HomeMy Tiny HouseFarm Charm CottageLe Chicken Chateau

Sep 22, 2013

Summers last gasp ....

Just yesterday summer made its final gasps and allowed some sunshine to break through as a final goodbye to what was a wonderful North West summer. I was working around my yard and decided to stop and snap a few pictures of my storage shed and my chickens to share with you.

A few last glimmers of sunshine broke through the questionable clouds at summers last day of the year. All while, angry clouds and grey skies hovered  in the background just waiting to step up to take center stage. I felt a cool mountain breeze blow lightly through my hair as I sat on my John Deere riding lawn mower to give the field grass the final trim for the year. The leaves on my apple tree seemed  to be in an argument with summers last breeze, as if to say that they were going to continue to clothe the old apple tree as long as they possibly could. The still green leaves have not yet changed into their beautiful fall colors, as tons of yellow apples are still clinging to the branches in protest.


                                                                    

This is my storage shed. It might look larger than my tiny house and that is because it is much larger than my tiny house. It's twenty feet long and ten feet wide. I suppose one could finish it off and make a tiny house out of it. I use it for storage. Instead of just having a plain looking boring storage unit I wanted it to resemble a little cottage. I bought used French doors on Craig's list for $65.00. I then bought new windows with interior grids at a discount contractors overstock supply shop. I paid $35.00 for each window, and they came with screens. Faux shutters were made from scrap cedar wood. I found some metal scroll work pieces at a local craft shop for about $7.00 each and painted them white to add a bit of charm to the shed. Vintage lace valances were $2.00 each at a local thrift shop and were hung on the inside of the shed. I hauled the already made old cedar deck section from my friends old property. It was destined for the burn pile until I salvaged it.  Metal flower boxes were purchased at Grocery outlet for $12.00 each. Road side picket fence sections complete the look I was after when I first had my cottage built.





Below you can see my tiny house on the left, the chicken chateau & run in the center and the shed on the right. Next year I plan on putting some gingerbread trim on my tiny house to make her even sweeter.




Below, My rooster enjoyed his last day of summer and now my neighbor is enjoying chicken soup. The problem with letting eggs hatch is ending up with roosters. I am such a bad farmer girl. I actually searched for a rooster rescue to place 3 of my 5 roos. I could not find one and instead I had to pass them along to my neighbor who was happy to have a good healthy organic meal.




                                                                                 

The chickens and roos are enjoying their last day of summer. We will all miss summer SO much.
                                                                     

I grew up in the California bay area and after living in the North West for about 15 or so years I have never adjusted to this weather. I am a sunshine girl, and while some rain is ok, it overwhelms me, every year here in WA state. If I never ever saw rain again, it would be fine with me. But rain aside it is what seems like endless months of grey skies that I do not do well with.  Life is too short and I am unsettled and greatly affected by what seems like never ending months of cold grey weather. We do have many nice summers overall. I soak them in and try to think positive, but fall just reminds me of the long months of grey that is around the corner. So, I have made the decision to move out of state. I am looking at moving into a very rural area in Western N.C.  If any of my followers are from North Carolina, I would love to hear from you. Nothing is set in stone but I am seriously shopping for a new place to call home. 

Many blessings,
Tonita

32 comments:

Tonya said...

Your little bitty house is so beautiful, adorably cute, shabby-olious, gorgeously decorated...there aren't enough adjectives to describe your home. :-) I stumbled across your home on Pinterest and I'm now a new follower. I do have a question I do hope you can answer...did you paint your kitchen counter top and if you did can you tell me how you did it?
Thanks!

Tonya
http://creativeaddictiontopaper.blogspot.com

P.S. I live in TN but I think you will love living in NC or the south in general. :-)

Amy at Ms. Toody Goo Shoes said...

These pictures are so charming! Wishing you much good luck in your search for a new home. I hope you'll continue to blog from wherever you call home!

Anonymous said...

Wishing you much happiness with your move, wherever you end up. I'm in north Georgia three hours south of Asheville. If you have any questions about my area feel free to send me an email. Also I have been to Asheville a few times so maybe I could help with questions about it as well.
~light & love~
Birdie

Tonita said...

Hi Tonya,
Thanks for your sweet comments. I purchased an unstained butcher block counter for the tiny house. I used a dark stain on it and then sealed it. I like the contrast of the white cabinets and the dark counter top. I had no prior experience doing this so this was a first but overall I am happy with the end result.

Tonita

Unknown said...

Beautiful and sweet pics!!!

Barbara said...

I've never been, but one of my good friends is absolutely in love with the Asheville area. I'm going to check out the area myself.

Anonymous said...

