A sunroom is a designated room with many windows for ample sunlight. It may be an afterthought addition unconnected to the rest of the house’s ventilation system, or it may be included in the main footprint. If your home includes a sunroom, its purpose will be influenced both by how connected it is to the rest of the house and your family’s needs/how you spend your time. It’s otherwise a pretty flexible space with plenty of opportunities. Similarly, a study is an additional area – any type of separate room or maybe a repurposed bedroom – that could function as office, music room, classroom, art studio, yoga space, or other allocated purpose. These creative spaces may be the most fun to furnish: there are so many possibilities and you get to cater them to your specific purposes!
Having even one of these rooms in addition to the primary living space(s) is a godsend for people whose home activities extend beyond eating, sleeping and watching TV. For remote workers with kids, a separate workspace is crucial. For creatives with kids who don’t otherwise rent a studio, a separate production space is a must. Creative spaces provide us the dedicated space we need to fulfill our work, hobbies and/or passions at home. Here we’ll delve into how I furnished the sunroom and study in my own home to meet mine and my family’s needs. You’ll see how by understanding our personal and family habits and preferences, we can make the most of these versatile creative spaces.
Sunroom: Sunshine, Plants, and Play
As I mentioned above, sunrooms vary in how central they are to a home. They may be on the back end of a house with no central air or heat and accessible through a separate exterior door. Despite all the windows, they sometimes aren’t very sunny at all (trees being the culprit). I’ve seen sunrooms covered in astroturf and 70s royal blue ‘carpeting.’ These sunrooms tend to stay about as clean as you’d expect a back porch to be. What you do with your sunroom therefore depends on whether it feels more like a porch or an interior living room.
Regardless of design preferences, if your sunroom has no method of heating and cooling and you live in a climate with temperatures that fluctuate significantly, you’ll probably limit sunroom furnishings and activities to those that aren’t too temperature-sensitive. You may not want a home office set up there without a way to keep computer equipment cool. And it won’t serve well as a practice space if you can’t protect your instrument from the cold. But most plants will still thrive, and blankets can make it a comfortable place to meditate, read, or study. Dressed appropriately for the temperature, children can enjoy the spot as a special playroom.
Other sunrooms function as creative spaces that are more central to a home, being part of an open floor plan and more of an extension off the back of the house without interior walls separating it from the rest of the living space. These are, naturally, heated and cooled in the same method as the rest of the house and basically function as another room, albeit one with extra windows. These sunrooms can serve the same purposes as a living room or, if separated by an interior door, even an office or bedroom.
Former Sunroom: One of My Favourite Creative Spaces
At our old house, our sunroom was an addition that former owners added decades ago and which therefore had no central heat or air. It had baseboard heating for winter and a ceiling fan for summer (these worked out just fine). When we first bought the house, we had a lot of much-needed work done, and the sunroom was one such project.
The room was originally accessible through an interior door in one of the bedrooms (I would have chosen a different egress…) and had the lovely 70s blue carpeting mentioned above, as well as 70s wood paneling. We had the walls painted a cheerful yellow and removed the carpet to install white tile, but what really opened the space was replacing the single door and opening the wall to install double glass-paneled French doors. This exposed the sunroom more to the rest of the house (via said bedroom) so it didn’t feel like a sequestered-off space, with the doors still allowing some semblance of privacy as needed. The only problem was it made that bedroom a cut-through to the back door, which happened to lead outside from the sunroom (again, I would have made different design decisions, but there we were).
Positional inconvenience aside, that sunroom had such a happy, vibrant vibe. It housed the majority of our plants (naturally – there was so much light!) and with a colourful area rug, it was a bright and inviting space. So when we bought this house, we wanted to impart that same old-house sunroom vibe to the creative spaces here, even though the new sunroom itself ended up serving a different purpose.
Current Sunroom
The sunroom at our old house was where I did my work, learning, and any creative projects. It was also where my son would paint, where I had Zoom meetings, and where I occasionally practiced yoga. Here at our new house, we gained an extra room that serves all of those purposes: the study. Since the study is a distinct room that you actually enter through our sunroom and can be closed off with French doors, it serves all of the same purposes as the sunroom at our old house. Because the sunroom here is actually a more open space that’s connected to the kitchen (without a door) and to the back living room (with double French doors left permanently open) and is therefore easily within sight and earshot when from either of those other rooms, I decided its best use is a playroom.
