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Transforming the Old Train Depot – The Plan

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I’ve been working on something called “the old depot project.” Earlier this year Brett stumbled upon this old building that needed to be moved and of course I fell in love with it immediately, before I even knew how I was going to move it. I instantly thought:

Restoration!
Tiny house!
She-shed!
Potting area!
Art studio!
Guest house! 

So I jumped on it before I had even figured out how to move it 50 miles to our property. That’s a whole story in itself, and I think it might have had something to do with the cute gingerbread detail:

the old depot project - moving the depot

The depot sat through most of the summer waiting for attention as I brainstormed what direction to take with it. Over time it will morph into different things but right now it’s going to be an organic gardening area with something I’ve always dreamed about: a picket fence. The building itself will be a studio/she-shed with an area for potting as well. I started sketching out an initial sketch:

Planning raised garden beds and picket fence

We are working on raised garden beds, pea gravel walkways and a picket fence connecting to the depot:

planning and laying out the organic garden and picket fence

Any project this scale seems like a really big project until you break it down into smaller projects. In small stages it becomes a fun manageable project. I like to have a grand plan in place: 50% reality and 50% dream, then I can take my time implementing it and researching all the little smaller parts. Everytime we finish something like this our reaction is:

We did this! We can do anything!

And it’s true….Brett and I aren’t an experts at any one thing, but we can figure things out for myself with a little research and determination.

Most of my dreams these days lean toward self-sufficient living. And most of my research leans toward affordable, eco-friendly, and small imprint living. I hope you’ll be inspired by the projects coming up as part of the depot project.

 

The Old Depot Project is sponsored by Lowe’s Home Improvement.

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Moving Forward on the Train Depot

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Working on so many different projects at once right now that it feels like a bit of a whirlwind at the House on Hospital Hill…a few are train-depot-related and the other you’ll see first thing Monday morning as part of this year’s Michael’s Pumpkin Challenge. Max has been supervising it all:

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A sneak peek at what we are working on behind the scenes to restore the old train depot. I’m so excited to see it all finally come together.

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It’s morphing as we go. I’ve gone from envisioning it as a potting shed to now more of a creative space….a “she-shed” for Boo and I to share! Maybe one day it could even become a little guest cottage.

Upcycling a Window from a Door

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There’s one window in the old depot that we’ve had trouble finding a match for without having one made. We were going to patch something together eventually but then over the weekend our friend Marty texted Brett a picture of a door that was being thrown out. Lightbulb! By late afternoon Brett had picked it up and cut out the window to reuse for the depot. Installed on hinges it can swing open for a cross breeze. It worked out perfectly:

Fixing up the train depot: upcycling a window out of a door

When I was growing up the farmer who boarded my horses re-used everything. Everything. I remember a few of the gates to some of the pastures were old vintage metal bed frames with metal wire holding the hinges on. Old horseshoes were used for hooks, and sometimes hinges as well. So many of Mr. Rea’s re-use ideas that I used to laugh at are now on Pinterest as “rustic decor.” I think Mr. Rea would be proud of this upcycling, and if he were alive today he could have cared less about Pinterest:

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(More on the old train depot here.)

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