Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Outdoor Bath and Shower Ideas

Okay so I know I'm a little weird. I love the outdoors and nature and that's not weird but I like it indoors. I also like having indoor things - outdoors! I want an outdoor bathroom. In the early 80's at Maas Nursery in Seabrook (very cool place) I saw the most unique bathroom. Part greenhouse and part weird primitive museum type antiques and/or replicas. An old carousel pony to hang your coat on, a framed mirror hung from light filtering corrugated fiberglass panels which made up one wall, so cute! When I went to Puerto Vallarta later, I loved all the open-air palapa style villas, restaurants, and especially the bathrooms.... yes bathrooms! I loved the open-air bathrooms and checked out everyone I came across! I got all sorts of ideas! Now that I'm finally out here in the country with a couple of acres and a big "party barn" to work with, I've decide to add an outdoor bathroom and shower to an outside wall of the barn. I'm still brainstorming the idea. I would need it large enough to use it like a greenhouse in the winter to protect my plants. I want it to be really rustic with recycled and re-purposed, items/materials. I want it to be fun, maybe even crazy!


 

I'm thinking of something that's a mish-mash of all of these. I'll want more privacy because I plan to install a toilet and sink as well. It'll be used by guests when we bbq out back or have party in the barn. I've noticed when we do, the men wander off in the woods behind the barn alot while they are playing pool and drinking beer..... The lil apt or studio in the loft has a bathroom of it's own for overnite guests.

free outdoor shower wood plans


I can imagine one wall will be the outside of the barn, the other maybe just plywood and and that opaque plastic, you see it on greenhouses and comes in all colors. That side will be covered by shrubs and vines. Inside the bathroom, the shower stall inside could be corrugated tin or even scrap tin panels like the one's below, or even old metals signs would look cool too. I'll want a long shelf/counter top/potting bench and windows for lots of light. This will also be my new and much needed dog cleaning station too! With a low faucet in the shower area, I can use a spray nozzle to wash them and just let the water run thru the deck to the garden or maybe I'll get an galvanized tin tub from Tractor Suppy.

Here I go, I'm typing as I'm thinking.... It would be awesome if I built a small water tower about 5' off the ground and sat a water tank up there! We'll have a hot water heater for the apt in the loft but a small water tank, would look really cute out there. Basically just a 55 gallon barrel on a deck a few feet off the ground is what I'll want. We could paint the barrel black to absorb this hot Texas sun and warm it naturally. Which really isn't a bad idea as we've been thru a couple of hurricanes which left us without power for weeks. My husband says I say "we" alot more than "we" do it. Ha well he's plumber/pipe fitter, turned fire sprinkler inspector now, so I figure it's easy for him! I'll have to look for a picture of one and paste it in here.

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Fiverr For Freelance Jobs and lots more

I just started using Fiverr. It's a site where freelancers of all sorts, and I do mean all sorts, buy and sell skills and talents for $5 a pop. Look thru all the categories they have to see what is available. Maybe you have a skill you would like to sell? As I browsed thru the site I noticed someone offering to research any vacation for $5. It got me thinking of my last vacation in the Texas Hill Country. We met family at a guest ranch to research our genealogy in the Dublin and Purves area. I'm a bit obsessive and spent many hours researching everything about Erath county, and saved it all! I could put this in a PDF file and sell it to others interested in visiting the area. Lol AND..... I could sell it again and again. hmmm

I've only used it to find someone to do some SEO work for me so far but am really pleased. Many times I've thought of 'outsourcing' some of the more boring work I do, but I always thought it would be expensive....  At Fiverr.com I found my guy, it was only $5 and I was thrilled with the work!

Saturday, February 4, 2012

Pinterest is a Virtual Pinboard

Follow Me on Pinterest
Pinterest lets you organize and share all the beautiful things you find on the web. People use pinboards to plan their weddings, decorate their homes, and organize their favorite recipes.
   I'm really loving it. I'm using my pinboards to save decorating ideas for the barn loft guest apt I'm building, craft projects I want to do, favorite quotes and inspiration, among other things that interest me. My daughter can attest that my toolbar and bookmarks list is ridiculously long, and filled with craft projects I want to do in the future. This is a much better way to save (and share) that stuff. It's also fun to browse peoples pinboards and see what they have collected.