18 Sunroom Decorating Ideas for a Bright, Relaxing Space

How to Decorate a Sunroom

table with flowers by hanging chair on porch — Karin Lidbeck Brent

Consider how you plan to use your sunroom before you begin decorating the space. The room can serve as an extra living area, a light-filled dining space, or a quiet spot for relaxing. Outfit the area with sunroom furniture that suits your desired purpose, such as a table with bench seating for casual dining, or a hanging rattan chair that serves as a comfy reading nook. If you plan to use the room at night, consider mounting string lights overhead for a cozy glow.

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Cozy Sunroom Ideas

Porch with striped rug, two couches, and wooden table — Nathan Kirkman

Sunrooms offer an opportunity to extend your living and entertaining space, so make sure it's a comfortable area where you and your guests will enjoy spending time. For cozy furniture, consider a large upholstered sectional that provides several seats and facilitates conversation. Give your sunroom a more inviting feel by decorating with plush throw pillows, potted plants, and a coffee table laden with books.

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Sunroom Decorating Ideas

enclosed porch with blue textiles and white curtains — Lincoln Barbour

Here's the perfect place to play with bright colors and patterns. Start with a few simple pieces of sunroom furniture that will work with a variety of styles and color schemes. To add visual interest and texture, layer in a collection of complementary colors and patterns using upholstered cushions, pillows, area rugs, and other accents. As a benefit, if you tire of a color or pattern, having used it on a pillow, throw, or rug makes it simple to swap out.

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Sunroom Living Space

farmhouse living room unpainted wood many windows — Kritsada Panichgul

Flooded with natural light from large sliding doors and transom windows, this sunroom breaks down the barriers between inside and outside. Even so, its modern farmhouse design keeps with the rest of the home. A comfy gray sofa, leather chairs, and wood coffee table pick up on neutral colors and materials used elsewhere.

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Modern Sunroom Decor

screened in porch with high ceiling and lounging furniture — Kim Cornelison

Draw inspiration from the design style and color schemes throughout the rest of your home. For a modern sunroom, for example, choose sleek furnishings made from contemporary materials such as blond wood and painted metal. Keep the color palette constrained to neutral shades of cream, gray, and black with a few subtle pops of added color.

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Bold Sunroom Decorating

Porch with couch, chairs, salmon and white colors — Kim Cornelison

This bright and airy sunroom demonstrates a savvy mix of patterns and colors. Upholstered rattan chairs offer a counterpoint to the white slipcovered sofa, which is decorated with an eclectic mix of textured pillows. Underfoot, a geometric area rug splashes bold color across dark painted floors.

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Sunroom Entertainment Zone

enclosed sunroom with neutral walls, tv, and furniture — Lauren Krysti

If your sunroom is fully protected from the elements, you can easily include indoor-only items, such as lamps, stereos, and TVs. In fact, installing the latter two can help draw family and friends to the room at night. Here, an eclectic mix of black and white patterns in the sofa and ottomans adds visual punch to the gray walls and window treatments.

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Sunroom Dining Area

sunroom corner with white dining chairs and table — Werner Straube

Many sunrooms have multiple points of entry. If some of those are used less often, it's OK to steal space for a divided zone of activity. Here, most of the sunroom is given to living space, but a small, classical-style table and chairs offer a shady spot for outdoor dining.

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Creative Sunroom Decorating Ideas

framed artwork hung in front of unused sunroom door — John Bessler

This home's sunroom has two entries, one of which was rarely used, but it lacked wall space for either a sofa or artwork. In an inventive adaptation of windows, the homeowners co-opted one of the sunroom doors in order to hang artwork and orient the furniture. The cushion on a narrow storage bench picks up the pattern in the graphic throw.

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Built-In Sunroom Seating

turquoise sunroom corner with chests and cushions for seating — John Bessler

Typical sunroom furniture for corners is a table and a chair. But to take advantage of every square inch, particularly in smaller spaces, consider adding a built-in corner bench. Outfitted with cushions and decorative pillows, these cabinets also provide extra storage. Fabrics tie together the turquoise, yellow, and orange color scheme.

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Sunroom Layout Ideas

formal sunroom with designated living and dining zones — Greg Schiedemann

Long and fairly narrow, this sunroom could have easily become a mishmash of furniture and materials. Instead, the homeowner divided it nearly in half, creating living and dining zones in a tropical-influenced space. Dark stain and repeated use of wicker help to coordinate the furniture and textural wallpaper, while patterned pillows add pretty pops of color.

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Traditional Sunroom Ideas

large, well-lit, traditional sunroom with neutral furnishings and chandelier — Werner Straube

For more traditionally styled homes, a casual sunroom might feel out of place. Instead, it's best to continue the same sensibility in finishes and fixtures. With large banks of windows, this sunroom is awash in light. Classic furniture lines and patterns, as well as the chandelier, maintain the formal feel.

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Sunroom Design Tips

statue and wicker furniture in sunroom with view — James Yochum

Sunrooms are often oriented inward around comfortable seating areas, dining spaces, or other living arrangements. But if you have a view, you might want to rethink that convention. Take this sunroom, for example: Its furniture arrangement makes sure that the homeowners can bask in the striking, uninterrupted sightline. Simple accents, including a few pillows, a decorative rug, and a nautical-themed statue, keep distractions to a minimum.

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Colorful Sunroom Decor

modern sunroom with visible shingles and pops of teal and orange — Michael Partenio

Hardy elements, such as the slate floor and exterior shingles, seamlessly connect this interior space to the home's exterior. To add interest, the homeowners dressed up the dark wicker furniture with bright colors, including turquoise, orange, and yellow. The lively colors contrast the darker elements and help create a cozy, inviting space.

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Small Sunroom Ideas

sunroom corner with green sofa, table and ornate mirror — James Yochum

While most homeowners rely on mirrors for more practical reasons (to see their reflections), they also serve another crucial purpose, to bounce light around a room, eliminating shadows. Although sunrooms usually benefit from an abundance of light, corners, in particular, might appear dark. Here, the white color scheme keeps the sunroom bright during the day, and at night, the mirror bounces off light from the lamp to make the space appear larger and brighter. Pretty details on the mirror and console table add visual interest to this small sunroom.

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Casual Sunroom Design

open, vaulted sunroom ceiling and large corner sectional — Stacey Branford

Many sunrooms resemble finished interior rooms more than outdoor structures. This one is a nice melding of the two design impulses, with a vaulted, beamed ceiling and unfinished walls accented by homey touches, including pretty window treatments and a contemporary sectional sofa. To add practical storage, consider baskets (which also serve as decorating accents) under furniture.

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Sunroom Furniture Ideas

traditional chest and island-inspired seating in sunroom — Gordon Beall

Although most sunrooms are centered around seating, a pretty piece of furniture, such as a chest or dresser, can be a great design focal point. Here, a dramatic chest offers storage and a jumping-off point for the eclectic room arrangement. Graphic painted flooring, an Oriental rug, and island-inspired rattan seating turn this sunroom into an escape.

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Indoor-Outdoor Sunroom Furniture

wicker furniture with green cushions in indoor-outdoor porch — Richard Leo Johnson

In less temperate climates, sunrooms may be used only during warmer weather, particularly if windows are simply screened. That means you'll have to ensure that fabric, furniture, and accents can withstand any moisture, wind, or sun. The wicker furniture used here will stand up well against weather, and the graphic pattern on the sunroom's floor offers inspiration for the patterns on pillows and rug.

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