Intro to the Out Building

This is one of those times where I cringe when thinking about sharing these pictures, if you’ve read From Hoarder to Order, you know I abhor sharing super messy before pictures. But if I don’t share them, you won’t have the hideousness of the before to compare to the amazing after. (Disclaimer: I don’t really know that it’s going to be amazing, I’m being optimistic. I actually have no idea how this will turn out.) But, here it goes…

We have an out building that was once used as a chicken coop, a storage unit and a potting shed. I’m hoping to completely renovate it and make this building an art studio, because again, if you’ve read From Hoarder to Order, you know that we don’t have a ton of space for all of my ongoing projects. So, I started demolition on the interior yesterday. This is her good side:

It was actually less attractive and far more dangerous before my husband rebuilt the footers and wrapped the bottom. Prior to that, it was on a serious slant and housed a dray of groundhogs below. A group of groundhogs can also be called a scurry, I just learned both of those terms while writing this.

Here’s the other side of the 12′ x 12′ building. Oh, that a-frame building with the stains and old windows stacked next to it? Ignore that. It’s just our garage, we’re getting to it.

Here’s the fourth side, it overlooks the lower portion of our yard and garden.

I absolutely love the coop’s front door. I’m hoping to strip and paint or stain it and put it back up.  But, enough of the exteriors – let the demo begin!

Basic tools needed: broom, hammer, crowbar, and sledgehammer – resulting in me having Peter Gabriel in my head all day.

At this point I had likely sung “I want to be…your sledgehammer” two dozen times or so…probably best I tackled this demo solo.

Some of the neat things I found while ripping all of this stuff apart:

{five vintage tin cigarette ads}

{one spooky no trespassing sign}

{one hundred terracotta pots}

There is much, much more work to do on this building, but I’m so excited imagining what it can be.