Our cottage is so stinkin’ cute.
She is a beauty. I am happy with everything about the house except one area. The area is in front of the house and…well…that space is another story. When I sit in the rocker and face south this is what I see:
When I sit on the swing which faces north, this is my view.
It was way worse until we got it cleaned up. I think of that space as a courtyard for the cottage but it was a catch-all space for years.
We live on a property that has been lived on for a long time by people who reuse everything and spend money as a last resort. They are my people!
The tool shed that is front and center in the space is a perfect example of the ingenuity of those who made our property so great. The shed is made from recycled heavy corrugated metal sheets tack welded together. It has some rusted panels and was painted silver at one point. It is not something that we can just replace parts on because it is basically all one piece. It holds things like chemicals and fuel we wouldn’t want in our shops so we need it. It would be a pain to move it so our options are limited.
The wall of the garages isn’t much better. It was owner built, added on to, windows were removed, there is mold along the bottom, and electrical was changed along the way. It isn’t something you want to look at all the time.
Because I think everything looks better painted, the first thing I knocked out was a cleaning and paint job on the garden shed. Primer first of course.
I painted the shed the same color as the trim of the cottage, Behr Dove. as soon as it was painted I tackled a sign for the building. Mr. Math who is a wizard with concrete board cut out a circle from left over concrete backer board. I started looking at forest/country/tree quotes. When I found this one it fit perfectly. My whole life I lived literally a fourth of a mile from I-10 in a city where I could walk to a shopping center. I never thought I would enjoy much less find the peace I have found here in the trees.
Mr. Math also added an old window to the back side that was sitting in my shop after giving it two coats of polyurethane.
It looks so much better painted. Total cost for the shed was a few dollars in bolts to connect the sign and window. Everything else was left over from building the cottage or other projects.
I still have a lot to do but I am excited about my plans.
Thank you for following along on our journey.
We love to hear from you,
Karen