Shipping container renovation - a little improv project, thanks to Covid.

When you’re a personal trainer during Covid-19, you have to get creative on how to safely work with clients… behold, the latest + greatest, most exclusive + fly gym in Camden, Maine - FITNESS 52!

I’ve been dreaming of a shipping container renovation since the first day I saw one out west and I finally got to build out my own. For now, this will be a personal training space beside our driveway. A year from now, hopefully, it will be converted to a painting studio for yours truly.

We ordered a “one-trip” container, meaning it crossed the ocean once and has now been retired to Camden. French doors and two windows were added to let in light and provide a second entrance. I painted a mural on both sides of the box to break up the gray and cover some rust. All surfaces of the interior have been painted, including the floor.

If you live in the area and want some one-on-one training, let me know! I’d love to show you around the new digs and get you on the schedule for a session or two!

Or if you’re tired of your same old home workout, check out Forward Momentum Fitness, my subscription workout program that emphasizes injury prevention.

HAPPY TO BE REINSTATED AS GYM DOGS!

Recent works

Staying home has offered the chance to breath life back into my creative routine.

For so long, my creative outlet has been the interior and exterior design work on our properties with inconsistent sprinkling of small commissioned paintings that I would struggle to fit into my schedule. But now!! Almost every day now I make the commitment to paint for 60 minutes- good, bad, feeling it or not. Naturally, once I get started time slips away and I find myself hours later wondering what I’m going to do with all these birds!

GREAT HORNED OWL, 2020
Acrylic on wood panel
24”x24”

Stay tuned for a pop-up show this summer!
We’re running out of storage space over here!

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If you’ve been on the hunt for a bird portrait, let me know!
I do commissioned pieces and love expanding my avian repertoire.
Pieces are priced based on size. Email lily.k.hamill@gmail.com or get in touch on social media with any questions!

KING FISHER, 2020
Acrylic on wood panel
14”x14”

Covid isolation = Home makeover, part 2

What was once a guest room (used a whopping total of 4 nights since we built the house over 3 years ago) has been transformed into a “study” so Nick can work from home (and keep his mess confined to one room).

AFTER - The Study

BEFORE - The Guest Room

We moved Nick’s standing desk in. Then I ordered brackets from Etsy and stained + burned a board to match the desk to make a shelf to keep clutter to a minimum. We relocated a couch only used by Beacon from the basement to the second floor (don’t worry, he’s okay with it). Got a new rug on Etsy; buying rugs on Etsy is where it’s at, seriously. I dug out our old gas station numbers from Mississippi and finally hung them for the first time ever. Before you ask, it’s our anniversary date. And I reached out to a street vendor that we met in San Diego a year ago to see if she was still making baskets because I wanted to support her business before buying a knock off. Voila! A study!!

Covid isolation = Home makeover, part 1

What better time to follow through on those home renovations than when you’re STUCK AT HOME!?

We’ve already converted our guest room into a study - pics coming soon, we need a new rug and a couple of pillows before it’s presentable. But we totally CRUSHED our bedroom overhaul!

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Originally navy, I added two more colors to make the walls three-tone. I’ve been painting stripes on my bedroom walls since I was 13 or so… it’s kind of my jam.

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We used old doors that had been serving as walls on one of the barns on our property - cut them to size, sanded them down, slapped on some poly and called it good. Oh, and added some wall mounted lights to de-clutter the side tables.

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hyg·ge: (propounded “hooga”) a quality of coziness and comfortable conviviality that engenders a feeling of contentment or well-being, regarded as a defining characteristic of Danish culture.

What was once a bit of an afterthought because we were so burnt out from building this house is now our sweet little “hygge” inspired space. On to the next project!

Elm Street renovations - before & after, part I

This is a one bedroom apartment renovation in a historic building on Elm Street in Camden. As you can tell, it lacked much character or care when we got our hands on it… not to mention a terrible kitchen layout and of course, WALLPAPER!

All surfaces needed to be touched up or replaced - new ceiling paint, wall paint, kitchen cabinets, new appliances, flooring, bathroom vanity, etc. The major carpentry project involved adding a pass-thru from the kitchen to living room/dining room to improve flow and light.

After 4 weeks of work - I personally didn’t lift a finger (and it was fabulous) - I’m stoked with the finished product. When your home is your sanctuary, it reflects in all areas of your life. I can’t wait for someone to move in!

If you’re interested in this second floor, one bedroom apartment in Camden, please reach out to kathi@averyrei.com to schedule a showing!

Joshua Tree watercolors, part II

“My wish is to stay aways like this, living quietly in a corner of nature.”

