When we bought our 100 year old house, the property had been in foreclosure for a few years and just looked a bit desperate… Then our friend approached us asking if we had any interest in buying his gazebo, my wheels started turning… moving a gazebo seemed like a huge task… but could be just the starting point we needed for our new in town setting. Here’s how we moved it and how it fits into our garden here…
We have a carpenter/handyman that can figure out and do just about anything, I swear! He’s like an engineer when it come to figuring out stuff.
I asked him if he thought we could move this huge 12′ (or maybe it’s even 14′) gazebo across town from our friend’s yard to ours, and he said “sure”… with his typical smile on his face to boot!
First he removed the top cupola to be sure it didn’t scrape any power lines along the way…
Then he loaded it up on his trailer, building up the platform with old railroad ties or beams, because the gazebo was too wide to fit between the wheelwells of the trailer…
He slowly made his way through town to the back corner of our yard, where he slowly and gently pulled it off with his tractor…
Then using his tractor he nudged it into place.
Now… stop here and take note!
This is pretty much the only ‘before’ shots I have of our backyard… OK, continue on… you’ll see the ‘after’ shots later in this post.
By the way, that white haired gentleman you see in the pictures is our carpenter’s 80-ish year old father lending him a hand for the day.
It took some finagling… but when it was set in place, it looked like we had built the brick foundation for the gazebo. In reality the brick foundation was a patio that had been there for a long time before we ever bought our 100 year old house. (actually a lot of things with this house have worked that way… things just seemed to fit in like they were always meant to be there)
So there our gazebo sat…
Then we continued on with renovating the inside of our 100 year old house, and didn’t do much more outside for another year!
Then finally, last year, we had the privacy fence installed. What a huge difference that made to the feeling of the yard. I am a big fan of fences, both for function and for the aesthetics of them.
This is now the back corner of our yard early this Spring. (Chester is always trying to photobomb my pictures!)
Besides the privacy fence, we also had a little curved concrete pathway leading to the gazebo door from the driveway added.
In the winter…
It sits quiet, but still adding interesting structure to the back garden. (My dad made those beautiful white angel silhouettes)
And now, in full Summer…
The trees surrounding it, offer not only shade, but when you’re in the gazebo, it kind of feels like you’re in a secret garden. Because the screens are dark, it’s hard for people passing by on the street to even see in it. Although it’s not as private as the 20 acres we moved from, it still has a serene quietness to it. And hey, we don’t have to mow for a half day around it!
Here’s a peek at the inside of the gazebo:
The furniture from the screened porch at our former house fit perfect. And the chandelier from the pergola on the front of our former house looks beautiful in the center now.
So now, from the front…
It gives some dark, natural structure to the large white fence. That’s why I chose the new iron fence and arbor to be in a natural dark rusty finish too… to compliment the brown. (if you missed the post featuring the iron fence and arbor, be sure to check it out here… there’s even an ‘action’ video clip with it!)
The timing of our friend wanting to get rid of his gazebo was so perfect for us, and although moving a gazebo sounded a bit difficult, our carpenter accomplished it with flying colors!
Did you know I now offer e-decorating? I can help you with your decorating needs via email, without having to step foot in your home. If you’re interested in more information, visit my e-decorating site: Frame and Frills. I’d love to help you with your project!
Here are more of my gardening tips and ideas:
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Donnamae says
You have an idyllic setting! I mean… the gazebo, the arbor, the house…the little town…it’s all so charming! And it all fits so perfectly! I have yet to see the video….but I will! 😉
Liz says
We really do love it here Donnamae… And though we’re not from this town originally, we’ve lived here over 30 years and it’s our ‘hometown’ now. 🙂