The “Guesthouse” Update

I’m happy to report that our chicken coop has made it one step closer to becoming our 12 x 12 guesthouse/office/studio (I know, it’s a lot to fit in 144 square feet). With the interior demo completed, which you can see here and the foundation repaired by my husband and father earlier this year, the next step was to make the building slightly less of an eyesore for our poor neighbors. It was just some lattice and paint, but I learned a couple of neat things along the way, so I thought I’d share. Plus, I have a strong affinity for before and afters.

To make sure the building is as water resistant as possible, tar paper was cut and stapled onto any remaining bare wood. Then, the lattice was cut  with a circular saw and affixed to the building with white-headed nails.

As you can see, the lattice isn’t quite level to the ground, but that’s because the ground isn’t precisely level… This part of the yard is on a hill that needs a retaining wall to support it. That’ll be a fun project coming sometime in the nearish future. In the meantime, I’m still trying to decide what should go around the building. Maybe stone or mulch? If you have any suggestions, I’d love to hear them!

Once the lattice was finished, I went to work on prepping for paint. I began by caulking all of the holes, then I caulked all of the gaps in the siding. Then, I reshaped all of the pieces of siding that had chipped edges with, you guessed it, caulk. While all of this was curing, I tackled the mildew that had accumulated on the shady side of the coop.

{Please disregard the windows for now, I have yet to reglaze them!}

Ordinarily, I would have thought to use either a power washer, like I did when prepping the house to paint or maybe bleach. But, then I remembered my absolute favorite cleanser of all time – distilled white vinegar. You can check out my post about making your own glass cleaner with vinegar here.

I used a 1:1 of vinegar and hot water and I applied it with a course bristled brush. Five minutes later and a quick rinse with the garden hose…

Alright, it’s still really really ugly, but it was ready for paint! I went with two coats of Bungalow Blue, in keeping with the house and garage. Painting a small building like this seems like it wouldn’t take too long, but it ended up taking around seven hours. John Hardie siding has all kinds of nooks and crannies, so after using a roller I still had to go back over quite a bit of the surface with an angled paint brush. But, all that time wasn’t a total waste, aside from getting the job done, I made a thrilling albeit unrelated discovery!

The top of my little tool box, now referred to as “the boom box” (only by me), acts as an excellent sound amplifier. It’s ideal for music or in this instance, Coffee Break French Podcasts and a few lessons later I had a bleu coop.

It still needs a bit more work, like a new roof, insulation, reglazed windows, and stairs. You know, all that superficial stuff. But, for now, it’s certainly less of an eyesore for the neighbors…they’ve already told me so.

Have you converted a shed or outbuilding into something like an office or guesthouse? I’ve been pinning inspiration pics like a madwoman, but I’d so appreciate any tips from someone who has conquered a conversion.