For designing your space on a tight budget, nothing beats the thrill of finding used items at thrift stores, flea markets, and garage sales and giving them new life! To get you started on your upcycling journey, here are four DIY sunroom decorating ideas that are fast and fun to create.

Upcycled Decorating Ideas

1. Outdoor bistro table

Start with an old metal bistro table that's seen better days. Clean it with dish soap and warm water, and if needed, scrape off any loose paint or rust. Pick up a can or two of spray paint in your favorite color, and on a clear day without wind, lay the table on a tarp or painter's plastic and spray away! Remember to shake the can vigorously before using it and continue to move it as you spray so there's no excess paint build-up in any one spot. Don't forget to get all the angles – top, bottom, legs, etc. Use a second coat if you think it needs it. Once it's dry, it can become the centerpiece of your sunroom breakfast nook or a nice spot to enjoy your afternoon snack.

2. Simple dining chairs

Flea markets are the perfect place to find older, wooden dining chairs. To keep the project simple, choose chairs with wooden seats and backs. Wicker is a bit harder to work with, and caning takes an experienced craftsperson to fix. If the chairs are still in great shape, then your job is easy – just clean them and buy (or if you're super crafty, make) comfortable cushions to add to them, so you feel more inclined to sit awhile. If they're in need of a new coat of paint, you'll want to start with a high-quality bonding primer, which allows you to skip the sanding process. Then, use the paint of your choice to make them glossy, matte, or somewhere in between in the color of your choice. Even easier – to skip the primer, choose increasingly popular chalk paint, which is made to adhere to a variety of surfaces. If you happened to pick up a wooden table that matches those chairs, using chalk paint on the table will allow kids to use it as a "chalkboard" while sitting on those restored chairs.

3. Table lamps

Lamps are often the easiest accent items to upcycle. As long as the base is good and the wiring works, adding a new lamp shade is often all it takes. If you want something a little funkier and more creative, there are plenty of ideas online for homemade lamp shades crafted from paper, sticks, colanders, baskets, buckets, and more. One word of caution, though, be careful with materials that aren't resistant to fire. Incandescent bulbs give off a lot of heat and are hot to the touch, and they could create a fire hazard. LED and compact fluorescent bulbs are safer options, but there's still a small chance they could cause flammable materials like paper to go up in flames.

4. Planters

If you've decided your sunroom will be home to plant life, crafty planters are a fun way to embellish the room. You may even have the right materials already lying around your house! From coffee cans to colanders and from antique metal watering cans to old rain boots, just about anything that can handle water and dirt can become a planter. If you're upcycling old cans, tins, or rain boots, be sure to drill holes in the bottom of them for drainage. And if you'd like to mask the logo of your favorite coffee, a nice coat of spray paint in a bright color should do the job.

Using these DIY sunroom decorating ideas as inspiration, we hope you have a fabulous time creatively styling your space and making it a room where you love to spend time. Happy upcycling!