Perhaps you have an old sunroom or a storage room that just begs to be turned into a sunroom. Maybe you want to build a new sunroom, but you don’t know how to revitalize and create a sunroom within your budget. These Sunroom Ideas on a Budget will help you design a beautiful sunroom to relax or entertain guests in.
1) Kit
One way to build your new sunroom is by using a kit like this one from Amazon. This way, you can add a sunroom without an expensive contractor and remodel. It has sliding windows and netting for screens, so while it isn’t made of the higher quality mesh and glass of a typical house addition, it’ll cost much less, and you’ll get to sit inside and enjoy the sun and warmth year-round. The two sliding doors will also provide comfortable access to the yard during good weather.
2) Greenery
A sunroom is a great place to grow plants since it’s designed to have a lot of sun and warmth. Plants will also look nice in your sunroom and make the area look like an indoor garden, but they can be expensive. To get plants on a budget, try growing them from seeds or from smaller saplings. Since they’re in a warm indoor environment with plenty of sunlight, there’s a good chance that plants grown from seeds or small saplings will survive to grow and flower soon after planting.
3) DIY Twisted Plywood Pendant Lamp
One of the best ways to save money on your sunroom lighting is to make the light fixture yourself instead of spending lots of money on expensive fixtures. Pendant lamps look great on porches and in areas with rustic and outdoorsy decor, and they’re easy to make yourself. Try making your own pendant lamp using these instructions for a twisted plywood pendant lamp. In the video, Ollari’s uses scrap plywood, but you may have to buy some if you don’t have any lying around.
4) Fake Plants
If you want to have plants around to create a garden- or farm-like atmosphere, you’re probably looking at an expensive undertaking. Instead of buying real plants, get a variety of fake plants like these. The fake plants will still add color to the room and brighten the sunroom further. They’ll also make the room look like part of the outdoors without the mess of cleaning up falling leaves and spilled water, and they won’t need the maintenance that real plants require.
5) DIY Etch Windows
Suppose you love the idea of a sunny room to enjoy during all weather, but don’t like the loss of privacy that comes with being surrounded by windows. In that case, there’s an inexpensive solution that doesn’t stop light from getting into the room. Use this tutorial from The Yummy Life to etch the glass on the windows. This should block the view from outside while letting light in. You can also buy etched or tinted glass, but it’ll cost more than doing it yourself. Since this involves acidic materials, you may choose not to do it yourself, nonetheless.
6) Fake Plant Curtains
If you want a lot of greenery in your sunroom, you’ve probably found that real plants are expensive. If you opt for fake plants, you’ll find that there’s a variety of shapes, sizes, and locations available. Instead of just placing them in vases and pots, try doing something more creative like hanging these curtains that look like plants. This’ll cause the sunlight to filter through the fake plants and make a beautiful effect while adding a natural element to the sunroom.
7) DIY Dollar Tree Candle Holder
Dollar Tree projects are always great when you’re on a budget, as long as they come out looking nice when you’re done. Using this video by Beverly’s Stunning Creations, you can learn to make a candle holder for little money using items you find in a dollar store. Candles look nice on porches and front stoops, but, of course, you have to worry about rain and wind when they’re exposed to the elements. Since your sunroom is enclosed, you can put candles in windows to light up the inside and outside of your home.
8) Sofa Lounger
You’ll want some type of seating in your sunroom, and since it’s probably a place to relax and enjoy the warm sunlight as well as to entertain guests, you’ll also want a place to lie down in the sun. Instead of buying multiple furniture pieces, get an inexpensive sofa lounger like this one from Amazon that can serve either purpose. The sofa lounger folds up into a couch or down into a flat bed, so you can switch between a casual lounge and a seating room for guests.
9) DIY Beach Art
The sun and the beach go together well, and if you live near a beach, sun, sand, and seashells can be a great sunroom theme. Now, you just have to figure out how to make beach-themed decorations that fit your budget. One of the best ways to get cheap decorations is to make them, so try crafting this mermaid lantern using these instructions from NAME. Then, display them in your sunroom alongside other inexpensive or homemade beach decorations.
10) DIY Pallet Wood Decorations
Pallet wood might be the best thing for do-it-yourselfers and people on budgets. It’s a common building material, and you can get it for free, so there are many tutorials on how to build almost anything from it. Try making decorations such as this pallet wood letter using tutorial videos like this or making signs and other shaped decorations using the same method used in the video. If you have bright colored walls to catch the sunlight, paint or stain your pallet wood decoration with a dark color to provide contrast.
11) Wood Crate
Sunrooms don’t have to be rustic or farmhouse themed, but they often lend themselves to that decorating scheme. If you want a rustic, farmhouse, or beach theme, try getting wood crates like these and making them into decor and furniture. They make great shelves if you turn them sideways, and you can store fall and non-seasonal decorations in them. You can find containers like these at flea markets for very little cost, build them from pallets, or buy this one from Amazon.
12) LED Lighting
A sunroom is a bright, well-lit room. While you generally want to let sunlight in, you don’t want the room to only look nice at night. Add artificial lighting that’ll look striking and create an entirely new effect at nighttime by adding LED lights. You can use LED lights to light up the room as if it were filled with daylight, or get cheap colored LED string lights to make beautiful designs from the light. Check out this article to learn more about using LED lighting as your main lighting source to keep your sunroom bright!
