All Australian Boys Need A Shed

We have had a busy week. Lots of things to do around the house. Tony is building a studio for himself up in a double garage we have.

As you enter our property, about 100 yards off the road, off to the right side we have a double garage that is extra long. Next there is Tony’s original shed, also double garage wide sized, then a path towards the back of that shed. Behind his original shed is my old art studio with a kindling wood shed attached to it. We use my old studio for storage. To the left of those sheds is an area where most of the fire wood is stored.

Past the path is a single garage that is actually yet another shed for Tony, also extra long. Here he repairs things and stores tools. Next to that is a small shed that is called ‘Lin’s Smell Works.’ I start plants there or strike cuttings. Tony has a small water tank attached to the back of that shed which lets me have a direct water source piped in to the shed.

These sheds don’t look like master pieces. Like many country Australian sheds they are put together with old timber Tony scavenged by tearing down other buildings. Windows we found at salvage yards suffice in these sheds. They are big and old and they let in loads of light.

Tony loves to restore old furniture that’s why he needs a clean area. The other sheds work for sculpting, carving and storage. This new area will allow him to work ‘clean’ and provide a special place for him to pursue his music.

One of the funny things I learned about Aussie men was that ‘all Australian men need a shed.’ In fact, I was told this. It amused me big time when I first got here. Then I realised that it is a big part of Aussie culture. A place where men can be men and women enter only on request. I don’t enter Tony’s sheds unless he requests my presence. He generally stays out of my studio in the house and my ‘nurturing shed’. He does need to enter the studio when he wants a DVD or video or book as I have them all on this humungous bookcase he built me. It takes up a full wall and I need a ladder to get to the top. Lol.

On top of Tony building his new shed we are completing what I like to call, ‘Our work in progress.’
This is our home. It started out as a small cottage.
Every nail has been hammered in to it by my husband.
One it consisted of two bedrooms a living room/dining area and a small kitchen. One bathroom and an exterior laundry shed.

Now you enter into a huge enclosed barbie area. Loads of windows bring the outside in. The floors are oak and walls are pine. There are two doors leading inside. One leads to the sunroom. A huge entertainment type area with loads of windows and two sets of French double doors. The back doors lead to a small deck which leads to a lovely little laundry with it’s own deck. The second set of French doors leads into the main part of the house. We have a dining table that seats 10 out there, a couch and chairs. It is a really lovely place to entertain. No TV out there. Just a stereo system and cds galore.

The main part of the house consists of a kitchen
I love, small dining area for just the two of us, living room, study/bedroom, master bedroom, and my studio which is also really a bedroom. There is also a bathroom with a mural by yours truly, shower/bath etc…

Most of the floors are oak with area carpets, one area is real tile in Santa Fee colors, and the walls are pine. There are vaulted ceilings and loads of color. We have exposed beams. It is a comfortable sprawly kind of place. We are comfortable sprawly kind of people and it suits us. This place wouldn’t suit everyone. You need some imagination and creative bent to enjoy it.

I have brass plates, copper, pewter, original paintings and photography on the walls. Our kitchen has Cyprus pine counter tops. A pain to keep clean sometimes but I love them.

The house is built with love and imagination. Nothing traditional about it. We love it because we have built it together after Tony’s initial structure. It has taken 11 years to make it what it is now.

The property is landscaped but more in the cottage garden style. Lots of trees. All kinds. Most of it is left for the wildlife to thrive in. There are just under 6 acres. It is a little slice of heaven.

As much as we love this place it is too much work now. Tony has Chron’s Disease. He takes it a day at a time. It won’t kill him but it has changed his ability to work flat out. Raised his frustration level. I have a permanent problem with my foot that can’t be corrected and limits me from wandering as I once did.

It breaks my heart but once we finally have the place exactly as we imagined we are going to have to sell.
It’s now a fact of life.