The Shed of Solitude!

Before I had the shed, I wrote here:

This is our tiny dining room.  It’s more like a corridor between the living room and the kitchen, so this table tends to be a catch all and isn’t usually this bare.

We moved just over a year ago and it was really important that I could have my own space to write in our new house.  We found a house we loved, but it didn’t really have a place that I could make separate and call my own.  I started looking into things like the Readymade shed, but I’m nothing if not quirky, cheap, and green.  So, we bought a shed on Mercer Island for a couple hundred dollars and paid the slowest handyman in the world to take down, transport, and reconstruct it in the backyard with a couple of changes (FYI, you don’t need a permit in Washington if a structure is under 12′x12.’).  We wanted a green roof, so we changed the pitch and added some waterproofing.  We had it wired for electricity and added a heater.  My husband put some click flooring and shelves in, and voila!  The shed of solitude!  The weather was changing before it was finished, so the exterior painting and roof planting will wait until spring.  I don’t care, because the inside is perfect for me.  It’s goofy, but having my own space to work has really helped my confidence as a writer.  It’s an investment of our resources and space devoted to creativity, and I am very grateful for it.  

Here’s the almost-finished-outside:

Next year it will look pretty different.  

 

 

 

 

 

The inside is better.

 

 

 

The worktable.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The lighting:  I bought the hanging light at Restore, and I spray painted a plastic plate to make the light ring.  The turquoise lamp I bought at Goodwill for $5, and I covered the lampshade with a few fabric scraps, including a bit of the mermaid fabric I blogged about over the summer.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A few peeks at little things like:

 

 

 

 

 

 

A wee felted dog

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Button flowers

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kayaking Lego man

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One of Laini‘s ladies

 

 

 

 

 

Felted rocks and cards and notes on the junk shop hand stand that scares my husband a little.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Isn’t it cozy?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The other side.

 

 

 

So, there you have it. The shed!  I feel so fortunate to have my own little studio to work in.  Everyone needs sanctuary, especially those of us with creative pursuits.  I hope you find your own little corner of the world that helps you focus.

I kept track of the shed as it was rebuilt for the woman we bought it from, so if you want to see what it looked like as it was rebuilt, you can look here.

Have a happy, healthy, creative, wonderful new year!

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