The Start of Something Exciting!

This is the far corner of our backyard....to the left. We built a short rock wall around this dirt area 6 or 7 years ago with grand ideas. I have dreamed of this area of our backyard for years now. What it would look like. Green ground cover with little purple flowers spotted with grey flagstone stepping stones leading to a quaint little playhouse for our children to the left and to the right, a child-sized teak table and chairs for little ones to dine alfresco while the adults dined on the patio. I imagined a sandbox in the corner with colored shovels hanging on the fence wall.

Well this area had been left untouched until two years ago when we finally decided to pour a cement pad. After spending countless hours cleaning out our garage we decided that the quaint little playhouse that I had planned for needed to be split into some storage space too. This area has gone back and forth between storage/playhouse for the last year.

This last week we finally decided what we were going to do with the cement pad. We decided what it would become and I couldn't be more thrilled! A space intended for creating, a space intended to add some steadier income to our home, a space I get to call Funky Vintage Kitchen Made. It's own studio! It's going to be smaller than the pad we poured due to square footage constraints for sheds without permits....but I am so excited. So I quickly went out Saturday morning and snapped the above picture to record before and after before the boys got home from the lumber yard!

Here is what it looked like at 3:00 pm on Saturday.....

A raised floor and bottom rim in and the walls being started. Rich, Dave's brother, worked with him all day and I am so thankful. That boy has no idea how much I really care for him and it made me so happy to see him and Dave working together side-by-side. Plus Blake had a blast hanging out with his daddy and uncle all day.

I headed to a wedding reception at 5:00 pm and when I came home at 7:00pm on that same Saturday, this is what I saw......

The walls were framed with a door opening and three window openings (that still need to be framed to size). I am already dreaming of the layout of the studio already so that I can maximize the space and you can find me at any given hour of the day walking around inside those four walls. Now for a roof and small porch overhang. Hopefully next weekend! I'll keep you updated with pictures. Have I mentioned how lucky I am to have free labor. We could never, and I mean NEVER, be able to afford this if I had to pay labor.

And while the boys were working on Saturday in almost 80 degree weather, Blake upgraded his Hillbilly Hot tub to something a little larger. He said he wanted to go swimming, so he filled up the ice-chest for a little dip!