A room made of glass might not sound like the place to take design risks, but sun rooms defy expectations at every turn. Originally constructed in Medieval Italy to incubate botanical specimens collected by adventuring explorers, sun rooms have since transformed into dreamy wintertime hideaways catering to the more reptilian-blooded among us. While the sun naturally plays a pivotal role in curating a sun room’s overall mood, paying mind to decor can take a sunroom to the next level. Here, we spotlight five stunning sun rooms and decode what truly makes them shine!
Wicker Wonder
A sunroom is a wonderful place for white wicker, as illustrated by designer Paul Corrie. Unlike traditional interior rooms where you might be inclined to cap your wicker obsession at one or two pieces, a sun room gives you license to go all in with an over-the-top set. Variation among your wicker furniture is key to making your sun room feel designed rather than phoned-in. Upon closer inspection, you might notice the wicker pieces that Paul assembled all bear different wicker weaves and details. His trick? He’s unified them all with a cost-effective coat of white paint.
A Place in the Sun
Sun rooms sometimes get a grandmotherly rap. As the Miami-based Bunsa Studio proves, however, they don’t have to. Playing off an exposed rock wall that could skew old-world Cotswold with a different treatment, the studio pandered more to a Mid-Century Modern aesthetic. Bamboo furniture feels befitting for the casual air of a sun room, while cushions crafted from a banana leaf fabric and a Richard Shultz petal table makes a subtle nod to the flora traditionally housed in sun rooms. A widely-spaced furniture layout ups the kick-back vibes of the space, as does minimal accessories.
Outside Job
The question of whether to use indoor furniture or outdoor furniture in a sun room us is a big one, but as the firm James Thomas Interiors shows, there’s room for both! For a classically grand sunroom, the firm selected an outdoor rattan sofa to partner with a modernist wingback chair. A black finish on the rattan sofa makes it feel more indoor appropriate, while an upholstered octagonal ottoman ups the easygoing aura. Elsewhere, repeated pops of pale robin’s egg blue — perhaps most notably on the ceiling! — further blurs the distinctions between indoors and out.
Verdant Verve
Riffing off the sun room’s alter ego — the green house — Jayne Design Studio created an escapist sun room that marries functionality with whimsicality. Forest green walls set the backdrop for a trio of full-sized potted trees housed in prolific pots. The mature trees lend the space a surrealist edge and serve as a befitting partner for a collection of arresting post-war art. Consider this prankish-meets-polished room a reminder that the sun room is an extremely suitable place to take eschew the rule book.
Solarium Sophistication
Forget the Sun King, if there was ever a Sun Room Queen, Bunny Williams is it. Design legend Bunny Williams has outfitted no shortage of sunrooms over the years. Her sophisticated solariums, including the one above, provide an easy-to-follow rubric that can be replicated with relative ease. To get the look, opt for a formal sitting arrangement and a plethora of wicker or rattan furniture. Topiaries, some hoisted on plant stands, are a Bunny mainstay. Use them in excess and watch a magical eden unfold.
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Lead image design by Bunny Williams Inc. / Photo by Fritz von der Schulenberg