— Claude Monet

More February plein air watercolors from Joshua Tree National Park. Continuing to experiment with pen and ink work either before or after paint to add more texture and definition on these studies. Adding the desert climate to an already FAST drying medium continues to create a challenge.

In 1936, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signed a proclamation designating 794,000-acres of what is now Joshua Tree National Park — an area slightly larger than the state of Rhode Island — a national monument. It became a national park in 1994.

Joshua tree is the common name for the Yucca brevifolia, which only grow in a small swath of the Mojave Desert, from southwest Utah, southern Nevada and western Arizona and into southeastern California, in elevations from about 1,300 to 5,900 feet above sea level… [read more.]

Joshua Tree watercolors

We do not see nature with our eyes, but with our understandings and our hearts.

William Hazlitt

Storms clearing, Joshua Tree BLM Land.

Sometimes my paints stay packed away from weeks (or months), but once I finally un-wedge the stopper we have a full on flood. Sometimes artistic blocks are like that. My creative experience is mostly like that, ebbs and flows, there is no constant production and since my livelihood doesn’t rely on it, I don’t force it.

Into the park we go today, be prepared for more work - because once I start, the craving doesn’t yield.

Not a house renovation...

Painting a portrait for someone who has lost their beloved is an honor I don’t take lightly. Though it is a bittersweet piece, I always hope it makes the hole in their heart feel just a little less empty. 

DAISY, 10”x10” Acrylic on wood panel
Daisy might not physically be with her humans anymore, but she’ll always watch over them.

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Since it’s essentially plastic and dries extremely quickly, using acrylic paint is designed to be LAYERED. I use wooden panels because I prefer their rigidity (and durability). The process starts with a painted panel, sometimes very neutral, sometimes a more saturated color. Then a paint sketch (fun fact: I DO NOT sketch, anything, ever), then the layers begin! Whether I start with light or dark tones depends on the subject matter and the color of the under-paint. Sometimes the early layers are my favorite - but I’m not commissioned to to do a contour sketch painting!

Luce Homestead - before & afters

It’s time for everyones favorite - BEFORE & AFTER PICTURES!
That means this project has reached completion and we couldn’t be more thrilled with the outcome. It was a long road, we went over our timeline, we went over budget, we had to put in a couple hundred hours of sweat equity (I WISH I were exaggerating), but I could not be more proud of finished product or the chance to put these units on the market!

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UNIT 1 —

A first floor one-bedroom unit with the only original fire place.

UNIT 2 —

A first floor one-bedroom apartment with an almost non-existent kitchen originally. (Sorry, no true “before” pictures because this was our storage unit during the renovation!)

UNIT 4 —

Originally a single floor efficiency apartment converted to a two story loft style unit with ocean views. This is the biggest unit and where I spent the most time picking wallpaper, applying spackle and sanding before starting to implement the bead-board strategy.

UNIT 5 —

Converted from a single floor efficiency to a two story loft style one bed room with ocean views and a huge kitchen!

COMMON SPACES —

Not only were the apartments needing some serious love, but the hallways and stairs left a lot to be desired…

SALVAGED MATERIALS —

Historic buildings deserve to keep their character if at all possible - what this means to me is saving trim, saving doors, salvaging flooring, furniture and even original rolls of wallpaper!! We reused the attic floor boards for the bedroom ceilings. We repurposed a closet door from the attic as the closet door and drawer faces for a built in wardrobe. And the majority of the pieces in our furnished unit came from the attic and belonged to previous owners.

Luce Homestead renovation, part VI

Meet the main floor of the unit known as “Cat” - fun fact: the units were numbered in such a strange way and we had to remove the doors on most of them anyways, so we found it easier to give them all nicknames. “Cat,” simple because the previous tenants had a cat. I honestly don’t know what number the unit is, neither do my subcontractors.

BEFORE - no stairs, small cased opening, icky flooring, wood paneling… barf.

IN PROGRESS - stairs to bedroom added, enlarged cased opening, “refrigerator closet in progress.”

AFTER - counter tops had yet to be epoxy’ed at the time of the photo.

Every surface has been some combination of updated, renovated, demo’ed, repaired, replaced, etc. This went from an efficiency unit to a true one-bedroom - one of the new cathedral ceiling, ocean view bedrooms.

The kitchen was reformatted - I detest a fridge beside a stove, so this was solved by putting the fridge in a closet! This kitchen went from being a tiny afterthought in a corner to a huge space complete with an island. New flooring was laid throughout the unit. Stairs to the 3rd floor bedroom were added. Three windows were replaced, wallpaper removed, additional closet space added…. Some people who visit claim this as their favorite unit in the building!

This unit will be available December 1st - if you or someone you know is looking for a 1 bedroom apartment in Rockland, let us know! Showings start November 17.