The Cottage Studio
a place of my own
Designing, financing and constructing a 16′ x 24′ cottage studio was difficult for one 55 year old woman, but not impossible. It was a matter of thinking everything through, knowing when to ask for help, and being flexible enough to work with what was on hand, rather than reaching for some arbitrary ideal. Lakewood Studio, my photography, graphic and web design business, needed a home and I wanted a guest house for my son and grandchildren. So, I resolved to finally realize my dream of building “A Place of My Own” as Michael Pollan called it.
Below you will find a series of articles derived from my Facebook posts throughout the build, with added notes written in hindsight. I hope they inspire you to pursue your dreams and help you find ways to solve the problems along the way.
Wall Jack Premiere
We tried,but we couldn’t lift the last 24 ft wall by hand. So I built a wall jack with a hand winch and a couple of 16ft 2×6. Didn’t think to start the video until half way through, but you get the idea. I will post my regular morning pics after I get this monster […]
Exterior Walls
Getting an early start this morning. Two more exterior walls are on the agenda and it looks like rain tomorrow. Should be a bit cooler today, hoping to work straight through with no afternoon inside work. Fingers crossed! Have a thrilling Thursday my friends! Notes from Lakewood HollowA monthly rundown of what’s new at Lakewood […]
A Little Help Goes A Long Way
Back to work!! Finishing touches on the floor are complete, now for the walls! It’s a glorious Wednesday morning, enjoy my friends, I know I will. Evening Post One wall up! I am really working to do this all on my own, but a little extra upper body strength goes a long way! Thank you […]
Loose Ends
Harley decided it was her turn to do the morning inspection Just some loose ends to finish up. The forecast says rain starting tonight until Tuesday. I hope so, we need the rain and I need the rest! Have a great weekend my friends. Notes from Lakewood HollowA monthly rundown of what’s new at Lakewood […]
Floor Framing Complete!
Ahhhh, floor frame complete! Next, insulation and sheathing. It’s Friday my friends, woohoo! Evening Post – Just a few things to finish up tonight and tomorrow morning. Then a little R and R before I move on to the walls. What a beautiful Friday night! Enjoy!! Additional Thoughts With the floor framing complete, installing the […]
A Better Idea
Myron came home as I was building the wall jack. And instead of using the jack, he and I flipped the two sections I’d already built into place. Much easier with two people one of whom is 10 inches taller than the other. It’s going to get a little warm for me today, so I’m […]
Starting the Floor
Another beautiful day! Harvesting the last of the green beans and starting the floor. Have a wonderful Wednesday my friends! Evening Post: One step forward, side step then onward and upward! Additional Thoughts Once the skids were in place and leveled, I began building the floor in 8’x8′ sections because I thought they’d be easy […]
Stone Chicken
Every morning when I plan to spend the day working on the studio I take this set of pics. I think I should have 4, maybe 5 days a week to focus on this build and I invite you to come along on this journey with me. After some trial and error yesterday I managed […]
Gravel Foundation
Woohoo! The stone is here, hoping I ordered enough. I know what I’m doing this weekend! Have a great weekend my friends Special Note: The quarry shorted the driver by 2 ton. I always order very close to exactly what I think I need. Its a hold over from when we had so little money […]
Making Room
The first 2022 major project is my new studio But before I start building, we need to make room. We got a quote to have some trees taken down, but OMG prices have gone up! Myron Sharvan didn’t want to just cut them down himself, because it looked like they’d fall right in the middle […]
Amazing Finds
So I’m walking through Home Depot pricing things up for my upcoming building projects and I come across pallets of discontinued windows at insanely low prices! We decided on a detached studio just for me rather than the small addition on the house. These will be perfect. I didn’t find everything I need, but it’s […]
Amazing Finds
So I’m walking through Home Depot pricing things up for my upcoming building projects and I come across pallets of discontinued windows at insanely low prices! We decided on a detached studio just for me rather than the small addition on the house. These will be perfect. I didn’t find everything I need, but it’s […]
Making Room
The first 2022 major project is my new studio But before I start building, we need to make room. We got a quote to have some trees taken down, but OMG prices have gone up! Myron Sharvan didn’t want to just cut them down himself, because it looked like they’d fall right in the middle […]
Gravel Foundation
Woohoo! The stone is here, hoping I ordered enough. I know what I’m doing this weekend! Have a great weekend my friends Special Note: The quarry shorted the driver by 2 ton. I always order very close to exactly what I think I need. Its a hold over from when we had so little money […]
Stone Chicken
Every morning when I plan to spend the day working on the studio I take this set of pics. I think I should have 4, maybe 5 days a week to focus on this build and I invite you to come along on this journey with me. After some trial and error yesterday I managed […]
Starting the Floor
Another beautiful day! Harvesting the last of the green beans and starting the floor. Have a wonderful Wednesday my friends! Evening Post: One step forward, side step then onward and upward! Additional Thoughts Once the skids were in place and leveled, I began building the floor in 8’x8′ sections because I thought they’d be easy […]
A Better Idea
Myron came home as I was building the wall jack. And instead of using the jack, he and I flipped the two sections I’d already built into place. Much easier with two people one of whom is 10 inches taller than the other. It’s going to get a little warm for me today, so I’m […]
Floor Framing Complete!
Ahhhh, floor frame complete! Next, insulation and sheathing. It’s Friday my friends, woohoo! Evening Post – Just a few things to finish up tonight and tomorrow morning. Then a little R and R before I move on to the walls. What a beautiful Friday night! Enjoy!! Additional Thoughts With the floor framing complete, installing the […]
Loose Ends
Harley decided it was her turn to do the morning inspection Just some loose ends to finish up. The forecast says rain starting tonight until Tuesday. I hope so, we need the rain and I need the rest! Have a great weekend my friends. Notes from Lakewood HollowA monthly rundown of what’s new at Lakewood […]
A Little Help Goes A Long Way
Back to work!! Finishing touches on the floor are complete, now for the walls! It’s a glorious Wednesday morning, enjoy my friends, I know I will. Evening Post One wall up! I am really working to do this all on my own, but a little extra upper body strength goes a long way! Thank you […]
Exterior Walls
Getting an early start this morning. Two more exterior walls are on the agenda and it looks like rain tomorrow. Should be a bit cooler today, hoping to work straight through with no afternoon inside work. Fingers crossed! Have a thrilling Thursday my friends! Notes from Lakewood HollowA monthly rundown of what’s new at Lakewood […]
Wall Jack Premiere
We tried,but we couldn’t lift the last 24 ft wall by hand. So I built a wall jack with a hand winch and a couple of 16ft 2×6. Didn’t think to start the video until half way through, but you get the idea. I will post my regular morning pics after I get this monster […]