The sunroom is the brightest room in the house. With two walls of floor-to-ceiling windows, it’s pleasant and cheerful. I furnished it with the same colourful rug from the sunroom at our old house, as well as many plants and our white loveseat. There are a few small end tables as well as our heirloom rocking chair. With several of the boys’ books, their Pikler triangle, mini trampoline, and toy box, it’s a happy and playful space. Its primary purpose, besides boys jumping/climbing/playing, is to sit on the loveseat and read them stories. It’s a tradition carried over from our old house where, in the front living room (also their main play area), my sons and I would sip a protein shake or smoothie in front of the loveseat next to the window and read their favourite books. Except here we sit on the loveseat to do the same.
Design and Tradition Continuity from Former Creative Spaces
I intentionally placed our white loveseat in the sunroom/playroom precisely for our story-time tradition, since it is the sunniest and most cheerful-looking room in the house. My oldest has sadly grown out of protein-shake-story-time but my toddler still insists on the same book we’ve read hundreds of times at the old house (my older son’s former favourite) every time he hears the Nutribullet in the morning. It’s adorable how adamantly he holds to traditions, even as a toddler. Those traditions and familiar comforts are the very aspects I wanted to carry over from our new house to continue here as seamlessly as possible. I’ve intentionally applied such continuity in design choices when decorating the boys’ bedrooms upstairs, and the sunroom/playroom is an example of how my family’s lifestyle/preferences influenced how I’ve furnished this house and its creative spaces.
It was important to my husband and me to recreate as much of our old house in our new house as possible. It was a special home that we miss dearly and I’ve designed our home here in much the same style for that reason. Since our front living room at the old house had fantastic afternoon light and that perfect reading nook by the loveseat, I wanted to recreate that nook in a similarly well-lit spot. Although we can’t sprawl as easily on the loveseat as on the carpet at our old house, the sunroom is a better location with its ample light. The rug in our back living room here is very comfortable for cosy reading, but it hasn’t half the sunroom’s light. And since the sunroom fluidly connects to the back living room and kitchen as an extension of our central living area, it’s the perfect playroom.
Study
Even though my study isn’t a common area where we hang out as a family, I include it here because it’s adjacent to the sunroom and not necessarily a closed-off space. The rooms are two distinct yet joint creative spaces. I like that its glass-paneled French doors open as a sort of extension of the sunroom, with plenty of windows as well. Most of our plants are in the sunroom and study, so the two rooms feel very connected. However, the study is ‘my space’ in that it’s where I work, pursue creative projects, and spend time meditating, so the French doors do help to section it off as needed. Still, I invite the boys in to colour, paint, or just hang out any time company isn’t distracting. I like having others in here during those times, and I like that the space serves multiple purposes in that way.
Study Layout and Design
A study can be any versatile room in your house. My study’s an extension that the previous owners added onto this house’s original structure. The upstairs bedroom above (my husband’s office) was the other half of that addition. They’re both very spacious rooms – too much so, in fact, for our stuff/space ratio. While I wish my study had an extra south-facing window, the existing windows let in good light which is why it has so many plants. With the plants, our small coffee-turned-craft table, and my desk and chair, the space mimics the sunroom at our old house, and naturally so since everything I did in the sunroom there, I now do in the study here.
The study formerly served as the previous owner’s office, with a large built-in desk and ample storage in shelves, cabinets and a closet. The storage is amazing but I work at my own smaller desk since it faces the windows/backyard (the built-in desk faces a wall). The built-in desk was useful when measuring large swaths of peel-and-stick wallpaper (I also covered its surface with blue peel-and-stick wallpaper) and would be perfect for a sewing machine and bolts of fabric. For now, it serves as an altar with a couple of table lamps to light up the corners, many seashells, and meaningful keepsakes. Always furnish creative spaces with beautiful and meaningful things that inspire you.
While the study’s grand, I wish it was carpeted because the wood floor does not invite lounging (despite a thin area rug and smaller corner rug). This matters because we’re a family that loves to lounge on the floor to relax or play with the boys. But visually I’ve made the space inviting. The plants are pleasant, and I’ve displayed artwork and decorative items around the built-in shelves and desks.
Furnishings to Relax and Inspire in Creative Spaces
As I mentioned, even though the study is primarily where I work, I want it to also be an inviting space where other family members or friends can hang out on occasion with a comfortable spot to relax. It’s also where any of us pursue creative projects, so I’ve positioned a coffee table against the south wall where my sons sit on my footstool to colour or paint. Above this spot hang a seashell bird decoy I pieced together years ago at the old house, some of my artwork, and other happy, colourful collages. There’s a smaller cloth ‘beanbag’ filled with old blankets as another spot to sit there.
