Wanted: homeowners seeking distinctive room to act as semi-outdoor dining area and cocktail lounge. Must have view of stunning backyard filled with flowers; in-ground swimming pool optional, but preferred.
In a perfect world, you'd need only do something as simple as placing a personal ad to attain the ultimate indoor-outdoor space of your dreams. But luckily for us, the vision has already been realized in this sun porch at the back of decorator Barbara Grace's Sudbury, Ontario, home, and she's willing to share her ideas. The room, built 14 years ago to capitalize on our finite warm-weather days, finds Barbara and her husband, Bryan, squeezing every possible second they can from the space. "We begin using the porch mid-April and stay until late October," she says laughingly. "We start here in the mornings with coffee and croissants, and end in the evenings with a last cup of tea, looking out at the stars."
The Graces' self-contained porch is an extension of the sunroom at the back of their home, and overlooks their spacious 100' by 70' backyard. Screens cover the floor-to-ceiling windows, but thanks to the near-constant sunlight streaming in, the effect is very much alfresco.
In accordance with the decorating scheme throughout the couple's home (see "Flying Colours," featured in the April 2007 issue of Canadian Home & Country), Barbara began by painting the cedar-walled room in shades of white. Then she and Bryan started adding their particular brand of ‘uptown country' to the space, one project at a time. Cabinets made from recycled wood, latticework placed along the bottom screens, the door (with gorgeous detail) that Bryan fashioned himself, all found a place here. "Our goal was to put as much texture and interest as we could out here. We wanted it to seem as if it was almost a separate cottage unit."
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