Shed Series: Random Bits/What Makes a House a Home

So as I mentioned in the last shed post, we are done touring the rooms of the shed. I wanted to end the shed series though with some other images...and have decided to name this post: Random Bits/What Makes a House a Home. Because any house is more than just the rooms inside, it is the people and the memories that make it "home."

MCB - the man, the myth, the shed owner. Do you notice all the red walls behind him? I cannot express how happy I am that they have disappeared. MCB was a busy worker-bee in this picture and throughout everything (mostly) kept that cute smile on his face.

The flooring. Oh boy. There was lots of flooring. Even Anabelle here is amazed by all of the flooring. Thank goodness for MCB's folks - both sets of parents were amazing throughout the entire shed renovation. Thank you Chris, Becky, VW, and Molly!

MCB painting doors on a lovely sunny day.

At one point there was no sink or stove in the shed. Thank goodness for instant coffee (even if it is Starbucks) and a Jet Boil. We would not have survived without these things.

Thankfully the fridge remained plugged in during the renovation. We had cold beers. We drank them. What remained in the fridge throughout the renovation? One sad Bud.

A much needed coffee upgrade arrived once the stove got installed. Yay!

Building furniture, painting, cleaning, and more can be exhausting. Here I am at the end of my rope one night. At least the couch was finished for me to curl up on.

Finally, pretty things have a home. MCB's favorite coffee cups are unpacked.

Our first breakfast in the shed. Things are coming together.

MCB - self portrait. The man has a home he can live in now. A shower and a new robe does a man good - he is happy - thumbs up to the shed.

Our first dinner in the shed. MCB cooked salmon caught in Alaska by his Uncle. It was, as you can imagine, delicious.

Anabelle enjoys the sunshine in her new home. The light in the shed is amazing.

Beside coffee, a few of these may have helped get us through the harder times.

A few of MCB's favorites: coffee, his favorite coffee cup, new counters, and the amazing sunshine in the shed. What a great way to start the day.

The IKEA shelves have proven their worth in many ways. The latest discovery? They do a great job of drying skins after an early season ski touring session.

The infamous grolla. Yum.

MCB partakes. And makes a wish (part of the custom).

The shed gets photographed for a magazine spread. Not sure if they make it available digitally. If so, I will be sure to share the story/layout with everyone here.

Cheers to a happy home!

Yep, the shed is pretty wonderful. Nothing like a cold beer on a cold night to celebrate a job well done. Come by soon to share a beer - promise there is more than a lonely Bud in the fridge now.

See you soon.

Shed Series: Stairs

Let the shed series continue! So, this might not be the most exciting of areas of the shed to explore, but one that I believe deserves its own separate post. Time to go round and round as we spiral down the stairs.

Here is a mid-demolition shot of the top of the stairs, by the front door. This is looking towards the living room (now that you all have toured the entire upstairs). This is a great view of the gross teal trim, the beige front door, and - to the left - the blood red walls that went down the stairs. Also, here is MCB's dog, Anabelle, looking uneasy at the prospect of having to trot up and down the spiral stairs for the next few years to come.

And, here is a shot of the bottom of the spiral stairs. At the top of the image you see the doorway into the bedroom. This image is after all of the carpet had been ripped up (thank goodness). The spiral stairs aren't the prettiest, but they are the most practical for the space - they take up very little room.

And, here is MCB's Pop hard at work. If you don't know Von Wilson, you should probably get to know him. VW is all things - most importantly for this project - he is a very handy guy. In 1.5 days, VW laid every inch of flooring in the shed - including jigging the floor so that it fit perfectly around the base of the spiral stairs. Magic.

And, here is the front door area now. There is one tiny closet in the entire shed (in the bedroom, it also is home to the water heater), so all of the coats are out in the open. MCB purchased another IKEA shelf system for the shed. Living in Telluride means you need a lot of jackets for all types of weather. On the floor you will notice an old crate that gets used to store wet boots. Another crate has since been purchased for on top of the shelf to hold hats, gloves, helmets, nordic boots, you name it.

