“What is that thing out in the woods?,” my brother-in-law asked quizzically.  When I explained to him that it was a mini conservatory made of old windows I could tell by the look on his face that he was thinking, “Ohhh-KAY!”

Y’ALL!  Not everyone gets us, we diggers in old trash.  I know y’all are with me on this.  Why else would you read a blog like mine?  The thrill-of-the-hunt-to-find-the-perfect-parts-that-will-come-together-into-one-grand-creation-of-our-own-making.

SIGH . . . Life is GOOD!

Quite awhile back I did a post showing pictures of garden houses (LINK HERE) and shared my dream of having one of my own.  Back then there wasn’t a single place in our yard to add such a dream.  HOWEVER, now that we are in a house with a larger yard and much of it natural woods, I found myself dreaming once again.

Dreaming and searching online for Mini Garden Conservatories.  I found several on Pinterest which you can check out on my Garden Houses Board.

The following is a simple tutorial showing how Mr. OTN and I put our own Mini Conservatory together:

We began with six windows found on Craigslist.  Four for each of the sides and two to make the peak of the roof.

Mr. OTN jumped right into the project (I think he enjoyed the fame of being written about in my Recaning a Vintage Chair post) and used a drill and screwdriver to attach L-brackets to three corners of the structure.

Next was the peak of the roof.

We knew we wanted a flat section on the top for attaching decorative trims so he screwed a 2×4 down into the edges of the top and added brackets on both ends to stabilize the roof.

The bottom edges of the roof windows fit down perfectly into the tops of the base windows so all Mr. OTN had to do was add screws to secure them.  The door was added next and Mr. OTN shaved off a bit of the top corners with his mitre saw so the door wood swing smoothly under the roof.

We used old hardware that came with the windows as a door latch.

I wanted a tin strip over the top of the roof and after measuring I used metal snippers to cut the trim from a piece of dryer vent.

You can see here that I took my hammer to it to make it look like hammered metal.  This was just the beginning.  By the time I got through with my hammer and a metal chain it looked really grand!

I decided to cut a piece of wood to cover the end brackets and give my house a more finished look.  This is the template I created for the wood before cutting it with the table saw.  Yes, I get to use the dangerous tools!

I could hardly wait until it was all put together to begin painting.  NOTE:  It was a waste of time to tape everything before painting.  I have a pretty steady hand and I found that I could paint and wipe away excess much faster than I could tape.  Besides, this is an outdoor project so who really cares if the paint is a little sloppy?  Live and learn.The best part was trimming out my creation.  I had leftover metal trim from my Outdoor Herb Shelf project.

I found an inexpensive cross at Hobby Lobby and added some plastic crystals for a little sun catching bling.

I found an old trivet at Habitat for Humanity and since it was dark like the trim I rubbed a little gold paint over it to make it stand out.

I’ve had this crystal doorknob in my spare parts box for awhile now so I was delighted to be able to use it on this project.  The well patina’d doorknob plate was a cheap brass one that I also found in my spare parts box and aged with salt and vinegar.  Poifect!

The decorative accent on top is two plant hooks screwed down into the wood and metal.

I wanted to elevate my Mini Conservatory so was extremely happy to find an old coffee table at Goodwill that I painted with the same outdoor paint that I used on the windows.   Aren’t the legs good looking?

Finally I was able to add a bit of color with beautiful plants.

This little boy and his dog were sitting in the woods behind our house so I gave him a new place to observe the garden.

The broken pedestal piece was also out in the woods and it now serves as a stand for my plants.

I like adding a little interest to the woods behind my house . . .

. . . and the view from my screened porch makes me smile.  Silly old lady that I am. 

Blessings friends,

Please don’t forget to PIN me!

 TheDIYShowoff, LifeOnLakeshoreDrive, SilverPenniesSundays, SundaysAtHome, RusticAndRefined, Spiritual Sundays, GiveMeGrace

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