When we first moved into our house two years ago, it needed a lot of work… and still does. There was a rickety screened in porch coming off of the back of our house that needed attention as soon as possible.
Each year we’re biting off a big project, but we tackled this project first, not because it was our first project of choice, but because it desperately needed to be done. The screened in porch had major structural issues.
Since we live in Missouri, the pollen capital of the world, we decided to make the screened porch a room that we could live in year-round. I love screened porches and it hurt my heart a little bit to glass it in, but it just wasn’t practical with my bad allergies.
The majority of the before pictures below have the previous owner’s furniture. I didn’t decorate this space when we moved because I knew it would be short lived. I just used some older patio furniture out there for a few months until we started our project.
Before 
Before
Before 
Before
After the structure was shored up, we added windows where the screens once were. I loved the terrazzo floor that was on the screened in porch, but we needed to take it up to install a heated floor. If you are converting a room from a screened in porch to a glassed in porch and live somewhere with severe climate changes, this is a must. It will take the room from a two-three season room to a room you can be in year-round. We also added in a mini-split heating/cooling system and ceiling fan to help make the room a pleasant temperature.
Now for the fun part, the design.
I selected a wood-look tile that complimented the wood floors in our kitchen and living room. Both of the rooms flow into the glassed in porch so I wanted to make sure the materials complimented each other. I was limited to tile because of the heating element in the floor. I knew I would want an area rug to make the room cozier so the installer added a second zone so the floor can be cooler where the rug is.
This room was tricky because I didn’t want it to feel like a sterile white box, yet it was important to me that the window framing just kind of disappeared so you’re focused on nature and not the paint color. I chose Snowbound from Sherwin Williams, a pure white with cool undertones. It’s important to test paint colors, especially whites, because they all have different undertones. Some paint chips that looked pure white in the store ended up looking yellow in the new room.
My favorite part of the room is the wood beams. They are dark brown to compliment the floor, make the room cozy, and give it that wow factor.
After paying for the renovation of the room, I didn’t want to spend a fortune on furniture. I also took into consideration that anything in this room would likely get bleached out by the sun overtime, so neutral furniture was a must. Not including the renovation cost, I was able to furnish and decorate this room for under $2,000.
I love the look of the Pottery Barn slipcover couches and chairs, but they were more than I wanted to spend. I found these dupes at Ikea and both couches and chairs were about $1,300, costing less than one Pottery Barn couch.
The rug came from an estate sale for $150. I love estate sale prices, but if you’re buying something cloth or fabric, make sure the item was well cared for. This rug came from a beautiful condo and was in a dining room that was hardly used. Once this rug is bleached out by the sun, I will likely replace it with something neutral unless I find another gem at a sale.
The coffee table and end tables came from a different estate sale. They were only $40 and to date one of the best deals I’ve ever found. Pro tip, estate sales usually offer 50% off on items on the last day of the sale.
Everyone likes to sit in this room, relax, and nap…especially the dog.
I hope you all enjoyed this transformation as much as I do. Reach out to me if you want more advice about how to execute a large renovation project like this. Our back patio was the next project we took on when we moved. Make sure you subscribe to 21 Lane so you don’t miss those shocking before and after photos.