Friday, May 25, 2007

The Finishing Touch

A few weeks ago we turned our garden shed into a garden cottage. It went from this

to this. Much better, I'm sure you'll agree.


But we were not done yet, because what I haven't shown you is that the roof needed some work as well.
On this picture above you see part of the garden cottage's roof with the first plank removed. The roof is actually made of floorboards with tongue and groove. On both sides of the roof the first floorboard was rotted through and through. When the under-gardener removed them, this happened.
The wood literally went to pieces. After measuring the thickness, width and length of the floorboards that needed replacing, we went and bought 2 lengths of floorboard with tongue and groove. Both floorboards were cut to size and slotted into place and nailed down as you can see here.
But that was not all. A few years ago the trim of the roof was also removed because that was rotten as well. So that needed replacing too. Two more planks were bought for this job, this time without tongue and groove.
And while the under-gardener was taking a break, a very curious person came along to see what was happening.

Mr Blackbird, checking if everything is going according to plan.
To finish off the job nicely, the roof was edged with 2 narrow planks on top to keep the rain from seeping in. And below you see the almost finished result.

Almost, but not quite as the new wood needed a lick of paint too of course. No guesses as to who got her paintbrush out. Again!

BTW now that it's a garden cottage instead of a shed, perhaps we should give it a name? Any suggestions fellow garden bloggers?
And here it is, the finished result. Surprise is checking it out to see if she will give it her stamp of approval. So, at last it's done. Well, not really because lookee, lookee here, more of that horrible brown paint!

Yes, my next project is painting the conservatory and as it's big, it will take quite some time before I'll be putting the finishing touches on this one.
It will be painted white with ochre yellow accents to compliment both the garden cottage and the ochre yellow gravel path that runs along the conservatory. If you look carefully (click to enlarge), you'll see that I've already started painting the conservatory. All the wood has to be sanded first, then cleaned and finally painted. The white paint will take 3 coats and the yellow two, so it's quite a job but when it's finished it will look a treat!

Oh hello, here's that kittycat again. Cute, isn't it? Who's that, I hear you say? Not to worry, all will be revealed ......... soon.

It's impossible to enjoy idling thoroughly unless one has plenty of work to do.
Jerome K. Jerome, On Being Idle

34 comments:

Anonymous said...

Dat schuurtje is werkelijk superleuk geworden! Het geel-wit maakt de grijze luchten vast minder grijs ;-)
En jij boft maar mooi met de '2e tuinier': ook al zo handig met hout en spijkers ;-)

Sigrun said...

Great! A garden-cottage. To read a book and drink a glas of red wine.

Sigrun

Tira said...

What a charming garden cottage.That conservatory looks like it has a lot of potential, too. I admire the hard work and efforts of you and the "under-gardener"!

Anonymous said...

YE: Great shots of the improvements! I vote for 'Primrose Cottage'. I hope Mr. Blackbird escaped. I don't see any feathers in that cat's mouth do I?

Unknown said...

thanks for writing on my blog. I love yours so much. Beautiful gardens and cats, what more could you want. I love your portraits of the cats, the bliss team! How true is that! I have two cats that are just the best. cats and plants are such a good combination. Thanks for inspiring me!

Anonymous said...

Quite an improvement, your shed. I could not have done it better.
But there is still a lot you want to paint. Can't wait to see your results.
But take time to relax en enjoy your garden too!!

LostRoses said...

Based on your previous post and the color of the paint, I'm going for Sunshine Cottage! What a charming spot. With your conservatory trim painted to match, you're going to have quite the gardening compound. Delightful!

Susan said...

Yoland Elizabet --

I think the cottage definitely deserves a name. I'll be waiting to hear what you decide upon. And to see the changes to the conservatory, as well.

-- Susan from South of the River

Annie in Austin said...

It all looks wonderful, and having the structure sound and weather proof is very satisfying no doubt.

Yolanda, I can't help wondering if the focus of this ochre and white color scheme is to make the garden buildings harmonize with that mysterious ochre and white cat!

