Learning as I go...

...the more I use the little shed, the more I learn about it--what works, what doesn't, what I love, what I need to tweak.

The windows are wonderful!  I love the views, and the feeder right outside the desk window.  I've been less than 2 feet from the wild birds there.  I love watching the seasons change...we WILL need to do something about storm windows, sort of, but I installed the last of the weather stripping this week, and it helped.

I knew the single layer of plywood wouldn't do for the floor, and it doesn't.  Still need to fix/replace the insulation, but it's going to need more than that.  The rug will help, for the winter...then, I'm not sure.  Since the shed is up on legs for its foundation (with the wind whistling underneath!), it really should have a LOT more insulation than one slim layer of Styrofoam. 

Live and learn...

We replaced the folding chair at the desk with one that's actually the right height to work for any length of time.  Since I shove it under the desk when not in use, it really doesn't take any more floor space, and the folding chair is still there for company!

I love the hot plate...very, very versatile.  I make tea and coffee, boil eggs, toast muffins....takes very little room but does a LOT.

I learned that I needed more light to do art, and we put in the studio light over the desk, which is terrific...

...and which reminded me that I really, really should have had more plug-ins installed.  Retrofitting isn't as easy as doing it in the first place, but it's gotta happen.  The cords are awkward, unhandy and unsightly...we need two plug-ins on that south wall (there's one, now, but I need one near the desk) and one on the west wall.  

And the jury is still out on the heating situation.  It's been down in the 20s, but it gets a LOT colder here.  Eventually, with two heaters, a down laprobe and a heating pad under my feet, I've been comfortable enough...

Working area!

Joseph surprised me by bringing the little desk over yesterday morning!  (Thanks, babe!)  He bought this years ago when he lived in Virginia--in a junk shop, missing a drawer, which he built--and offered it to me for the shed. 

Could I say yes fast enough??  As you see, the top can slant like a drafting table, or lie flat.  PERFECT for the working artist, and perfect size for the shed...

In situ--and yep, the window IS a bit low.  I should have sat on something when I told Mark where to put it--I was thinking the eaves would be in the way anyway, which they would...oh well.  It's FINE.  It makes light, and I can see out.

Originally I'd thought to put the desk facing the room or even on a diagonal, but then the chair would be behind it (obviously!) and I'd have to climb around.  This way all I have to do is turn my head to see out...it works!  Kind of less distracting to face the wall, too, to work...

Now we're noodling how to build the bookshelves...

By the end of the week...

Oh, PRETTY.

Yah, I've got a thing about stained glass, always have. I like it that this one is fairly simple but really sturdy. It was in great shape except for the glaziers' putty, which Joseph replaced.
This will open out like an awning; hinges are at the top.

New back window's ready to go in. (This is the first thing I see when I come out of the gate in the back yard.) Already the cross-ventilation is a big improvement! Our old shed gets mildewy because it doesn't have much.
(And because it's on a concrete pad, Joseph says.)

I'm thinking I don't want the little roof over the door after all, though. I love standing there and looking up at the trees...couldn't do that if there were a roof.

This whole project unfolds and evolves and tells me what we need to do. It's like a symphony with different parts; I play mine, Mark plays his, Joseph his, and serendipity offers a bit of unexpected sweet adagio with a change in tempo.

Mark contributes an antique doorknob, Joseph finds a simple old brass one for the outside of the door, I rediscover a bit of wood trim I'd saved for 20 years or so. Things turn up in unexpected places, ready to be incorporated.

This is TRULY satisfying...the little window is in and trimmed. It got moved a bit since it needed to open and I wasn't clear on that...hey, I knew it, doncha read my mind? :-) I really appreciate advice from one of my architect friends, Jeanette ("Mistress of Longears"), especially since she advised pretty much what I wanted to do anyway. :-D

So the little stained glass window is now a tad lower and a tad closer to the door, and it looks great! Jeanette and I both thought it would be awkwardly close to the roofline if we moved it the other way, and this way it relates better to the door.

I'll still do SOMETHING below it...shelf, windowbox, sculpture, something...but just for fun, now. (Joseph says I am the Fenestration Queen; if a window is oddly placed or the wrong size, it DOES really bother me.)

Since he had his tools here anyway, Mark the Magic-Maker went ahead and cut the hole and made the frame for the back window...LOVE the extra light and cross-ventilation. We knew it would be low on that wall, but that's where my little desk will be and I'll be seated--so it's just right!