The Making of Our Barn - Part I

When my students come back to school this Tuesday and ask me how my summer was and did I go anywhere, I'm going to tell them they can check out my summer vacation here on the blog.

We spent almost two months in our cozy little cabin, all 500 square feet of it.

And that's why we decided we needed more leg and sleeping room, along with a studio space that I could create and teach from.

So first we needed to find the perfect spot for it. 

We own the lots on either side of us, but the hill wasn't as steep to the right of the cabin and there weren't as many trees, so we took 3 long , hard and sweaty days to clear and level a 10 by 12 foot space.

I never knew leveling land could be so difficult.

In the process I unearthed at least 800 daffodil bulbs that the previous owners had planted.

Jim could have cared less about them and was happy to toss them to the side, but not me,.

 Nope, I had to pick up and bag every single one.

I plan to replant them in the fall all over our property and around the barn.

A great company in Anaheim called Tuff Sheds pre-built the sides and we got to design where the door and windows went, the height, width and length of the building.

I ordered a porch at the last minute and they had no problem accommodating my wishes. 

I knew I wanted a red door.

I also wanted lots of light streaming in the windows, and they are double paned to keep out the weather.

We also got to pick out building and roof colors.

It took 2 men 2 full days to put it all together.

The summer heat was hot and humid but the guys just kept on trucking.

I would highly recommend this company if anyone is interested in doing something similar. 

The only bummer is that the inside was completely undone and we needed to find someone to help us with that.

In Part IV I'll show you who we found, and the building of the inside.

So here are two different views of our finished new space.

Jim spray painted an old beat up chair red to match the door.

Love, love, love our new little barn.