I enjoy your blog so much, I too live in a tiny house in Texas, but I'm from Central Washington. Your photos and lovely decorating inspire me and encourage me to keep working.

burghgrl said...

Hi Tonita!

Sooo happy to have found your blog. GIRL-You're the BOMB with decor in the MOST homey, comfy, yet BEAUTIFUL oh so lush ways...omg, cannot tell you how GOBSTRUCK I was, when first I fell in love with your pictures!! Whew...i feeeeel your pain, about the almost zero sunshine factor in the N.W....seems the whole world, is rushing to Asheville area,(mumber one retirement city in the country right now) so I do so hope it'll be everything you want...i'll be waiting and watching anxiously for the very best outcome for you! Will you move...everything with? wow...i'm sooo pysched for you :):)

Take your time...i know how overwhelming a long distance move like that IS. And...the south, IS different...VERY. I live in Orlando now...uhhhhh, not a dream destination, sorry Mickey! Bye now...Donna

A Daughter of the King said...

So lovely.You have wonderful, frugal and classy taste! A very large gift to house in a tiny cottage :)

pugsmom said...

Tonita,
Will you be taking your beautiful, wonderful, fantasy tiny house with your or sell it and start over with another? I live in Oregon and have been soaking up all the information I can on tiny houses. It's my goal. Yours is by far the most interesting and enchanting I have ever seen.
I do feel bad for the roosters.
Sandra

Anonymous said...

You will love the Asheville area. Its one of my favorite places.

Anonymous said...

Tonita,
I share your impending sense of doom as summer leaves us! It has been the most wonderful summer. Sunlight is so inspiring and I dread our long dark days. I wish you wisdom as you plan the next leg of your journey. I'm a PNW girl but think I may have to relocate to Sequim area at some point for that rainshadow effect! Keep on blogging as we love seeing your talent and adventures!
Faith

Earthbagger said...

Hi Tonita,
I've only read a couple of your blogs on Tiny House News but I love your particular tiny house and so understand your need for more sunshine. I live in northeast Georgia about 2 hours from Asheville, with my father on 5 acres or so. If you're planning on moving your house with you, it's entirely possible for you to park it here while looking for something permanent. As long as you don't mind dogs, that is, as I have four noisy ones. I've been building a small earthbag/cordwood structure for a while now and am intensely interested in natural building. I am originally from Northern California and would love to move back there some day. So if you think you might want to park here for a while or if I can help in any other way, just let me know, I'd be glad to help as much as possible. Best wishes, Marlene

desertwildflower said...

I love your compound, esp. since I always thought if I lived in a tiny house I'd want to have a storage building rather than get rid of everything I own. Nothing wrong with that!
I tried living in Seattle for 4 years but the gray skies were too much for me. So I can relate and I applaud your decision to move. You'll be happy you did it.
Best to you.

Unknown said...

Love the chickens, how do you keep the animals from killing them

Unknown said...

Did you put vegetable oil on the butcher block

mrsvickers said...

I guess the grass is always greener....Here in North Texas we have so many endless days of relentless, glaring sun and accompanying heat that I look forward to the occasional gray overcast day, and rain is an especially refreshing treat; though I am sure too much would be overwhelming.

Susan said...

Your blog is so lovely and I enjoy reading about all the creative things you have done to make your little place so cozy. I am currently searching for a place where I can build a small compound very similar to what you have done. I am in the Northeast and there are too many rules and regulations here to make it work. I would be interested in what information you get about NC concerning those issues. I lived in Asheville for 4 years up till 2009 and will answer any questions you have. Please email me. I know the rural areas around there very well. Making a decision to move is difficult but a new adventure is always a wonderful thing.

Unknown said...

Do you read the small measure blog...Ashley lives in Asheville...I went to university with her husband and she could probably give you some good advice! She keeps chickens as well and bees! Ashley English writes books too! I live in the UK but if I lived in the States, Asheville would have to be a place I would love to live at.

Nancy said...

I am not sure my previous comment went through because of an error message I got, so if this is a duplicate, I am sorry.

Tonita, I live most of the year in Brevard, NC which is about 30 mies southwest of Asheville. Asheville is an incredible city with a very lively downtown. It is very artsy and bohemian. My county gets a lot of rain, but Buncombe County where Asheville is located is one of the driest counties in NC. If I can help you with information, I will try to do my best. Best wishes on your decision. Nancy

Tonita said...

Thanks all you sweet ladies for taking the time to comment here on my little blog. I love to hear from each of you and it means a lot to me.

I am not sure if there is a way to reply to those that have a question unless I respond instantly under your comment when it comes in, and after I hit the "publish" button. Any advice is helpful for such a low tech girl like me. I think other blogs have a way to go back and respond to a comment someone has sent earlier, but not sure that is possible on Blogger?.

