The new room

My husband had this aunt who had a party room behind her garage. It was a big rec room with a lot of windows and space. Perfect for card parties with all of her friends. She furnished it with this vintage 1970s whiskey barrel furniture. Yeah. Come to think of it, it was probably brand new when she put it in. And my husband made a point of commenting on the sheer awesomeness of the furniture every time he visited her.

Now, this aunt of his didn't have any kids, so when she died she left things to her nieces and nephews. She specifically designated certain items for certain people. My husband...he got the rec-room furniture.

For five years since inheriting these treasures, they've been in storage in my uncle's basement. And then my uncle decided to sell his house. It was time to do something.

In the meantime, we've been feeling a little cramped in this house...particularly in the winter when we can't escape outside. There are lots of kids here every day, and we needed more space. So we made a decision. It was time to convert our beloved screened-in-porch to an all-seasons sunroom. We loved our porch, but it was impossible to use it for anything during the cold or REALLY hot months of the year.

So we took this:

and turned it into this:

We have an infrared heater to keep the space warm, and the windows slide open to re-create our screened-room feel whenever the weather is nice. And the furniture all fits in there.

That would be a couch, bar and table, all with chairs and whatnot.

Great table for dining, card playing, game night, etc.

Olivia is obsessed with bunny ears right now. Can you tell? That's the main house through the door behind her.

Yes, that WOULD be dogs playing poker. And yes, my husband did receive this with the rest of the furniture. It's been in storage all these years, too, because there is no other setting in our house where this would fit. Truly.

We also have a "bar" sign made of the top of a whiskey barrel that is meant to hang on the wall. I'll have to put that picture in a post once we get it up. It is truly one of those things you have to see to believe.

The space looks better than I would have imagined, and it is quite useful. It is the one place where I can escape now when all the kids are napping and have a phone conversation. I can go out there to read and leave the door open and see the kids playing in the living room. And it's the one place in the whole house where we can actually see the school bus coming before it is at our door.

I think we are gonna get a lot of use out of this room.