Created by: Andy and Sonja Roy, Edina.
The back story: The aging three-season porch of the Roys' 1960s home needed an overhaul.
"It was updated but that was a while ago. We moved in 2002 and it really didn't seem to have been touched at all from when it was originally done," Andy said. "One of the walls of the porch is of the siding of the house. The floor was concrete. It had the old, original windows."
How it was created: With the exception of installing the windows and the door, the couple did most of the work themselves. They replaced the walls with reclaimed wood from Rustic Revival Barnwood of Brooklyn Park, which they stained.
Andy even learned a trick in the process: He installed a brown drop cloth behind the wood. "So if there are any holes in the wood, you won't see it," he said.
Then they installed luxury vinyl flooring. "It can withstand extreme temps. With a three-season porch and how cold winters get, I had to find flooring that could handle that," Andy said.
Finishing touches: The family furnished their porch with an L-shaped couch from Hom Furniture, a footstool from Patina and what has become their favorite feature: an egg-shaped hanging chair from Wayfair. A small cabinet from Target rounded out the decor. They also installed speakers so they could listen to music at the touch of a button.
Total cost: $8,500.
"Our goal was to do the project between $5,000 and $10,000. The windows were the most expensive, that ended up being $6,000," Andy said. But "with the better windows, we can think of it as more of a four-season."
The new favorite room: Their children Noah, 20, and Sadie, 18, as well as puppy Oban, approve of the spruced-up porch, judging from the amount of time they spend in it.
"At a time when everyone was home [during the pandemic], we used to rotate using it," Andy said. "Our daughter attended her classes in it, I did work meetings, and all of us read or nap in it on weekends."
Sonja said the family appreciates how it has become an extension of inside and outside living spaces.
"Now it's our nature room that connects us to the outdoors," Sonja said. "It gets a lot of natural light. It feels a little bit like you're outside when you open all the windows."
My Favorite Room is an occasional series showcasing improved home spaces submitted by readers. If you have a favorite room, we'd love to hear about it.
Just send a few snapshots, along with a brief description of what makes your room special, to myfavoriteroom@startribune.com. We'll showcase readers' favorite rooms in upcoming issues.
