26 | March | 2014 | My Taj MaSmall

The attic at my office. Filled with storage from when we moved in and downsized, every time I came upstairs I couldn’t help but see it as a finished, useable space. So, hang some ship lap, slap on some paint, call the electrician to put in a few more outlets…how hard could it be? It turned out to be incredibly hard, heavy work, full of frustrating delays, and took much longer than I’d planned. I couldn’t have done it without the devoted help of Oceana, and support form others.

Some photos are out of order- will tend to that later… Enjoy!

Before- storage, stuff and a vision: just put up some shiplap, add some paint- how hard can it be?[/caption]

Jazzy says she’ll help…

There used to be a chimney here, and a lot of wires run through here. Just build a wall, they said, just box this in. OK. I’ve got nothing else to do…. sigh

Oh by the way… you have to take all those boards down because we decided to take out the insulation (in July) and spray foam. Shouldn’t take too long….[/caption]

In the end,the delay, extra work and frustration was worth it. The attic is so well insulated, quiet and has such a nice serene feel to it now.

Change in plans- no closet, no build out- just offset the wall to accommodate the wires and old chimney flue.

Rehanging the shiplap- this time with a 20-year old with upper body strength and a nail gun!

almost done!

[capt

Now, about this railing…[/caption]

How many nails?!?

Much better…

The attic door

Cutting the panels, glazing in the glass….

I put the attic door on a sliding rail, now it won’t open into the hallway. Panda approves.

The back wall…[/caption]

The front wall…

Fini!

Beautiful west-looking, late afternoon exposure

I needed a neutral colored carpet, 15′ wide by 25′ long, and I didn’t want to spend more than $300 or so….. This was a remnant I found at the big box store, but I decided to walk away and think on it. 2 weeks later, it was still there and marked down to $279. No way. Way!

Boxing around the toilet pipe

Re-fitting the old access panels , with hinges

Working on the railing and balluster[/caption]

welcome to my crib!

So, I needed to get the carpet roll from the truck up through this window, as there was no way it could come around the corners and up the stairs. BIG BIG BIG thanks to Ed and his son renovating the playhouse up the street, for huffing it up the roof and in the window in 10 minutes, on their lunch hour.

Finished. It’s beautiful!

Finished. It’s beautiful!!

The Taj is mostly done, so we’re off on the first road trip! In February, I was getting ready for a month-long immersion of yoga teacher training at Kripalu center. I wasn’t planning to take the Taj, but my friend staying at my apartment caring for my kitties needed my car- and Taj was roadworthy, so why not? As it turned out, it was so nice to have a little place to escape to on sunny lunch breaks- and play my guitar and sing to the mountains. I stayed in the dorms, so I still haven’t actually slept in the Taj- yet. One chilly afternoon I did have the Mr. Heater fired up, a cup of hot rooibos tea, and I just sat, strummed, and enjoyed the view, letting it all soak in. 🙂