For relaxation, there’s a mini corner table over the small rug near the French doors with a small table lamp on top and another cloth ‘beanbag’ sack filled with old pillows for lounging. It’s visually an inviting spot, but it could really use a cushier rug and about five more pillows to be more comfortable. Small steps!
My desk and chair are the focal point of the study since they aren’t positioned against a wall but are freestanding in front of the windows with a row of large leafy plants in between. My view while working is a relaxing scene of these plants as well as the rhododendron bush just outside the window. This desk placement was intentional! What we passively see in our peripheral vision indirectly impacts our sense of well-being (which is also why clutter is a problem).
Storage for Décor, Supplies, and Everything In Between
I’ve mentioned that I love how much storage there is in this house. The reason storage matters is because it holds everything that, if left out in plain sight, would be a visual eyesore. Clutter, for instance, can include things we simply don’t need, but it can also include plenty of things that we do need and which we do use, but which aren’t in a properly designated place. Storage provides the solution by giving things an organized location.
Ideally, storage allows us to retrieve items that we use frequently with ease and efficiency but which we’d like tucked ‘just out of sight’. We don’t want to have to rummage through an entire closet and move other things aside just to access something we regularly need. But things we use only occasionally can go in more remote spots. That’s where intentional organization comes into play, especially in creative spaces where you want to inspire ideas and creative flow.
At our old house, I had to juggle with every closet because storage was so slim. I spent way too much time navigating storage organization. The easier you can store something and then quickly access it again, the less time you waste trying to retrieve it. The study closet is a storage dream. I can finally access holiday decorations with ease. It’s huge and perfect for not only bins of holiday décor but vases, gift supplies, power adaptors, trays of scrap paper, small containers, strings, and clothing scraps (which all, in fact, regularly come in handy!). These things were stuffed in multiple closets at our old house. Now they’re all in one logical spot! With space to spare! Plus, the cabinets and drawers in the built-in desk hold even more candles, office supplies, notebooks, and documents – in one convenient location.
Storage is Well Worth the Initial Effort and Strategy
This storage solution didn’t come without an effort, though. Like every closet, cabinet, and surface in this house, both the closet and all of the shelves and cabinets were filthy. I spent an incredible amount of time cleaning all storage surrounding the built-in desk. And like most of the other closets, the many rubber-coated wire shelves were grimy and required hours of vigorous scrubbing. The walls were so stained with all kinds of marks that I covered them in pretty pink peel-and-stick wallpaper. That also took a really long time. But it was worth it. Beautifying every section in creative spaces – even storage – is worth it!
The study closet is now a pink oasis with old artwork pinned on the walls and even a triangle of extra blue wallpaper I stuck on the ceiling (how they got a nine-foot ceiling in a closet that dirty, I have no idea). Not only that, but the closet contents – my guitar, decorations, creative supplies – make me happy to see because they remind me of things I love to do (adorn and create).
Yes, even closets can be happy spaces! In fact, I think it’s extra important to make them so. I put so much effort and energy into every closet in this house (at the very least, in cleaning them) that I actually enjoy being in them, especially the ones where I applied peel-and-stick wallpaper. And if you’re likewise stuck with closets full of that cheap rubber-coated wire shelving that’s so painstaking to clean, get some shelf liner. I’ve covered all our closet shelves in clear, white, or blue shelf liner so they don’t accumulate any more dust. I’ve also used some foam puzzle mat pieces. Flat surfaces are so much easier to clean. In a pinch, any hard flat surface will do.
Sunroom and Study: Creative Spaces for Hangouts, Hobbies, and More
When you have additional spaces in your home, you’ll naturally use them for whatever you do with your time. Sometimes we immediately know what we’re going to do with a space and furnish it accordingly, as I did (I also put plenty of thought into it in advance). Other times, it doesn’t become apparent until weeks or months later when something changes or you realize a better use for any given room. Whatever the case, sunrooms and studies are perfect places for honing in on the specific things you and your family like to do with the time you spend at home when you aren’t sleeping or eating. You can think of them as extensions of your primary living space, or you can designate them as creative spaces for specific purposes as I’ve done. There are options, and that’s the fun part!