The Beginnings of a Studio

Eventually this....

will become this....


Ok, maybe not exactly like that, but close. We're in the midst of an exciting building project here at the Smith Homestead.
As many of you know, we live in a rather small house. It might not seem so small to some (1400 square feet...not too tiny), but with 3 growing boys and a 2 businesses under this roof, it gets cramped, quickly. I have always dreamed of having a detached studio space and with a $300 budget (holiday gift money we've been saving) we are going to do it.
At first I was hoping for a completely free standing cabin sort of structure. My dream? A sleeping loft. But with the budget in mind, it was much more rational to use our existing porch area that doesn't get a proper usage as it has been.
$300 isn't much. Thankfully there is a floor and a roof already. The siding will be made from reclaimed oak horse farm boards we found on Craigslist for $.50 a board. Not crazy about the black so we've been painting each one and running it through the table saw to straighten out the sides.

Pinterest is, of course, completely perfect when thinking through projects like this. If you're curious, I  have 2 boards going right now with studio and decor ideas. You can see them here and here.

I'll snap photos along the way and let you see our progress as it moves along.
Did you ever see our kitchen remodel on a $200 budget? See that here and click the link in the post for a flickr side show of that fun (and cheap) project.

What house projects are you tackling these days?