Ideas From The Road – Florida Keys

by Tim Layton

in Dream

Thursday morning I went for a little walk. While I was gone, an idea came to mind and as soon as I got back to the house I calmly presented a couple of options to my bride. Here they are:

Option 1: I’ve been really wanting to build some window boxes on the front and side of the house. When I do, I’ll want to go ahead and repaint the house because we want to change the color from a light grey to a pastel yellow.

We can’t get the full impact of the window boxes unless we change the color and build the boxes, and put flowers in them, in one fell swoop.

Option one was… The boys and I will do that this weekend.

Option 2: It’s been awhile since we went to the Florida Keys and we really love The Keys. So option 2 was, “let’s get to those window boxes and painting another time and hit the road and head south to The Keys.

Bless her heart, she chose option two, and I was mighty glad she chose ME.

So we hit the road Thursday night and made it to Key Largo before we had to get some sleep. The next day we had fun making our way further south and a few detours brought us to some beautiful places. I have a couple of cool pictures to show you to stir your creative juices.

IMG 0575

We saw this in Key Largo. We couldn’t get any closer than this but this building appears to be used as a parking area on the bottom and an open air entertaining and observation deck on the second level. This property is right on some of the most beautiful water in the country, so I can see where the observation deck would come in handy.

If you have the land, accessory structures can be an excellent addition to your property. One of the greatest things about something like this is that it can look amazing without costing a fortune. I’ll file this away in the back of my mind in case I ever find myself with a spot with a view just begging for a building!

On a slightly smaller scale, we came across an idea that I bet you’ll see me actually do within a few weeks. We really love this next idea and it would fit perfect at our house. Take a look:

IMG 0581

This may not LOOK like much, but this idea is something I’ve never seen before. How many thousands of people have privacy fencing that is just a big long wall of wood? I’m sure that at least some of those folks would have a place where a “window” in the fence would be a good thing.

Even if you didn’t want to actually see what’s on the other side of the fence, you could trim out an “opening” and fill the center with an old window sash or some shutters. It could be a really neat way to dress-up a plain section of fence.

I know that my house can certainly do with some cool windows in one of our sections of fence. I’ll take this idea and twist it around a little to make it work for us. I’ll show you when I do.

Question is: Do I do that first? Or build the window box and do the painting? Who knows?

For now, I’m lovin life in the Florida Keys and I’ll keep you posted with more pictures as we work out way southbound on US 1 to Key West.

Thanks for all the entries in the two contests we’re running. I have some excellent answers, but I wouldn’t call the contest over. There seems to be more opportunity to me…

Enjoy the rest of the weekend!

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Article by Tim Layton

Tim Layton, aka Remodeling Guy, worked his first full week on a construction site at age 11. Learning the ropes from his grandfather, he became a licensed contractor in Florida at age 19, which remained his profession for twenty years.

Tim got involved in blogging in 2009 and now focuses much of his energy on encouraging and inspiring people to dream big remodeling dreams here at RemodelingGuy.net, and as a writer for various publications in both online and traditional media.

Tim also helps his wife, Kim, with an inspiring and growing online community at her site, EverythingEtsy.com.

Tim and Kim split their time between their hometown of Tampa, Florida and the historic harborside town of Punta Gorda, FL. They have been married for 21 years and have two awesome sons.

Follow Tim on Twitter: @RemodelingGuy

{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }

1 Abbie April 18, 2009 at 8:02 pm

Cute window in the fence! So far, we have no fence to put a window in! But, that is cool idea and I’ve seen it once before – at a preschool they put a big plexiglass window in a 6-foot fence so the kids could see out of the play area, but still be well contained. :)

Abbie’s last blog post..Hand towels in the kitchen

2 NCJill April 18, 2009 at 9:33 pm

Hey Tim!
So is the window for you looking out or others looking in?? Ya know, with that awesomely cool tiki bar and all, you may have some intruders!! What’s your home address again??
Glad you’re enjoying the Keys. I lived there for about two months in the late 80′s and have VERY bad memories. Not necessarily the place per say, but the company. Anyway…..have fun! :)

3 Christy April 18, 2009 at 9:57 pm

You should definitely paint first and do the window boxes. Don’t wait until it’s too hot!!!!

I’m jealous that you’re in the Keys. Hope you and your fam have a wonderful time!!

4 J.J. April 19, 2009 at 2:26 am

Option 2 all the way!!!!!!
Have fun…looking forward to more photos and more cool ideas.

J.J.’s last blog post..Something beautiful indeed…

5 SoBella Creations April 19, 2009 at 9:14 am

Sounds like you and your family are having a wonderful time.

SoBella Creations’s last blog post..Sofia’s 3rd Birthday & Easter Weekend

6 Rachel April 21, 2009 at 1:23 pm

Actually, there are a couple of people in our neighborhood who have put something like this in for their DOGS!!! So their dogs can look out and see cars and people go by, I guess.
But I think the idea is actually pretty cool. Especially if you have greenery behind there.

And speaking of shutters, we’re thinking of adding some old ones to a flower bed to use as a trellis for a vine.

Rachel’s last blog post..Meet Charlie

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