your hood reuse is awesome!

btw, what kind of stove is that?

I am thinking of replacing just my base cabs next yr - with drawer cabs if i find out it's doable. That'll be another thread - lol!

Oooh, great blog. I love reusing stuff too, though nothing as sophisticated as your range hood.

Currently, I am building (or rebuilding) a fence.

This is why. See the fence to the left of the shed? Looks ok, right?
{{!gwi}}

Not really. Dh built that fence, against my wishes, to hide his junk. At first he put it in there fairly neatly, but then he just started tossing it in and shutting the gate. Weeds grew up all around the stuff, buckets and tires caught rain and bred mosquitoes and I complained about it constantly.
{{!gwi}}

Ick, right?

And the steel wire fence on the right? It was the dog kennel before we had a fence around the yard. After we fenced the yard, dh took some panels off and started putting bigger crap in there. I just couldn't take it anymore, so I am in the process of building this, using the posts from the metal fence for support, and the pickets from the old fence for siding. It's just two sides, and is just still just a fence to hide dh's crap.
{{!gwi}}

Looking good there, Marti. I'm proud of you.
I've seen that false front look in BLAZING SADDLES, remember that old movie?

And, you might even make part of that series of buildings into a sort of shallow fence-row shed, with the roofline sloping down. I've seen many new projects doing that, so that you could have room enough to open the doors wide, and get easy access to your garden tools (shovels, picks, rakes, fertilizer, mulch)...

The fact that you are making it look western, it should really make your DH happy. Just tell him, if he does not like it, meet you down by the OK Corral for a shootout. Even an old hitching post, an old bench, maybe a wooden boardwalk with an old whiskey barrel and an old horse collar or harness, sounds great to me. It is going to be very creative and imaginative when you follow your dream here.

You go girl!!!

I have to go into work this morning. Mama-goose Thanks for posting this link will give me some thing to look forward to when I get home. I actually have a recycle project going right now. Too soon for pictures.

That is just darling Marti.

Thanks ML & Shades. I can't make it into a shed without getting a building permit and that is too much of a hassle. We have plenty of room for all the tools and lawn equipment in the shed now.

I am going to put a little porch on it, and I'd like to do it somewhat like this one, though I may have to do it like the shed. I just don't want to cover the door.

{{!gwi}}

Wow, Marti, that is exactly what I'm talking about. Was this your inspiration for the project?

If you do not want a boardwalk in front of the fence, you might use bark chips, or maybe small gravel, to keep a wide cutting strip so the lawn does not need weedwacking close there. Maybe the lawnmower could suffice. Always find a way to reduce the work load, dontchaknow.

I notice they have plenty of wooden barrels in the picture above. Old nail kegs, powder kegs, whiskey barrels, cracker barrels, whatever, they will last for a long time. Do you have termites in your neck of the woods? Always a problem in Alabama, but not so much that I can tell up in MA.

In some cases fences have a little "V" cap on them, upside down, which is not a "roof" but does serve to shield the top from rain. Like bird houses, very narrow. It gives a little bit of depth to arches over driveways and such. Not really a roof, but a peak that keeps the look from being so flat, gives more depth.If I can find an illustration, I'll post it.

No, I just found that photo. I've been thinking of doing this for at least a year. I wanted dh to do it with me, but he kept coming up with excuses: the hose reel is attached to the wire fence, the posts aren't lined up or tall enough, the wood fence posts are in concrete and hard to get out, and on & on. So I just did it by myself.

The new fence is on a concrete slab, and there is a concrete walk in front of it and the shed. I'm going to use some concrete stain and paint a boardwalk on it.

Oh, and I'm going to make a trough around the faucet, to hold the hoses.

desertsteph, thank you! The stove is a Frigidaire, smooth-top, convection, purchased in 2007. It has one oven, but I wish we'd bought the model with two ovens--my BIL has one, and recommends it for baking cookies, casseroles, etc. without heating a large oven.

marti8a, thank you for all the pictures--I think maybe we all have our 'dirty little secrets'. Mine just happen to be in every building on this place! (And, behind the barn, too.) Your solution is adorable! I agree with ML--a wooden barrel would be perfect on the porch, and your trough idea is a stroke of genius.

shades, enjoy the blog--I know you'll love the glass bottles used as building materials. I'll be watching for pictures of your project.

Thank you mama goose.

I was taken by the glass bottle wall too. Wish I had somewhere to do that here, but it's just too much a contrast with the old west look.

I just visited your link, Mama, and found much of interest. I was originally considering a "living roof" for my Teahouse, but DH did not think so. And I have several books about the "living walls" or green walls. And about hiding human structures beneath what appears to be rolling hills which drain the water into sisterns or collection points. It is a fascinating subject. One thing that is happening these days is big municipalities are giving credits to developers who transform hot roof spaces into green spaces. They HAVE to do something, because the climate can become unbearable in big cities.

I sure wish I was a young person just starting a career as an architect or civil engineer, it would be so great to see what can be done to make the next century better for the common man. The wealthy will take care of themselves, but the rest of us need to work together to stay alive.

You probably get more rain than we do ML, but I have wondered how they keep the roof plants alive when we can't even keep grass alive in yards.

Thanks for the link MG and I love that range hood. Really a great repurpose of an item.

Marti ~ That is a cool junkyard entry and hiding place for the junk.

FlowerLady

Marti Love your inspiration picture. Great idea to paint a board walk on the cement. Will be so cute.

Well my hands are in terrible pain from the Psoriasis and arthritis that goes along with it. Having a huge flair right now. Why I have not been on here too much.

I did push through and get my crazy green , only it is lavender, project done up for the dogs yard.

Explained on the picture so I do not have to type it again.
Was a blast to do. Still want to straighten the clothes lines. Hands too sore to do it now.

Here is a link that might be useful: Idaho Pergola

I am so sorry you are having trouble with your hands. My dad had psoriasis and he was often miserable. He didn't seem to have arthritis with it, but his was on his elbows mostly.

I love your Idaho Pergola. That is going to be so neat when morning glories are growing all over it. If you have children visitors, they will think that is a secret garden. Heck, I'd like to have a secret garden.

marti8a, maybe you could do a bottle tree, with green bottles, and pretend it's a cactus!

moccasin, I was taken with the living roof, too. I have a green wall--my barn is being swallowed by a 'Vrigin's Bower' this year, and I haven't had the heart (or the time) to cut it down--those little white stars are so pretty.

Thank you, flowerlady, it's good to hear from you!

shades, LOL indeed! You have such an imagination--who else would have taken all those cast-off items and made such an interesting, whimsical, useful piece?! Hope your hands are better soon.

Just thought I'd bring this up again for an update.

I finally finished the building part of the project. Now I just have to paint a name on it.

{{!gwi}}

Hey Marti, that looks GREAT. Those doors are fantastic.
Why not put your surname as the "Prop." (proprietor) or maybe
name it after the Blazing Saddles town....Buzzard Gulch?
ahhh, maybe the name you chose for your house can be the name for your town?

And now I think you need a horse trough and some hitching rails too. When you are done with your very own western town, it will be something to decorate at Christmas!!! Wow.

I've got a name for it: Possum Trot. lol Apparently that was the name of a local town before they changed it to a normal name.

Yes, I plan on doing something about the faucet next, either make a water trough or just make it look more like a pump.

that's awesome! I'll take one!

Thanks! It was fun (at first) and I learned a lot, but it probably wasn't worth the effort or expense.

SO LOVE IT Marti. In one of your earlier pictures of this there were water tanks in the yard behind this front. Just plant one of those under the water stand. Or hammer in another pipe and do a nice stack of tippy pots in front of it.