Blood red wall - gone! Took two coats of primer and two coats of paint to cover it all up - whew.

There is this odd little shelf in the stairwell. Of course, this is the obvious place to store axes (jokes people). The sign there was a gift from a friend - and is illegal for MCB to have as it is a Forest Service trail sign. Shhhh.

Also, no, MCB is not a lumberjack. Actually, MCB does some guest blogging for a great company - Best Made Company - who sends him gear to "test drive" so he can write reviews - hence the axe collection. All of those axes get used too - some wood chopping happened just this past Thanksgiving up in Steamboat with VW.

Looking down the stairs. Thrilling I know. The poster was a gift to MCB from some friends. MCB loves The National (as in lots). I do not (as in lots).

Here we are at the bottom of the stairs.

And, this is me, standing on the bottom step. Wow - I took a lot of stair photos. The door on the left leads you to the bedroom. Off to the right is the entrance to the bathroom. Behind the door is another painting by Michelle Curry Wright. She had loaned it to MCB years ago and just the other day came and swiped it to use in an upcoming show.

And, here we are under the stairs. Storage is a huge issue in the shed. MCB bought a couple of action packers to store bike gear (helmet, shoes, pedals, tools), ski gear (boots, helmets, gloves, goggles), and packs (for biking, skiing, hiking). Living in the mountains means you have so much stuff for all different activities. Outside are additional action packers with camping gear and other such stuff.

So, those are the stairs.
And, these now take us downstairs, where we will tour the bedroom and bathroom...stay tuned!

Shed Series: Kitchen

Ok - time to keep the shed series moving right along. I recently asked MCB if I could make a "now we're cooking" joke to introduce the kitchen. He told me that if I had to ask, it probably was a bad joke. He is probably right. So, I have no introduction now except to say - welcome to the shed kitchen.
Let's look around...

Here is a before image - from the kitchen sink. This is, again, from our first tour of the shed back in April. Note the teal window trim, the gauzy curtains, and the dead flowers in the steel thermos. As you can imagine, every bit of this was changed.

Here is another shot from our first visit. Sorry I am in this shot, I had no idea a photo was being taken and it is really the only overview shot of the kitchen from "before" that we have. If you can sort of notice - there is a high bar table with stools on the left side of the image, the previous renters had covered the upper cabinets with makeshift doors with sticks on the front, and pots and pans were hanging from the rafters. I think the best way to describe the space is cluttered.

Here is another before image - of the floor. The linoleum came up and the unfinished cabinets received a much needed face-lift.

An in-progress shot. Matt's Mom, Molly, was a painting fool. Not only did she paint the entire kitchen, she also made meals for all of the hungry workers every day while they were in town. Both Molly and Von (you will see him later) helped out tremendously. MCB is very lucky to have two sets of incredible parents help with this project.

Painting cabinets can be a pain, but well worth the effort.
This image also shows the old counter and sink.

Molly was reading the newspaper one day and noticed an ad from a condo complex that was undergoing renovations. They were advertising a sale for all of their old appliances as they were upgrading each unit. Stoves = $35. Refrigerators = $35. The sizes were perfect for the shed...super duper small. Previously in the shed there was just a mini-fridge that sat below the counters. MCB and I went online to look at larger options and small fridges seemed to run about $400. Not that that is terrible, but you cannot possibly beat $35. The $35 stove was in much better shape than the existing shed stove, so that got swapped too.

Molly decided that the white fridge was fine, but terribly boring. She taped the edges of the doors and gave them a quick spray with chalkboard paint. The black is a nice contrast to the light colors of the shed and the chalkboard is a great place to write lists, notes, and a great way to keep a toddler entertained during breakfast (yes, this has happened).

Here is the kitchen now - clean, bright, and clutter free (as much as possible). All of the cabinets are painted the same color as the trim. New IKEA butcher block counters and a new sink/faucet. Off to the left you can see the fold down kitchen table. When folded, it creates this lovely little shelf for books and keys and such. The rug is a Dash & Albert rug - one of the indoor/outdoor styles, meaning not only can you hose it off to get it clean, but it wears well.

