When the days are short, it can be hard to avoid the winter blues—unless you have a cozy sunroom. One of Pinterest’s biggest home trends of last year, this space is meant to emphasize comfort and make natural lighting the focal point, providing you with an at-home getaway to curl up with a book or host a low-key hangout.
“This trend is gaining popularity because it offers a more inviting experience for guests,” says Lucy Harrison, a senior interior designer with SouthPark Interiors in Charlotte, North Carolina. “In the past, home trends have been more geared to the way the room might look instead of how it might feel. At the end of the day, you want to create a space that is practical, welcoming, and comfortable.”
Pinterest searches for “cozy sunroom” were up 930% in 2024, demonstrating just how much people want to create this coveted room for themselves. If you’re one of them, read on for expert tips to channel the trend in your home—actual sunroom not required.
- Lucy Harrison is a senior interior designer with SouthPark Interiors in Charlotte, North Carolina.
- Niki O’Brien is the operations manager at Custom Exteriors, a roofing and exteriors renovation company, based in Denver, Colorado.
- Josh Rudin is the owner of ASAP Restoration in Phoenix, Arizona.
- Sara McDaniel is the owner of Simply Southern Cottage, based in Louisiana.
3 Necessary Elements of a Cozy Sunroom
Whether you already have a traditional four-season room (what you likely picture when you hear the word “sunroom”), an enclosed patio space, or a living area with big windows, all you really need to get the cozy sunroom feel is a room that gets a good amount of natural lighting.
“The cozy sunroom trend is defined by using comfortable seating, a neutral color palette, and incorporating natural elements and textures,” Harrison says.
Here are most important elements to keep in mind when styling your sunroom for maximum comfortability all year long.
Robert Peterson
1. Playing Up Natural Light
When it comes to creating a cozy sunroom (even if it’s not technically a sunroom), it’s all about natural light. Bring in as much as you can by swapping out your curtains, changing up your window treatments, or even adding French doors.
“The addition of the windows and skylights floods the space with natural light,” O’Brien says. “Lighting is a necessity in the evening. However, I think the enjoyment of a sunroom comes at times like sunrise, sunset, or just soaking up the rays and enjoying the view outside.”
Harrison recommends opening your drapery to let the light flood in during the day, or going for something more sheer rather than blackout curtains. And if you want to maximize cozy lighting for other times of day, consider accent lights.
“The best kind of lighting would be natural lighting or accent lighting, which will help create a dreamy and cozy mood,” she says. “Accent lighting helps highlight art or certain design features, or even beloved decor.”
2. Emphasizing Natural Colors and Finishes
When designing a cozy sunroom, O’Brien says her clients tend to prefer natural elements: earth tones, natural stone accents, and wood floors and tables. “In our area, that style is common, and it really helps bring the outdoors inside and creates a relaxing space.”
According to Rudin, the same goes for customers of ASAP Restoration in Arizona—they want to bring the outdoors inside. “Lately our customers are asking for more woods in their sunrooms—and that can mean wood floors, window frames, faux wooden beams or slats, and even shiplap walls made from distressed and whitewashed wood,” he says. “Bamboo is popular for this room in every application, and it’s no surprise since it gives a very [peaceful] feeling that’s hard to replicate with other materials.”
With these types of flooring in place, the next step is to choose paint colors that play off of those natural materials. According to Rudin, you can go bold with a red palette or keep it more neutral with blues, grays, and beige tones that play up natural light and offer a relaxed feeling.
Not a huge fan of color? No worries. “White remains one of the most popular options even for sunrooms, though it’s usually accompanied by trim options that offer some textural and tonal flexibility—like blues or natural wood,” Rudin says.
Emily Followill
3. Choosing the Right Decor
In the sunrooms he’s seen, Rudin says minimalism is key when curating a comfy, natural feeling and look. They’re also ideal for experimenting with textiles you might not otherwise feature in your home, such as wicker.
“You can have a cozy sunroom with flat paint, tame textiles, and minimalist decor, or you can get a different kind of tranquility—but an equally satisfying cozy feeling—out of cream paint tones, bamboo furniture, and flowing wavy drapes,” he says.
As you may have guessed, coziness takes priority when choosing rugs: Being able to walk around barefoot enhances the space by making it feel like a true getaway. Harrison suggests natural options, like jute or sisal.
You can also bring in these materials with curtains. Although it may seem like something to avoid in a sunroom, adding this element serves a purpose, according to Rudin. You won’t always want light pouring in, and a light linen or cotton drape allows you to diffuse it (without totally blocking it out).
And with so much natural light, these rooms are ideal for holding lots of live plants to soak up the sun and bring those outdoor elements inside. Just make sure to bring in those that can handle direct sunlight. As Rudin says: “Nothing ruins tranquility and cozy feeling spaces faster than dead foliage.”
Once you have these elements in place, feel free to add personal touches to the space to make it your own.
What to Avoid When Designing Your Cozy Sunroom
When designing and decorating, it’s just as important to consider what not to do. In a space like a cozy sunroom, that’s intended to serve as a relaxing place to disconnect, avoid putting your televisions or computers here. Instead, opt for books and record players as both entertainment and decor.
“Technology in this space should be avoided to allow for an environment that flows only with nature,” McDaniel says. “A bookshelf filled to the brim is a relaxing element, especially for the avid reader.”
McDaniel also recommends removing window treatments all together. “An easy way to mimic a sunroom space is to have a room in your home with no window treatments—allow the sun and nature to shine in the space,” she says.
Faking a Sunroom When You Don’t Have One
Don’t have a sunroom? Don’t sweat it. There are a few ways to imitate the look and feel of a cozy sunroom, even if your home doesn’t have a space that fits the typical definition. And you can do it on a budget.
“While they seem relaxing and wonderful, adding [a sunroom] is a significant expense and requires extensive work with contractors, city inspectors, and more,” O’Brien says.
Instead of adding an entirely new room to your home, consider adding windows and skylights to a room that has lots of exterior walls. You’re able to create that same sanctuary-type space at a fraction of the cost. O’Brien says she often sees this addition in low-use rooms, like formal living or eating spaces, turning a “rarely-used space a favorite location,” she says.
And if a renovation of any scale isn’t in your budget, try to get creative.
“Find the room with the most natural light or the room in the house that gives off the best vibe,” Harrison says. “Some budget-friendly ideas to transform your space could be peel-and-stick wallpaper, hanging light and airy linen drapery, and finding old pieces of furniture and giving them new life with some new paint or new fabric.”
If you need to enhance the lighting in that room, Rudin suggests mimicking natural lighting throughout various points in the day.
“Opt for smart bulbs that can change color with your mood or with the time of year you’re trying to make the light replicate,” he says. “Yellow tones can simulate the morning, while blue represents the middle of the day, and orange can make the space feel like that golden hour right before sunset.”
