For anyone who’s a late comer to my blog, we’ve been working on converting a block barn on our property to a quilt studio for me.  It’s been a long year but we’re reaching the end of the road with it.

Don finally got pretty much everything finished that he’s working on so a few weeks ago, we had the concrete floor done by Roy Bankston….that grown up man who used to be the kid who fished in our pond (with permission).

Roy on the left and Austin on the right. Come on guys! You look so "happy" !!!

They decided on a design first and marked it off with a chalk line.  Roy’s “right hand”, Austin scored the concrete following those lines and did most of the actual work.  There’s a border around the room and in quilting talk, large “cross-hatching” in the center.

The concrete has been scored.

After the scoring is done, the concrete has to be scrubbed and a chemical applied which dries overnight before staining begins.  Here’s a picture showing the beginning of the staining process.  The outer border was stained first and then the center.

Outside border in longarm room is stained.

Staining started in the kitchen

Here’s what the kitchen floor looks like after it’s been stained.

Kitchen floor staining completed

Working in the center of the longarm room.

Almost finished!

I think Austin was getting tired of my camera by now.  After the stain dried overnight, he applied a sealer which took a couple days to dry.  I didn’t take pictures of the bedroom, but he also color sealed the floor in there.  It looks so nice.  I’ll take a picture of the whole room after I finish decorating it.

Here’s what the longarm room looks like after it’s been sealed.  This corner is where “Valentina” will reside.

"Valentina's" corner

I originally thought I wanted the bible verse put in front of the kitchen sink, but Roy pointed out that I would probably want to put a rug there….and he was right.  So, we decided to put it in the doorway between the longarm room and the kitchen.  I love it!

My constant reminder that I'm not in charge.

I love the way the floor turned out.  The concrete has some cracks in it and they just enhance the random nature of the acid staining.  The guys who poured the floor put a broom finish on it so there’s lots of texture in it.  It looks great!

I *thought* I was going to be able to start moving things to the barn Saturday, but it didn’t happen.  DH is working hard to get it finished but there’s still just too much stuff in the front room for me to work in there.  That’s the room I’ll move into first as it has a finished floor.  It’s where all the fabric will be.  Here are a couple pics so you can see what it looks like.

Fabric Room

Another View of the Fabric Room

It’s much better than it was but still not ready for cleaning & moving fabric shelves/fabric.  So, I’ll try again this weekend.  

The longarm room looks so good.  There are only small things left to do in there as far as remodeling goes.  The floor is the big thing to work on.  We’re undecided as to whether to paint or acid use etching stain on it.  Here’s a picture of it before Don put the new ceiling in.

Longarm Room Old Ceiling

And here’s a picture with the new ceiling.

Longarm Room New Ceiling

So, where is Don working now?  He’s working in the kitchen putting up wainscoting on the walls.  He’s promised to do the ceiling but it may come later. He’s such a good man!

Wainscoting in Kitchen

I just got back from the barn to check on Don and wish I had taken my camera with me.  It’s amazing what a little trim will do!  I think I’d better back to packing!

Don worked on the new coop again today but in between, he’s been working in the front room of the barn.  I have my thoughts on what should be done first….and he has his own thoughts about that.  Obviously, they’re not even in the same hemisphere.    I did say the water supply to the barn needs to be done next and he worked on the water line at the coop today so maybe….

He loves beaded paneling.  It reminds him of the houses in Bellamy, AL where we met and were married.  At one time, all the houses were owned by the lumber mill and they were rented to employees for little to nothing.  Th interior of the houses all had V-groove pine paneling.  Most of the walls were finished with a sealer although some were painted.  It didn’t look like this beaded paneling, but the “feel” was similar so he likes it.

The barn had 3 rooms.  A narrow, front room…a large room, and a small room which will be a bedroom for guests.  I think he’s decided to put the same paneling in the bedroom. Here are a few pics of the walls in the front room.  Then he added a kitchen/dining/laundry area and a bathroom to the side of the barn.