Annie at the Transplantable Rose

Hannele på Hisingen said...

So lovely place.

Anonymous said...

Wat herkenbaar!
Onze "blokhut" was in onze vorige tuin helemaal geel, lekker zonnig in een donkere hoek.
Toen we hierheen verhuisden hebben we alle onderdelen genummerd, de boel gedemonteerd en hier weer opgebouwd, het dak was zo ongeveer helemaal verrot dus compleet vernieuwd,het geel was hier wel heel erg knallerig met zo ongeveer de hele dag zon erop, wij hebben hem dus maar diepdonkergroen met roomwit geverfd!
Ik mis nog wel een blik in het interieur van je shed, is het er
zo'n troep ? ;-)
Zo, heb ik ook eens even gereageerd,
ik zet je meteen bij mijn favorieten, dan kan ik regelmatig
om een hoekje komen kijken!

Anonymous said...

Fijn dat je tuinhuisje weer is opgeknapt. Het ziet er heel gezellig uit zo.

Anonymous said...

ziet er fantastisch uit het is een suns(h)et hihihi , veel werk maar daar heb je dan ook wat voor , wij moeten er nog één plaatsen moet atelier worden ...argh wat een werk ;))

RUTH said...

A lot of work but well worth it. It looks lovely.

Anonymous said...

Prachtig schuurtje zeg
Het is erg mooi geworden

Garden Cats + Crafts said...

Wunderschön geworden Euer Gartenhäuschen. Toll die helle Farbe zu den Fenstern. Gefällt mir außerordentlich gut. Sieht so einladend aus. Man möchte hinein gehen, bei einer Tasse Tee hinausschauen und den Garten genießen. Ganz süß das Foto von der niedlichen kittycat. Schöne Pfingsten und liebe Grüße, Birgit

Gorden + Planten said...

Klasse Gartenhaus!

Unknown said...

Wonderful post and photos, Yolanda Elizabet: Since this is the Bliss blog and your catchildren are the Bliss Team, maybe this should be Bliss Cottage? What would that be in Dutch?
Love the orange and white cat--he looks very cuddly. We're partial to orange cats in our house...and grey cats...and tuxedo cats...:-)

Carol Michel said...

Your little garden cottage is so sweet, I can suggest a couple of names...
"May Dreams Cottage" after guess who because I can only dream about having such a cottage or maybe "Blissful Garden Cottage"?

Anonymous said...

Echt heel mooi gedaan, je schuurtje...ziet er heel gezellig uit nu.
Een lekker plekje om met een boek en kop koffie te toeven, beetje zon erbij :-)
Ik vind de laarzen die je hebt ook prachtig, die zien er vrolijk uit, krijg je gewoon zin om in de tuin te werken.
Heel gezellige weekend en groetjes.
Tiny.

kate said...

I love the look of the cottage - it is made so much more appealing by the wicker couch under the window.

Since you know I love Surprise, perhaps you could name the cottage Surprise Retreat ... Surprise, I noticed, seems to enjoy the couch!

The Conservatory will look beautiful once the painting is all done. That's an incredible amount of work but will be so worth it ... and now I can see some lovely shoes peeking out from your Wednesday post.

Off to read it ... enjoy the weekend, Yolanda dear!!

Yolanda Elizabet Heuzen said...

Hi all and welcome to Bliss!

Marleen: ik geniet nog dagelijks van mijn opgevrolijkte tuinhuisje. Het was altijd zo'n somber en lelijk ding (5 jaar lang) in die hoek van mijn tuin en nu is het prettig om naar te kijken.

Sigrun: now it is a lovely place to sit, my cats love it too.

Nicole: thanks! The conservatory will look much better once it is finished.

Layanee: excellent suggestion! Mr Blackbird is fine, heard him sing this morning. And no, that kitty wasn't eating a birdie.;-)

Diane: thank you, I'm glad you like it so much. And yes, plants and cats go very well together.

Bert: I don't think so either. ;-)And yes, I will take time to enjoy it too.

