makeover.)

I’m also attempting some thrift store clothes altering (Our weather has been crazy. The other day in April it was in the 80s. So I ran and got a bunch of  “I’m too hot” clothes. Only to have it go back into the 50s so that I’m back in my winter sweaters this week. But that’s ok, because it gives me time to work on my projects.)…I’m hoping I get a summer jumpsuit out of the mix -- but time will tell if I succeed. I don’t know what I’m doing, I just have my fingers crossed.

So far I’ve hemmed dorky shorts into what I think are not-dorky-shorts. However I may be crazy. I don’t know. But I’ve always hated shorts -- I got them bunchy-legs -- I can’t keep trendy shorts from wedging up my legs. So I’m trying “vintage” shorts look this year and seeing what happens. $3 wasted if it doesn’t work for me. Or if I get laughed out of the neighborhood. ;) I don’t think I will be seducing Blake with them -- he’s politely quite about them. ha. (If I’m brave I’ll show you. If you’re kind you’ll pretend they are hot.)

I’ve been reading like crazy. I have more books than makes me feel sane from the library. I have grab-5-books-from-around-the-one-I-wanted disease. I can’t read everything I think I should. But I am trying.

I’m also trying to get back to working out. This month is the month. I’ve let stuff slide too long. But now I’ve gotten through griefshare, I’ve got more stuff in the house settled. It’s time. I miss feeling as fit as I did last summer. This is close to when I started last year -- so it’s kinda like a total do-over, only with less to lose. I put a bit back on, so there’s a bit to lose. But nothing major, I just miss feeling so vital and just good-feeling physically. I gotta get back on the train.

I also have to fix my brain about it. If anyone wants to comment about this -- PLEASE DO. But I have this really backwards struggle….I think that when I get fit, I’m mean to people. I have a hard time separating people’s personal emotional response to it, from my own responsibility. Like when I lost weight last year, if anyone acted jealous, backhanded, or insecure around me, I felt like I was personally mean to that person -- just by walking into the room (thinner.) I’m working on it. I keep being told I am not responsible for other people’s emotions, only my own. (Because I’m SO not flaunting anything, or doing this for anyone other than me.) But this is a major uphill mental battle for me. So feel free to share any thoughts you may have -- I’m needing all the help I can get. It’s honestly a major part of why I put a few pounds back on, this stupid mental game. 

ANYWAY…Now onto the sunroom.

I’m not expecting to impress with these quicky iphone photos, but here’s a glimpse of our sunroom progress.

I picked a color! It’s called "Olive Grey.” 

And the nice thing about moving at the pace of a turtle in this space is, I literally got to see this color’s paint chip play with each season’s light. So I know I like this color in the sun, rain, fog, snow…you name it. I like that in the winter it feels warmer and in the summer it feels cooler. The room isn’t air conditioned, and we don’t normally heat it with it’s electric heaters. So having a color add the right mental temperature to the space is really helpful.

Here you can see it butted up against the white primer. White was perfectly acceptable, and to some, likely preferable. But for me, the white was too strong in here. It called attention to itself. And I wanted this space to feel like it almost didn’t exist -- like I was outside, inside. I wanted the walls to disappear, not  get attention. And for me, this color is it! The bees knees, the cat’s meow. I’m thrilled with it.

Its a magic color, sometimes I still think the walls are white (when I’m not seeing the still white wall.) But other times it’s green, other times it’s tan, other times it grey. The green varies in depths and darkness. It plays wonderfully with the brick, the white-almond-bleh of the electric heaters, the kinda yellow-khaki of the shades this room came with….and most importantly the trees and grass and nature outside these windows.

No one could convince me this color is bad. (If you don’t like it, that’s fine. But I will love it regardless.)

So here’s the deal with the white wall -- we are making sure we have the roof sealed enough before I paint it, and before the ceiling goes on. 

 I’ve change my mind about the ceiling, and now I want to copy this technique I saw done by Lowe’s Spring Challenge Bloggers.

Only of course mine will be angled with the vaulted-ness.

Via

Only I want to paint mine the wall color like these two spaces have done.

Via

via

I can’t imagine the white ceiling working for my outdoors-inside schemes. Especially with the vault coming down -- it calls a lot of attention to the ceiling then.

But I would like to get a fan similar to this one below. Simple, dark-tone. But will need a light source.

via

Ok so let’s talk furniture.

 I did not attempt to make these couches look photo ready. They are freshly kid pounced, but they do smooth out and fluff up. (And my side table is style by my crew as well.)

I got this couch and love seat off craigslist for $100 total, for both. They are very comfortable. And to be honest... I don’t hate the color. My goal is to sew them a neutral “pottery barn” like cover. But I’m not mad at them, so I won’t rush. 

Off to the side, stacked up messy, I have my patio chairs still waiting for paint. I wound up choosing a soft black. I think it’s going to be very chic. 

And you can see that I have moved my chinoiserie chairs and their table out here. I wanted a table out here for games or summer dinners. And I decieded this was the table’s proper home. And I choose something else for the kitchen. (There’s actually a very long story about my table hunting, and rehunting, and rehunting, that I will save for another day.)

But I really like it out here. It’s a great spot for it.

I still need to choose a new door. This one is the really bad-seal one. (I wanted to paint it olive grey too -- but decided to save my paint for the real thing.) I can’t decide on a style for here. Same thing? Or instead, a window floor to ceiling? (Panes/no panes?)  Zero window -- solid door? (Panels, one panel, flat?) What does this room ask for? I wish I could hear it speaking better.

 

I will also see the outside of the door from my family room. So I’d like it to fit the whole house vibe.

Wow -- our smoker’s gorgeous! Ignore that and the bag of…sand? Just look at the door  over the patio step.

You guys have any thoughts on the door? Comment away. I’m stumped. But it’s gotta happen.

Anyway --

Here’s a pano. (it makes the room bigger than it really is -- but it is a big room.) I’m so excited for when this whole room is done -- soft green and quite, or loud with rain.  It’s going to be so beautiful. I think it’s going to be my favorite room of the house.