Recycled wood ceiling--Beaded paneling walls.

Front room corner

Working hard

This is a wall in the bedroom and is what the walls looked like before he put up the paneling.

We’ve really got to get our act together.  The longarm is due to be delivered and set up sometime next month!

The barn is slowly seeing progress toward becoming a quilting studio.  Don has a full-time job so he has to work on it when he can.  I’m really pleased with almost everything he has done.  I say “almost” because I don’t love the walls/ceiling in the kitchen/bath at all.  But part of it will get better.  He’s put that pressed wood paneling on the walls/ceiling and painted it glossy white.  That stuff is beyond ugly.

He has plans to put a beaded wood wainscoting on the lower part of the walls….and I’ve promised to put a vinyl wallpaper on the upper half.  I’ve asked for wooden ceilings like he put in 2 of the other rooms but I haven’t gotten a firm commitment on that yet. 

Do you remember this picture?

Kitchen, Dining, Bath--no inside walls yet.

The outside walls are up and here’s what we’re seeing now in the kitchen part.

Don working on the plumbing

I asked why the light over the sink isn’t centered.  He said it’s because that’s how much wire he had.  Lol.  It will have a decorative board across the front though so you’ll never know it isn’t centered.  The sink is one that someone gave him.  It’s a deep stainless sink.  He’s put a garbage disposal in.  I’m not sure how much I’m supposed to use that though.    And there’s room for a dishwasher.

The washer/dryer will go to the right of the cabinets and there will be upper cabinets above them.  We haven’t made a firm decision on where the stove/refrigerator will go yet.  We’ll have a gas stove which will be really nice to use for canning.  I just can’t use a canner on the solid element stove top that I have in my house.  It takes way too long for the heat to adjust.

Here’s what the bathroom looks like right now.  Yes, that’s an almond toilet with a white vanity and shower but it will have to do for now.  He’ll probably change that out later.  But, it doesn’t bother me at all.

The vanity countertop is one he bought at the 15 miles yard sale (Husser, LA)  a couple of years ago for somewhere around $15.  It has a new sink in it and has been plumbed.  The countertop is navy.  Don said he started to paint the walls orange so I could have an Auburn bathroom.  I do love Auburn football but I’ll probably just put a few Auburn accessories in the bath instead of painting the walls orange which could be a problem to cover up later on.  Or maybe not…I love the New Orleans Saints too so I may put some of their stuff in the bath.  Maybe I can put stuff for both teams in there!

Bath

The barn will have it’s own water supply from our well.  That will come in very handy when/if we need somewhere to stay after a hurricane because we’ll have water and can power the barn with our generator.

There was a big door into the back side of the barn where they brought the cows in for milking.  Don has closed that off and put a built-in bookshelf there.  It’s got junk in it now but will come in very handy.

Bookshelf

Several years ago, I bought a revolving 3-sided notion display from a store that was closing.  I thought it was an Omnigrid display but it’s not…It’s Nifty Notions.  Whatever it is, it will be great for keeping up with my rulers, notions, and tools.

Revolving 3-sided display

So, that’s the barn update for now.  I didn’t take pictures of the other rooms because he’s got stuff stacked everywhere.  I’m not sure where he’s going to put it all when I get ready to move my quilty stuff in.

I love FreeCycle.  I subscribe to several local groups.  I’ve given away a ton of clothes recently to people on the lists.  I’ve given away all sorts of things.  And I’ve been fortunate enough to be on the receiving end.

Last year we were able to get 8 complete sliding door sets that we’re going to build a greenhouse with.  That was a treasure!  I’ve gotten plants & flowers from generous people on FreeCycle.

You have to be really quick answering posts in order to be considered.  I guess I was at the computer at the right time today because someone posted a cabinet to be given away.

I drove to Covington to pick up this adorable cabinet that I’m going to use in the barn aka quilting studio.  I have always thought these cabinets are so cute and now I’ve got one of my own!

Can’t you just see it filled with quilting books, etc.?