The Idea
For as long as I can remember there’s always been “that shed on the field” not knowing what was inside and I’d never even contemplated that the stable could be a space to work from. I drive past the field most days and the more I looked at it the more I kept thinking it would make such a beautiful studio. So, I got the keys from my dad, went up to take a look, and thought it had bucketloads of charm with the potential for it to be a studio space.
So I got to work!
Inspired by Leanne Ford’s Shed Revamp this gave me the initial vision I needed to make my studio a reality.
The stable had been used for storage for years, so you can imagine it was filled with stuff that was collecting dust and a lot of cobwebs. Step one was going in and doing a major clean up of all the storage, sweeping all the dust from the floor, cutting down all the ivy roots that had grown in, and brushing off the cobwebs on the ceiling.
Structurally, we didn’t have to do much. My brother-in-law repaired all of the cracks in the walls that had broken down over the years and I painted the walls white to make the space feel brighter.
The biggest project was replacing the external wooden front. With years of being exposed to sun and rain, the front was crumbling away in some areas so it needed to be replaced. We’d recently had our garden landscaped in the summer by an all-around job guy who was more than happy to help me with this project. All the wood was repurposed and he added a shelf under the window for me to put some plants on. I decided to paint the outside a slate grey colour to complement the corrugated roof and natural surroundings.
To allow more light into the studio, the window frames were made wider and I had the glass cut to size by a family friend. To maximise the inside workspace he removed half of the divider wall and wooden panels. This opened up the space and brought in so much more natural light to both sides.
The last bit of work was the outside floor slabs. We had just enough left over from when we had our garden done, so I was able to remove the existing weathered ones and extend them out by another row giving me that extra bit of space outside. Once the slabs had been laid it was ready for me to add all the finishing touches and it suddenly felt complete.
I’m a real believer in “meant to be” and this was one of those moments where I thought this old stable was meant to be reused and loved nearly 50 years later.
To check out my full studio re-build reel click here
