Our former (previous owner’s) Koi pond had been an eyesore for a long time. We finally found someone who was able to transport dirt to fill it up. I’d always dreamed that this would make a great studio annex since it’s located right behind my studio.
Here’s a before photo. What you don’t see is all the rubble that had been thrown in the hole. The workers took it all out and then used part to create a more-or-less solid bottom on which to put the dirt.
One of our intrepid workers is beginning to laboriously fill in the hole, on the right. The truck load of dirt is behind the courtyard wall—no way to get it inside. So the wheelbarrow needed to be filled, emptied into the hole, repeated over and over.
Finally the hole is filled and dirt is leveled. Now I’m painting the walls. You can see this is not a pristine surface.
Next step, building screens for the structure. The first screen is in and Jim’s prepping to fasten in the next one. He built all the screens, I painted the wood and stretched and stapled the screening to the frames. Then Jim fastened them to the structure.
A view from inside, looking out into the courtyard. First layer over the dirt is an inexpensive indoor/outdoor carpet from Costco. Fastened together with Gorilla tape.
And here it is, finished, with tables inside and the walkway, chair and planters with flowers outside. Recycled plastic water bottles decorate the top of the annex. Ready to get working on new projects in the much needed new space!