Lostroses: what a lovely suggestion. Can't wait until that conservatory is finished. I have to paint it on the inside too but that will have to wait until the autumn.

Susan: they are predicting a lot rain for next week so I don't think I will be doing a lot of painting outside soon.

Annie: Ah, you've found me out. Of course I did it to colour coordinate with this lovely kittycat. :-D

Hannele: Thanks and may I return the compliment!

Marian: dat zal een forse klus geweest zijn. Het is een schuurtje dus vol met fietsen, tuinmeubelen, tuingereedschap etc. Je moet die spullen toch ergens laten, niet waar? ;-)

Thea: ja, wij zijn er ook erg blij mee. Wat eerst een somber hoekje was, ziet er nu zo gezellig uit.

Lenie: Sunshet, brilliant! Dus jij mag binnenkort ook aan de slag, hihi.

Ruth: it was indeed a lot of work but, as you say, well worth it. It will look great for years and years to come.

Louisa: Bedankt, we zijn er zelf ook erg tevreden over.

Birgit: es gefällt mir auch sehr gut! I have a cup of tea or coffee there almost everyday now. I knew you would like the pic of the kittycat, he is very sweet. Schöne Pfingsten!

Gorden & Planten: Danke!

Jodi: Bliss Cottage = huisje geluk. Good suggestion! I know the feeling, we are just partial to cats in general and in particular. :-D

Carol: like your suggestions!

Tiny: het is nu inderdaad een plekje waar je graag zit. Leuk en zonnig he, die nieuwe tuinschoenen? Het zijn slippers, je hebt ze inderdaad ook als laarzen.

Kate: excellent suggestion. You were not to know this, but I met Surprise near the cottage for the first time in my garden and fed her on that same couch for months.

Anonymous said...

What an improvment! The garden cottage looks fantastic and I really do like the colors you've choosen. I'm sure your conservatory will turn out great aswell. About the name I like the suggestion about bliss cottage but perhaps I lack of imagination...

Lis vom Lindenhof said...

Euer Häuschen ist wirklich wunderschön geworden, es sieht so richtig einladend und gemütlich aus. Ich stelle es mir herrlich vor auf der Bank zu sitzen und sich an der Blütenpracht im Garten zu erfreuen
Lis

OldRoses said...

You are so fortunate to have someone to work on your shed for you. I don't have an Undergardener. The door fell off of my shed and I don't know how to fix it. I just prop it up against the shed now and hope that it will block at least most of the rain.

stadtgarten said...

You have done a very good job with your "new" garden cottage.It is a lovely place now!
Groetjes, Monika

Yolanda Elizabet Heuzen said...

Hi all and welcome to Bliss!

Karin: you are right, it is a big improvement. Now I like to look at it, before I was always looking the other way.;-)

Lis: it is a lovely spot to sit,look at the garden and have a cup of tea.

Oldroses: having a handy under-gardener is good and makes life much easier, you're right.

Monika: it was quite a job but I'm very happy with the result. Now, when I look from my conservatory, I see something nice instead of an eyesore. :-)

Anonymous said...

I love this. It makes my heart feel glad.

Petunia's Gardener said...

Does that undergardener travel? Both of you do very nice work. I'd call the cottage a guesthouse (even if it was me in it)! I like the names suggested already too. You are inspiring. I'll be dreaming up a facelift for my barn. Remember to sit out with Surprise now and then.

Kylee Baumle said...

You're making my guest quarters look so wonderful, I may stay a month. ;-)

It really is a lovely, lovely place. Well done, and please tell your undergardener I said so, too!

Boxwood Cottage said...

Great before and after pictures, your gardenhouse came out really beautiful Yolanda! Have a happy Pentecost Monday! (It's a rainy one here booo) Carol xox

Janice said...

Absolutely charming!! A job very well done! I know you will spend many joyful moments at the cottage.

anna maria said...

She's lovely. Emily is the name that popped into my head.

Wolfgang said...

Da scheint es Eurer Miez ja toll geschmeckt zu haben. War es eine Maus?
Noch einen schönen Pfingstsonntag
Wolfgang