This is a long post because there’s so much to share. I’ve just completed the biggest, most expensive, most rewarding project to date at Perkins Place.
The old Florida room was in sad, sad shape. The over 50-year-old jalousie windows wouldn’t shut anymore, and the screens had big holes in them that gave lizards and other little critters free access to the room. The globes on the ceiling light were broken – not that the fixture was all that pretty to begin with. The door leading out to the yard was rotting. The room was utterly unusable.
It had potential, though. It’s one of the biggest rooms in the house. The carpet is relatively new and in good shape. One of the walls and the ceiling are made from beautiful, knotty pine, tongue and groove paneling. It was a space well worth reclaiming.
The windows were too far gone to be repaired, so I bit the bullet and hired WindowWall of Tampa to replace them. I’d planned on buying plain, simple sash windows, but the salesman had a better idea. He convinced me that, given the lake view, sliding windows would be the best thing for this room.
The new windows required a lead time of several weeks. While I awaited their arrival, I painted the room a deep, rich blue. I chose a coastal theme and took as many ideas as I could from Pinterest and from decorating magazines.
Next, I took down the nasty old light fixture and replaced it with a leaf patterned ceiling fan similar to this one.
I also painted an old entertainment center and a small side table that came with the house. Then, I sat back to wait for the windows to arrive.
To my great surprise, the windows came several weeks earlier than promised and they were installed in one day. I spent the next several days completing the room that I’d been envisioning for a long time.
I’d intended to remove the door leading to the outside and replace it with a half wall and a window, but that wasn’t going to be logistically or economically feasible. Knowing that the couch would be blocking the bottom half of the door, I opted to hide the top of the new door with a window blind that matched the windows on either side of it, and that’s worked out fairly well. Given that I had to cover nine windows and a door on a tight budget, I opted for inexpensive blinds from Lowes. They went up quick and easy.
Next it was time to drag the furniture into place. Last year I’d bought a sleeper sofa from Ikea, and we pulled it into the room, placing it opposite the newly painted entertainment center. Then, I added these inexpensive tables and chairs from Amazon.
I topped things off with odds and ends of coastal themed décor and some family pictures.
After sitting in the room for a couple of days, it became apparent that we needed some table lamps, and I found these absolute gems on Amazon. Each one hosts two USB ports.
I’ve spent way more money than I planned to on this room but it’s worth every penny. Reclaiming this room makes the house feel twice as big as it once did.
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