Very early beginnings

by Esther Priestley April 23, 2021

The kids cubby house at the bottom of the garden was built by my father. It was taken apart and rebuilt as the studio with recycled materials found on the property and salvaged materials (mainly windows and sliding doors) from demolition sites.

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But first the cubby needed to be dismantled. It was sad but also exciting to see this happen. c. 2019

All internal structures were removed and then the walls and roof to be rebuilt. The foundation was made for the floor also.

...and soon the cubby had turned from this...

...to this...

Then the salvage expedition began. We gathered the family troops and removed one big window and two with a sliding door from a house to be demolished.

My brother knows what he is doing. All three windows removed within 20 minutes. The hard part was loading it all on the trailer.

Then the fun began, placing them in their new permanent position along with the roof and walls, and the studio is taking shape.

Some of us took the work more seriously than others!!!

This beautiful double glazed window (above) is going to be above the work bench, but was very heavy.

Then the reverse cycle air conditioning went in.

Along with the walls.

The floor was laid and oiled.

One of my sons helping.

The railings around the veranda had to be put in place.

And my long for dream was starting to come true. Just some final touches and I moved in.

The most exciting thing was when the electricity was connected. It will lead to some new landscaping in later years.

And the studio is ready for use. January 2020... just in time for the year that was to come (bush fires/ Covid) and in a strange twist of fate awarded me unexpected time in my sanctuary.