Building The Love Shack

First a Big Hello to everyone. I have been very, very quiet lately. That’s because I have also been very, very busy. When you thought we had gone to sleep with Winter, we haven’t. Instead, we have been busy making the plans for the next few years.

About twenty years ago when I graduated from Landscape Design School, a friend of mine gave me a wonderful gift. An antique drafting board.  The board had nicks in the it and when I would draw on it, sometimes I would break my lead in the nicks. Husband set about to get me a cover for the front to have a smooth surface.

For many years, I did all my drawing on the drafting board. I refused to go to computer drawings. No Autocad for this girl. I still like the hand drawings the best. When you get finished with the drawing, it leave a piece of art behind.

Now husband on the other hand, is an Autocad guy for designing his construction.When we submitted the drawings for the variance, the permit department wanted drawings. Husband did them, on Autocad.

The skills of one, is different from the skills of the other. This weekend we pulled out the drafting board and shared the skills of the two, and did a design for the Building of the Love Shack.

With his drawings for the actual building in hand, we sat down in front of the drafting board. The first thing that needed to be done was to do the math for the conversions. His drawings were done in metric. Many building supplies, cupboard and appliance are still in feet and inches.

Using a quarter-inch graft paper, my preference of choice, I needed to draw the building and the actual lay out of the rooms in the house.  First, I needed to convert  all the numbers, create a scale and then, make it to scale.

Once all the math was done, we could do the lay out. Next  we had to draw out the planned addition for the new bathroom and kitchen extension.

Sounds good so far. That actually took quiet a bit of time to do.

At this point husband was still looking a bit doubtful but was starting to understand what I have been doing for twenty years. You see, he has used my designs to build landscape for clients, but he has never actually seen what I  do to get it on paper.

That’s when the fun began. For the next six hours, we laid out the design for each room. We moved windows and outside doors several times. Added appliances and cupboards, sinks and toilets.  A new shower went in. A washer and dryer got added to the bathroom. An island to be made of the Kentucky Flagstone to match the stone we put up behind the Cast Iron Stove, went into the kitchen.

Wall sizes were adjusted, making rooms larger and smaller to meet the needs. The inside doors were moved a few inches this way and that way. By the end of the day, we had a design.

Ah…Finally done…

What do you mean No?

Off course not. Sense we designed this house and know that it will be all updated and to code, why not move into it when we retire. We had always said we would sell the house in the city and retire by the lake, so why not move into this one?

Because it won’t be big enough.

That took us back to the drafting board. If we are going to actually live in it, what would we need?

A master bedroom, an office and a sun-porch.

So, the future set of drawing were made with the additional rooms added to it for when we retire. Bedroom number two will get converted to an office. Off of bedroom number two,the new office, will be the master bedroom and off the kitchen, a four season room facing the lake. Bedroom number one, will become the guest room.

OK, we are done…..

What do you mean we are not done?

Now that I have my drawing and know where all my doors and windows are going to be.. I need to do another design… The Landscape Design… Where are the decks and the walkways going? Where are Grama’s Peonies and Mom’s Roses? The Rhododendron and the Azaleas? The Spring Bulbs and the Fall Bulbs?

OK… Back to the drafting board….

 

 

PS.. This really is so much fun…. I love my drafting board. And I should be sitting in front of it for the next ten years, right to retirement.

Can you see Bunkies on the property… Of course you can. We need room for the Weekend Warriors.

And so the drawing continues.