Red Dragonfly

In 59 years

I

have never seen

a 

red dragonfly

                 ..until just recently

This guy has been visiting us for a couple of months now -

I am captivated by him
      
          he poses 

                  I capture him with my camera

  Mother Nature.  

She is pretty amazing

you would think that predators
would have
caught up with him...

but here he is...again
       

look for

magic

every day

Done!

the

little garage/studio project

which

was to 

take

about 

2 months

to 

complete

is 

finally

done!!

and it only took 10 months

  the front entry 

to the

blue grey

front door

 you walk

through

the

front door

to the left

is the kitchen

and

to the right is the

little

living room

lots

of 

natural light

a nice size closet

with

a loft above for

more

storage

(a ladder will help)

to the right

is

the

bathroom

a

nice 

big shower

and tons of 

natural

light

the

sleeping space

aka bedroom

is

here

and is about

the same

size as

the living area

380 square feet

total!!!

there is 

a little 

private yard

that

we

will fix up

 and show

pictures

later

This project

was WAY

bigger

than

we ever thought...

A 

huge shout out

 of thanks

to our architect,

Tim Becher

 to

Paul Rhodes Construction

to

handy man/plumber extraordinaire

Robert Elke

and to

Eddie

of 

A Step Above Painting

Those amazing artisans

went

above and beyond

their

 call of duty

and

dealt with us

and 

the 

City of SLO

with 

calm

and 

smiles   -- 

DONE!

"It will get worse before it gets better"

after months

of

waiting for permits

and

inspections

etc etc etc

we

are

excited

that

the 

little

studio

is

coming together

Paul

our contractor

told us

"it will get worse before it gets better"

yup

worse...

take a peek

the driveway (to the right)

 through the yard

and into

the street

was trenched 

to

hook

up

gas and water

lines

fences torn down

shrubs ripped out

  what a mess!!!

this is the side of the studio from the driveway

you can see

there is

an entrance

through the 

fence

through the opening in the fence

you come upon the

entry

and

the front door

straight ahead

to  the left

you have a cute little yard

albeit shabby

the yard

will be

a good 

size

and super private

 the tile in the shower is done

and they are

finishing up

the 

dry wall

and texturing

looking for an Oct 1 finishing date

(2014, we think)

the story thus far......

Week Seven - give or take a two.....

slowly

oh

so 

slowly

the little garage

is becoming

a 

studio

it is 

little

(tiny)

but

full 

of 

charm

(side view from the driveway)

(cross view of the entrance)

above is the 

entrance

there will

be

two steps

up

to a

stoop

    a great landing for potted

geraniums or marguerites

and

the two steps

will

step

into the

little

yard 

this is

looking

into

the

 living room

looking from 

the living room

into

the kitchen

(sink under the window

fridge to

the left)

the sleeping area

aka bedroom

is

here

look!

from the

bed

you can look up

to the open

loft

(or storage space)

  you can hide

stuff

towards

the

back

and hang plants

(or other cool stuff)

in front

the bathroom

is

under

the loft

and 

large

closet

is that

space

you can

 see

bottom center

........

we have picked out appliances

and flooring

and countertops

and a cute (roomy and practical) vanity for the bathroom

.......  stay tuned

Week 2 (and some change)

Week 2

(and some change)

progress is

being

made

on

the little

garage

cottage

step by step

inch by inch

and

we can

now 

see

what

the little

cottage

will

look like

 (the kitchen to the left and the loft above the bathroom upper right)

 (looking up to the loft)

 (appliance sizes are so important in such a small space)

 (the side of the cottage - the middle space will be the front door)

(the side entrance - again.  

The front door will be the middle space

with windows on either side)

Framing

is 

just about

done!

more to come...

From a Garage to a Studio Apartment - the Transformation

see that little garage?

starting 

today

you will watch

it 

transform

into

a

charming

studio apartment

don't know

how 

long

it will take - 

hopefully

maybe 

six weeks.....

        but, then 

              this IS 

                   SLO town

the

garage

belongs to

this

little

cottage..

it was built

in

1927

from a 

kit

by

Pacific Kit Homes

that

was 

shipped

from 

Los Angeles to SLO

by train

(you can see the original plan when you click on Pacific Kit Homes)

the new studio

will

preserve

the

 integrity

and

history

of

the

little place

 - and it will give it new life

         - it's own little identity

 the garage

has

this 

great

roof 

pitch

to it

the pitch will give the studio 

an 

airy 

and

 open feel

it

will

have it's

own

little

yard

- fenced in for privacy

(and to be pet friendly)

new 

large

windows

-for brightness

(there will be two large windows replacing the garage door

and one where the vent is)

and

it will have

lots of

fun

and

charming touches

that

will make it

a

perfect

little home

for 

someone

one

day

I 

will

take

you 

along

on

this 

adventure...

     it might get messy (as most remodels do)

              but you will be a part of

                    this with us from the

                            start (today) to the finish

follow our ideas on Pinterest:

http://www.pinterest.com/dianneconner/creating-a-small-studio/

...

stay tuned

             

I'm Baaaack...... and wait to you see what begins tomorrow!!!!!!

I 

have 

so

not blogged

in quite a while

.....

I 

can't claim

busyness

    or even laziness

..really

  

just a 

cray-cray

new

ObSeSSiON

....

you see

my dear friend

Barbara (as in Happy Go Smile Barbara)

turned 

me on to

an

online

art course (ecourse, I think its called)

by

Kelly Rae Roberts

(if you click on her name you can go to her website)

Kelly

(and her side kick Lynx)

teach you

how to

create

really 

fun   happy 

and easy

mixed media art

I did the eclass

and then 

Barbara and I

had some fun

both

together

and with friends

making art

AND THEN

Barbara tells me

about the

Art Abandonment Project

where

you make

something (anything) special

and 

leave it for someone to find

....to make them smile

       

       it is so fun!!!  

I have heard from 

just

 a handful

of finders

but

creating

something

colorful

and 

fun

and

even

meaningful

has been

 addictive!

here are

a few

of

my

creations

Those

were 

all 

abandoned...  as were about ten more

   

so

blogging

has taken

a 

temporary

back - seat

(I didn't really think my 9 followers would mind my absence)

a new project starts tomorrow.....

Tune in  -  it will super FUN!