Whoops! We’ve Outgrown Our Shop

I know. You are probably thinking “already”? We haven’t even gotten to see the big reveal yet!

We have been busy-busy here at the hollow trying to get our house back in order after the Spring show we participated in. I think between the main house, and the little cottage, we had some sort of “show” something or another just about everywhere. We really used every spare spot we had to either create or store things for the show, so it’s taking longer than it should. We are contemplating ways in which doing the shows can be stream-lined and make more sense for our family. Living with the chaos we created is not conducive to a happy Shannon! It just spilled over everywhere (and I hate it when my eye twitches).

If you are like us, I’m sure your needs and what you require from your home has changed over time.

When we bought this house, we were drawn to the little bonus cottage in back. It was the perfect Mother In Law home.

When it became vacant, we really wrestled with what to do with it!? Rent it to a stranger, use it as a guest cottage, for extra storage… keep it empty for a family member to move into.

We thought long and hard and what we really needed at the time was a work-shop and a place for house guests. It was decided and Jimmy took the living area and turned it into a shop space. With the vaulted ceilings and open space, he added large expanses of counter top and really turned it into something!

(During the transformation)

I was to get the entryway, bedroom & bathroom.

The guest space and shop space would be divided by a curtained area, before the hallway opened-up that I could close it off when company was visiting. You’d never see the shop area so it was a great compromise.

(During the transformation)

I placed a drop-leaf table, microwave, toaster, coffee maker, etc… in the entryway. It’s wide, and would double as a kitchenette. Next I got a full size bed, antique headboard, lights and side tables for the bedroom. The holidays came, I fluffed it up, and got it ready for company by adding a TV & DVD player and the necessities.

Then we began getting ready for the show.

The entire house ended up being storage.

There were benches & tables stacked 4 high and 3 deep in the bathroom… the bedroom was so full of furniture and boxes… you could hardly see the bed. The TV was stored on the washer/dryer… it looked nothing like the “guest suite” I envisioned. The thing is, I know it’s not going to get any better.

Because we are doing another show in August!

And we want to. We are excited about it. It’s just that what we are trying to make due with, isn’t working. The shop area Jim thought would be more than large enough is now stuffed to the gills. We are trying to store lumber out of the weather. We have since acquired more tools, odds&ends and things we need to create the things we want to make. Even with this show being over, we still need the other rooms for storage, for the next show. I mean, where else am I going to store the 2 dining room sets that are waiting to be made over? Plus, you know, all the other fabulous pickings & goodies 😉

We don’t need a cute little cottage that is trying to be a shop.

We need a SHOP.

I don’t know exactly what we’d end up with but I’m pretty sure it’ll be a metal pole building of some sort and it makes sense to have garage doors as well as a traditional access door. We would get it to match the house, so everything looked nice and blended.

At one point, we were considering building an additional home, with street level access to the house.

The garage/shop under it, would be accessible down around the back. That might be something we re-visit. We only “need” the shop portion now, but another home would be handy as a rental maybe? So much to consider!!

We’ve known we needed a shop for a long, long time but have tried to make due with metal sheds.

You know, those ones you see in the parking lots at the big box stores. We have 3. No joke! And that worked okay until we got a taste of what it was like to have somewhere to work with our tools, year-round. Out of the rain, whenever we wanted to!!

For those of you that might not follow along or forget, we do not have a garage. (and we live in Oregon!)

So that has Jim and I discussing the options we have to make that happen. How do you build a shop when you don’t have shop building funds in your sock drawer?

– Sell Austin? Nah. Might have worked when he was a blonde haired, blue eyed baby. But who wants a full sized boy-man with facial hair? Well… someone might 😉 haha

– Sell Jim? Nah. Again, might have worked when he was a blonde haired, blue eyed baby.

– And no one is going to pay good money for moi’. LOL!

That leaves loan shopping.

I know. The “L” word.

And isn’t it funny, that literally, right after the show, while we are actively considering this option… I have the opportunity to look into and talk to you about LightStream?

Because securing a loan for something we are dreaming about is a real life possibility for us, and something we are thoughtfully considering, I felt comfortable about talking about this with you.

I started looking into LightStream, and I like that LightStream provides unsecured (no collateral!), fixed rate loans for virtually any purpose to people who have good credit. If you don’t have good credit it might be a smart idea to look into credit cards to build credit and make sure you have good credit before you apply. Novacredit can provide some information on credit building credit cards. There are also free services out there to make amends to your credit score if you suspect that there are errors. I know if I needed to do something about my score, I would repair credit on my own using Upturn credit.

– The no collateral aspect of the loan piqued my interest, because I’m not interested in attaching a loan to our home.

– We have good credit. Okay, great. So I kept reading.

– I figured the interest rate would be crazy, but I see it’s as low as 3.99% APR with AutoPay through May. (See details here)

If you have good credit, would like a no collateral loan, and have a project like a dream kitchen, bathroom renovation (I wish!) or some other project that requires a little moo-lah, you might want to keep reading.

• Autos to adoptions…home improvements to preK-12 tuition…family travel to medical expenses, LightStream delivers loans up to $100,000, with NO FEES-period.

• Getting a LightStream loan is an entirely online process, with an application that takes just minutes to complete. (And you’ll have an answer quickly during business hours!)

A word from LightStream: LightStream’s business is built on technology that automates most of the loan process. We provide a simple self-service platform for customers, and state-of-the-art tools that allow our representatives to underwrite and service people extremely efficiently. Customers have visibility to the status of their application and account management every step of the way, and control the entire process. This enables us to offer low rates and great service to our customers.

• While LightStream is an online lender, we also have an amazing customer service team that’s available during business hours to quickly answer phone calls and emails.

Disclosure: This post was brought to you by LightStream. All musings and future shop plans are real life, Fox Hollow Cottage dreams. Making big money decisions is not something we take lightly!! We will be thoughtfully considering, looking into, and doing our due diligence before deciding to get a loan or choosing a loan company. Please make sure to protect yourself and do the same.

– You can find out more about Lightstream here: www.LightStream.com/2015HomeReno

– You can find LightStream on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/LSLoans

– FAQs can be found at https://www.lightstream.com/contact-us

I’ll make sure to keep you guys in the loop if getting a proper “shop” is something we are able to achieve!! We are making our lists and doing or pros & cons but it’s looking like something we are really going to need to go-ahead with!! Jim and I always weigh all the options before we do anything big, and always make sure we are on the same page with our family and financial decisions. Which is why that little cottage isn’t just a big-girl playroom for me to decorate, have fun with and use to stage pretty blog-pictures.

Damn.

xo ~Shannon

Visit http://www.LightStream.com/2015HomeReno for additional details, rates, terms and disclosures.

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of LightStream, a division of SunTrust Bank. Opinions and text are all mine.

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