A closer image of the sink area. All of the dishes are from IKEA. MCB likes the Basil Mrs. Meyers cleaner - smells yummy. He has also started collecting jadeite - MCB has two teacups and saucers.

To corral cords, MCB found this old cheese box. I found these flashcards in Savannah (remember?) and gave him one. Also, in a pinch before his big magazine shoot, I put a card in an extra IKEA frame (it says: boy on a bike)...it fits in nicely.

And, here is the table - down.

Here it is up. Remember the stools from the living room? Here is how they get used.

And, here is where MCB likes to work - at the table, with his teacup, and his Eames chair. The sun comes through the kitchen window and provides such lovely light. It is a great little work desk. That's the thing about small spaces - making areas serve multiple uses is key.

Here are the $35 appliances in action. As I mentioned, before, there was only a mini-fridge that would sit below a counter on the right side of the stove. This new fridge is a huge improvement. MCB purchased a few shelving systems at IKEA that have come in handy. In the kitchen, this shelf provides nice additional storage. MCB found the clock at a junk shop in Montrose. The Canada Dry box on top of the fridge (another junk shop score) is where all of the booze gets stored.

And here is a detail shot from above the stove - the "coffee station." On the little shelf there houses a cream pitcher, the shuguh bowl (from my house), and coffee spoons. The espresso pot painting was a gift to MCB from a local artist, Michelle Curry Wright. I have one of her paintings as well - she is great. To the left of the painting is a photo of MCB as a kid drinking coffee. Molly put together this photo with a cute little saying in a frame. It is adorable.

So, that is the kitchen. I wish I had more before images for you as the transformation has been so dramatic. It is cute, it is cozy, it is actually really comfortable to cook in this kitchen.

And, basically, between the kitchen and the living room - we have concluded the upstairs.
There is plenty more to share though...don't worry.

Shed Series: And so it begins...

Yes, and so it begins. I have finally been able to pull together all of the shed photos - from before, during, and after. While there aren't as many "before" images as I would like, hopefully the ones I do have will give you all the sense of what the shed once looked like and what it has since become.

I plan on going room by room (don't worry, it is small so it won't take too long) with my posts.

So, let's get started - welcome to 586.5 West Pacific in Telluride, Colorado.

Here is the shed from the first day we had an opportunity to visit. The sign on the front side is to indicate that this shed will be reviewed by our local HARC (Historic Architectural Review Commission) Board. The lot the shed sits on will, one day, get developed. Since Telluride is a historic district, this means that there is a volunteer board that reviews all development plans within the town to ensure their compliance with prescribed guidelines in order to maintain Telluride's historic character.

This shed is a "protected" building within the town's historic guidelines. Probably built near the turn of the last century, this means that this shed cannot be altered. The shed adds to the historic character of the town in that Telluride has a mix of high Victorian homes, railroad warehouse buildings, small miner cabins, and many sheds. These sheds must maintain their rough exteriors, cannot be added onto, and may not be moved from their original locations.

The shed went before the HARC board as the front house on the lot will be renovated and the middle (now open) portion of the lot will be developed - as an addition to the front house. The shed will remain exactly where it is and how it looks.

Here is the happy little house. All 491 sq ft.

The shed is covered in a plethora of materials like rough hewn boards and various types of metal siding - in both vertical and horizontal configurations.

This is the view from the shed - lots of big condos in the area.

MCB wasn't digging the taupe colored front door.

So, it is now green.

Here is the front door on a recent snowy day. We are now on the hunt for some cool "numbers" to put on the front door. Maybe a stencil? Maybe some nail on metal type numbers? Who knows.

Also, I want to note this now - with two dogs between us, you will find dogs creeping into many of the images. Cannot be helped. Woof.

There is a little patio type area out front of the shed. Right now it houses bikes - MCB's townie and the tandem (aka. USS Montana).

So, welcome to the shed. It is cute, it is cozy, and I cannot wait to show you around.