Getting away from it all, in your own Garden Cottage By Domenic Mangano Removing your physical self from the everyday routine of daily life is one of the best things you can do for your sanity. Keeping yourself sane can be as easy as walking into your own backyard retreat. A Buda hut for meditation, a potting shed for gardening, or a screened room for watching sunsets can easily be created. With an eye for detail a tiny shelter can be turned into a spiritual sanctuary. To begin decide on the purpose of the building. Will it be for potting, storage of a kayak, bicycle or tractor or used as an additional room to the main house? A shack to write poetry, similar to Henry Thoreau’s complete with a little wood stove can be more inviting than a five star hotel. Using a bit of feng shei, which relates to the positioning of objects in your life, can help in choosing the most practical location to place a garden cottage. A small plot is all that is needed, incorporating nature or gardens in the design will provide tranquility and a sense of peace with your surroundings. A tree house may be the right space to provide a sense of relaxing self-fulfillment. Once the purpose of the shelter has been decided and a site plan devised, the next step is choosing the look and feel of the building. Many home supply super stores offer no frill portable sheds that can be transformed into a very desirable setting or you may opt to the alternative method, building it yourself. No matter your skills any space can be enhanced using a bit of garden décor and landscaping. Strategically placed flowers and shrubs will be a great start other details that will help define the feel of your sanctuary include a vine trellis, a window flower box, a wind chime or a charming piece of furniture. The aesthetics of the property will be the envy of friends and neighbors. To explore examples of garden cottages and to further investigate the possibilities that exist you may want to start at your local library. Several excellent books that will surely provide inspiration are,Retreats: Handmade Hideaways to Refresh the Spiritby G. Lawson Drinkard III,Garden Retreats: Creating an Outdoor SanctuarybyBarbara Blossom Ashmun, andThe Inward Garden: Creating a Place of Beauty and MeaningbyJulie Moir Messervy. Creating a tranquil space that is dedicated to your hobby and surrounded by things of peace will help endure the test of everyday life. The next time you feel aggravated, tortured or burdened consider indulging yourself, think about a space all your own, one that beckons onlookers to investigate. A little sanctuary all your own is within your grasp. Article submitted by Jamaica Cottage Shop a builder of elegant Vermont garden buildings. Visit the shop on line at JamaicaCottageShop.com or call 802 297 3760 for an information package.
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