Our Wall of Windows Project: Upcycled

Most of you know we bought property in Tennessee that included an old farmhouse and a large industrial building that was formerly a church. We will gut the farmhouse and completely renovate it (but not until next year or so). That means temporarily, all of Mr. Basketmaker’s workshop is housed in the farmhouse and the church building we turned into our living quarters and my studio.

But we needed some walls! It was one large open space. And since this will eventually become Eric’s workshop, we wanted to design the living space with his future basketry headquarters in mind. He always envisioned having all his equipment, tools, etc. in one half and a “dust-free” project area and teaching studio in the other half, separated by a wall of glass.

With our starving-artists’ budget, we headed down to the Habitat for Humanity ReStore and purchased a whole bunch of old wood windows for $2 each. Eric built one side of the wall about a month ago. And this weekend, I am so glad that my father-in-law is here to help Eric build the other half because of this:

Yes, that’s Mr. Basketmaker up on a ladder that is mounted on a work table! I wasn’t happy with this but I needed to trust him when he said it’s all clamped down to the table. And I wasn’t as much help to him — he needed someone stronger who could haul things up to him while he builds the frame.

Where there are no windows we decided (well mainly me) to add corrugated steel. I love this material. I don’t know why. When I built a small loft/living quarters in the back of an 11,000 sq. foot building, that housed an antiques store, I bought up in Maine, all my bathroom walls were corrugated steel. I loved it. So when the opportunity arose to use it again, I was thrilled.

Wait…. I think I’m seeing a pattern here. I seem to enjoy building living quarters where there was none before! And apparently so does Eric. When I first met him, he was living in a very old school house up in northern New Hampshire. I didn’t make this connection about this similarity until right now. Sweet!

So we (mainly Eric) built this wall with old windows and corrugated steel. We love it. Especially since we don’t like ordinary — we enjoy creating our own unique individual space. And it helps to be married to a woodworker. He framed out each window and built sills for all. Below is a sneak peak to the corner of our kitchen. Will post the other half of the wall and our very cool custom center door as soon as Mr. Basketmaker and his step-Dad are finished!

comments