Removing clutter to let the sunroom shine
Jim Buchta, Star Tribune
The owners added this sunroom to their Eden Prairie townhouse to take advantage of the sunny outdoor space,
which also features a herringbone brick patio. With lots of windows and tile floors, this room was an ideal bonus space, but it was
being used as a catch-all for plants and outdoor furniture, and as a home for the family pooch. "With so many distractions,
the space felt more like a mudroom than a sunroom," said Lori Matzke of centerstagehome.com. "We wanted to
play up the tile floors and all those windows to extend the view and living space right out to the patio."
Here's what Matzke did earlier this year to turn this sunroom back into a bonus room:
First, Matzke cleared out all the plants and put them on the patio to enhance the outdoor space and make it feel
more inviting.
Excess furnishings were also moved to the patio to create a conversational seating area visible from the sunroom
windows, making the patio seem more like an extension of the sunroom.
The windows were cleaned to let in more natural light, and the tile floors were mopped and shined to make them feel
like a more prominent feature within the space.
A large potted plant was placed in the far corner to add a touch of green to the space.
Because the office area was blocking the entry from the family room to the sunroom, and since there was no other
available space to accommodate a home office, the desk, computer, printer and chair were arranged in the sunroom to keep the house
from feeling like it ran out of space. An upholstered club chair, also taking up too much space in the family room, was positioned in
the corner to balance out the arrangement.
The dog kennel and dismantled dog run (seen outside the windows) were removed. Downplaying the presence of animals
in a home is always desirable, as many potential buyers are turned off by the thought of lingering pet stains or odors.
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