13) Small Heater
A sunroom lets you feel like you’re outdoors in the winter without the cold and snow. You can sit in the room year-round and enjoy the sunlight and the view without having to brave the elements, but if it’s part of an attached porch or an old addition, your sunroom might get colder than the rest of the house. Even if it doesn’t, it can be nice to sit and enjoy the elements with something to warm your hands by and create an outdoorsy atmosphere. Try getting a cheap heater like this, if a fireplace is outside your budget.
14) Weather-Resistant Wicker
Wicker furniture is great for any room outside your normal household area. If you have a porch or patio, it looks wonderful, but it also fits well in a mudroom or sunroom. You can get weather-resistant wicker-like furniture like this for a low cost, and you don’t have to worry about the sun rotting the UV-resistant material. Since it’s generally designed for outdoors, you can even open the windows any time of year without stressing too much about damaging furniture or getting it wet.
15) DIY Bright-Colored Door
One way to change the appearance of a large area inexpensively is to paint it. The paint transforms the space more than almost anything else you can do, and it’s well worth it for the cost. If you can only afford one major change for your sunroom, it should be to paint it in bright colors that will reflect the sun coming into the room. You can even add metallic flakes or buy metallic paint. Use these instructions to help you paint the door correctly to get the effect you want.
16) Throws
Throw blankets and pillows are an inexpensive and comfortable way to outfit any sitting room, including a sunroom. One of the best things about throws is that they’re large and decorative, so they add a lot to your decor, but you can get them for only 10 dollars in many places. Try getting a throw pillow like this one from Amazon with flowers in a basket on it to make a sunny theme for your sunroom.
17) Cheap Blinds
While your sunroom’s purpose is to let in sin, of course, there’ll still be times when you want to block the sun at least somewhat, like if you’re reading a book and the glare from the sunset is getting in your eyes. Instead of investing in expensive curtains that will partially block the windows even when they’re open, get cheap blinds like these from The Home Depot. These only block the window when you want to block light, and while they’re not the most attractive, they do their job well.
18) DIY Welcome Sign
Signs are often a neat way to decorative porches and sunrooms. Since your sunroom is your portal to the outside, you might want porch-like decor, with outdoor furniture, seasonal decor, and other decorations that look good on porches and outdoors. Adding outdoor decor makes the sunroom feel more connected to nature, just like the sun coming through the windows does. Try building a porch Welcome sign for it using the instructions in this video, or paint the sign with any message you want.
19) Laminate
When you’re trying to decide what to use for flooring, you’ll want a cheap but durable choice, particularly if you plan to use the outside doors a lot. Laminate flooring is one of the cheapest choices available, so it’s a great way to stay within your budget. If you want to make it more comfortable, you can add carpets, too. Check out this article from Loudoun Valley Floors to learn about some considerations when choosing your flooring.
20) More of What You Love
Your sunroom could be a nice place for guests to hang out when you have a party or barbeque, but it should always be a place where you feel happy and at home. If you don’t have a lot of money, focus first on creating a fun experience for yourself and maybe for guests. You can get cheaper furniture like the furniture in this picture, and focus on the types of furniture you want instead of on whether the furniture and decor match. This way, you can afford to buy both a dining set and a couch, if you want to, for example.
21) DIY Glitter Jars
Your sunroom looks beautiful during the day, with bright and lovely sunlight streaming through, and you want to take advantage of that sunlight. Add bright colors or other reflective things like these glitter jars to the room. These cheap crafts will add to the effect of the sun and make the room look lovely. While apple ones like the ones Melissa Lennig describes in this tutorial will fit a fall theme well, you can make any glitter jar you like.
22) Cheap UV Protection Panels
While it’s nice to have plenty of sun in your sunroom, there’ll be times when you need to keep the sun out, such as when it’s low on the horizon, and the glare makes it hard to read, eat, or do whatever you use your sunroom for. You can get cheap UV-resistant curtains like these to keep out sunlight and block nosy neighbors’ view of your sunroom interior. Since they’re UV resistant, they’ll last a long time despite being hit by direct sunlight, and they’ll block the sun to keep your sunroom cool and dim when you want.
23) Comfort
While a sunroom is a beautiful room and you want it to look nice, the sun is most of the decoration you need. More so than expensive decorations, you need a comfortable space to bask in the sun’s warmth and enjoy the view outside. Add pillows, blankets, and cheap but comfortable seats. Pillows and blankets may not look nice, but sometimes lying on a pile of blankets like the one in this picture is the most comfortable thing to do. Better yet, it’s probably the cheapest way to make a comfy space to lounge in.
24) Baskets
Baskets are a great decoration for country and rustic porches and sunrooms, depending on the style of basket. You probably have a few baskets lying around that’d look good in your sunroom and hold flameless candles and sunroom decorations. If you don’t, you can get ones like this for a low cost on Amazon. You can also find many baskets for less than a dollar at flea markets, antique stores, and tag sales, making them a great budget decoration.
25) UV Protection Film
UV protection is important for a sunroom because you’ll be exposed to the sun a lot, and while you want to enjoy the warmth of the sun’s rays, you probably don’t want the rays harming your skin. This UV protection film is a great way to tone down the harsh sunlight that comes through your sunroom windows without defeating the purpose of having the sunroom. It also helps regulate heat, so the room doesn’t become boiling hot in summer.
How are you designing or building your budget sunroom? Did you have a favorite sunroom idea? Let us know in the comments below!