I will respond try to respond to earlier comments here --

I really appreciate such generous offers of help and information that some of you can share with me about Asheville and surrounding areas. So, hopefully you leave me a way to contact you if you do not have a blog. I tried to hit reply as the comment came in but they pop back as "no reply". sigh..

Nancy- I would love to get in touch with you and will try to find you though your blog in the next few days, so I can ask you a few questions.

Marlene, Thanks so much for your most generous offer. Wow...Blogger land is filled with such amazing people. I am humbled.

I won't be moving for quite some time it seems, as I have just begun shopping for a new property. But hopefully it will happen sometime in the spring or by next summer when It makes more sense weather wise to relocate. And, yes- I will be taking my tiny house wherever I move.

Hugs,
Tonita

Nancy said...

Tonita, I am glad we had a chance to talk today. I really enjoyed meeting you. I hope my input was helpful. Best wishes o your decision. Nancy :)

Anonymous said...

Just discovered your blog Tonita. What a gorgeously pretty blog and a gorgeous lifestyle you have. I must check out this tiny house thing going on. I adore the concept of living "small" - and would even love to live in a caravan! Looking forward to following more of your posts.

Barb, from Texas said...

Your tiny house is my FAVORITE! I found you when you had it decorated for a PINK
Christmas. What happened to your little 'fireplace'? Would it be possible to get the plans for your house? I've dissected it as much as possible, but still confused about your built-in shelving. Thanks for sharing your frugal finds too!

Barb

Diane said...

I love your little house and the hen house is wonderful, too. I always say when I point out tiny houses to friends that your house is the fantasy of my inner little girl. Have you seen this blog from an Asheville, NC couple about their tiny house?

http://www.120squarefeet.com/

Diane said...

Also, this person made a very tiny house that has a legal permit in Asheville:

http://tinyhousetalk.com/legally-permitted-tiny-house-in-asheville/

dlw said...

I am very nosy, so pardon me, but I have 2 questions; do you actually live in the tiny house, or is it more of a "playhouse", and what do you do for a living? I am always curious about what bloggers do in their non-blogging hours. thanx and sorry if i'm too snoopy!
debra

Lin from A {tiny} Cottage In The Woods said...

Hi Tonita,
So happy to meet another tiny house lover!
Yours is adorable (and looking finished) whereas ours is still in the process of moving from the building stage to the decorating stage. We are currently building a shop (dubbed 'the toy shoppe' and are putting in the electrical now. We are quite slow, as we build everything ourselves.
Once we've finished building the shop & hubby has moved his tools in, he has promised to finish the mill work & cabinetry in our cottage. So for now, I just share closeups... no 360 degree house tours.
Thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment. Starting a new blog is soooo slow.
Following you,
Lin

Tonita said...

I will try to respond to a few comments posted above. Sorry that I did not respond after each comment was posted. I do read each comment and hit "publish" but don't always have time to respond in a timely manner.

Ben, About my kitchen counter, I used a sealer from a wood products store to seal it after I stained it.

Oh, The chickens have a house and a fenced in coop run area. They only free range part of the day.

Barb, You asked me about my tiny house plans. I just had a vision of what I wanted in an itty bitty home and had phone conversations with Scott the builder and he put it together for me. I don't have any official drawn up plans. About my fire place,- I just changed it out for a more shabby looking fireplace mantle made from an old chippy door.

Dlw, Most people who own tiny homes are not allowed to live in them legally due to county or city restrictions and regulations. Another big reason to leave WA State. This is a nanny state with unreasonable laws and ordinances EVEN when you own land and pay HUGE taxes.

Thanks for commenting.


Unknown said...

I love your style! Check out Lincolnton, North Carolina. Warmer than Brevard (which is much colder for a longer period) and we are about 75 miles south east of Asheville. We have a longer summer, and sometimes, my pool is swim temperature by the first of May. I will be happy to help you out and you'll have a friend here, with a BIG salt water pool! And YOU can help me with my tiny guest house decor!

Tonita said...

Hi Lynn,
Thanks for contacting me. Your pool and guest house sound like fun. I would love to communicate with you but unfortunately I am not able to contact you. Can you please click on the "contact me" link in the right hand column of this blog and send me an email so that I have a way to contact you?
Thanks, Tonita

Anonymous said...

Hi, I'm planning on building my tiny house in a few months. I live in seattle, WA but I too am tired of the endless grey skies and rain. My plan was to take my tiny house to Charlotte, NC sometime next year. Are you still in Asheville?
vitakruk@gmail.com

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