Tuesday 14 February 2012

my new studio

When I was working on my 'impossible' challenge here and here,  I mentioned that the dear old geezer was doing something else. There was complete method in my madness because he was outside in the cold doing up the 'lean to', while I was inside, and now I have this -


The 'lean to' was leaning to so much that we nearly knocked it down. I think we just decided to give it a go, so he got out there and replaced the window sill and some of the glass that had broken and as soon as my challenge was finished I got out there and caulked and painted everything.

I am now going to show you the before - I hope you don't fall off your seat, as it's bad folks, VERY bad. I apologise if this attacks your delicate sensibilities !!


The corner post had rotted away, so needed to be replaced, and then the back panel put back on. Luckily we really get on with our neighbours, that's their playhouse that you can see at the end, and when it's warmer I will paint their side of the lean to, to !
As you can see, it just became a dumping ground - a sink, a fridge for the old geezer's beer, a filling cabinet (filled with paint), a telescope - used once, and lots of rubbish.


The view into the kitchen now looks a lot better.



We haven't bought any paint at all, just used stuff that we already had. We bought a piece of windowsill £35 and some glass £50 and lots and lots of caulk £12 (I love caulking - it's messy but so fun, and effective for keeping out draughts and spiders !). And I bought some metal brackets at 50p each and just put some tongue and groove boards across them, which were left over from our kitchen.



In time everything will find a proper home, and I will make spaces for all the old geezer's tools (he enjoys leaving them all over the place to make finding them easier - lol).
At the end here, there are the two butchers blocks that we used to have in the kitchen, and next to that is an amazing 6ft by 3ft workbench that Pandy's husband has just given me. It's fantastic - I haven't had a bench this large to work on, since I left college in 1985 !


That's not a 'I love Pandy's husband' mug - it's a 'I love my dog' mug - of course !!!

I've put loads of stuff underneath, that needs painting. It was all over the house, so now the house is a bit tidier too.


The other end of the lean to has the cupboard which houses the washing machine and dryer, and the little window is actually the boiler and coat cupboard.


There's not a great deal of room, but as you can see I've already started on a bit of furniture and in the warmer months I can do larger pieces outside. (No, you definately can't see a bag of mini chocolate eggs next to my mug of tea).
The floor is lino so there is no point in changing that but at some point we will replace the plastic roof as it is a bit dirty and we've cleaned it as best as we can (that's the royal 'we' as the old geezer did it really).

So just another quick look, the before -


and the after -


It's so fantastic just to have a place to leave stuff out - I can just leave it and not have to move it to make way for something else. 
We have also decided to turn my little office upstairs into a very small guest room. We have a great Ikea day bed in the loft, and there will still be space for a little desk, so I can keep paperwork in there.

So, what do you think - I haven't made a pretty craft room, but I have a great space for painting, and hopefully I might be able to refurbish a few pieces and sell them. And we only spent about £100 to do all of this (it would have been less, had the poor old geezer not broken THREE pieces of glass - but don't tell him I told you ).

Sunday's Best @ My 1929 Charmer
Debbiedoos Newbie Party @ Debbiedoos
Metamorphosis Monday @ Between Naps on the Porch
Cowgirl Up @ The Farmhouse Porch


28 comments:

  1. Wow this is really great! Congrats on having a place to work!

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  2. what a huge difference, fiona! its so much brighter and the shelves and new bench are wonderful! happy vday!

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  3. I would say you are so so lucky to have 'YOUR SPACE' and it looks wonderful. Thanks for sharing Cheers SpecialK XoXo

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  4. That's awesome!! Looks like a great place to get tons of stuff done. Have fun painting all those projects :-)

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  5. Holy cow! That is an amazing transformation! I have to find me an old geezer to get some of the jobs done around here. I want a garage or a basement or a lean to... ~ Maureen

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  6. That is so neat! Love the transformation... how you put up the drawers and nails to hang up the saw, hammers, etc. How many days did it take you to finish that project?

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  7. So glad I found your lovely blog. I'm following you with the new Linky tool, straight from the Linky blog hop. I look forward to getting to know you better, Lori

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  8. Wow, your new space is wonderful. You must just love having good storage as well as a place to leave things out.
    I'm your newest follower, Mary Alice

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  9. It's a lean to no more - love that you have a place to keep everything out and create a fabulous creative mess!
    Kelly

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  10. Dramatic transformation! I love doing projects like this...it just makes ya feel good! You now have an excellent workspace...I like that's it budget friendly too! Thanks for sharing and for following!

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  11. What an accomplishment! My former house had an old dovecote that we never got around to cleaning up and eventually just tore down. With all the blogs around today, I have so many ideas on what we could have done with it.

    Have fun in your new space!

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  12. This is a great redo on your lean to! I am so jealous of anyone who has a dedicated workspace for any work at all. You will get lots of jobs done here. Amazing difference between the before and after photos.

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  13. Quite a transformation Fiona! And I bet it's been a lot of work!

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  14. Oh Fiona! I love this! How wonderful to have a space where you can see exactly what you have! THis old place is falling down around my ears, but I'm having to take care of the places we use every day first--like the kitchen and den.

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  15. looks nice! I love the chandelier and the light coming in from the opaque ceiling.

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  16. I just love it...what a cheery space! It's a special talent to be able to see the potential in unattractive spaces. Great job!

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  17. What a great space! I would love a place that I could just leave everything out and be able to work in there too! As it is, I have a nail gun and compressor currently hanging in my living room ...

    :)

    Linda

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  18. Wow! That looks great. Enjoy your transformed space.

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  19. P.S. I'm your newest follower, btw.

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  20. Lucky gal for sure, what a great space. Thanks for sharing with the newbie party. Enjoy!

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  21. I love the white and all the natural light. I would really enJOY working in that room. I bet is nice being so close to the kitchen? Found you on my 1929 Charmer. Becoming one of your followers.

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  22. Yay!!! A space for you...happy dance...I am a bit jealous and a bunch inspired. I have an awful old porch and a lot of supplies now all I need is a Geezer!

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  23. Wow it sure is a cute space now. I would love to have a place that has so much window space and light. I would so take this space as my own. Love the hanging light. Thanks for sharing your creative inspiration at Sunday' Best. I featured this on 1929 Charmer Facebook page.

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  24. wow!! lucky you..what a great work space!

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  25. Ojala yo dispusiera de un espacio asi para poder tener mi propio taleer de trabajo.... Lo has dejado estupendo, ahora a trabajar, espero tus ideas, soy tu nueva seguidora
    Un beso desde Madrid, España
    Visi

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  26. Hi, it's Mel from noplacelikehomekc.blogspot and your newest follower. Wow, what a cool work space, I'm so jealous!

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  27. Great old lean to, what a fabulous re-do, it makes a great new use of space, thanks for sharing, Maureen.

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  28. Wow! What a transformation!!!! I'm actually working on an "Organization Smackdown" series where I tackle all my clutter. I'd love for you to stop over and check it out.

    PS: I'm your newest follower!

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It's always a pleasure to receive your comments. I really enjoy reading them, and a huge thank you if you are following as well !