Thursday 19 September 2013

Dorset Logstores

It's beginning to get to the time of year, where even sitting in my nice cosy office, I consider it's time to hang up the shorts for another year and put on something a little warmer. It's also the time, when our log store begins to fill with carefully stacked logs, as we prepare for another unrelenting and often Siberian winter here in Dorset. As such, September is roughly when our sister company Dorset Logstores wakes up, blows the cobwebs from their eyelids and shake the sawdust from their ears, before setting to with an unwavering determination to build the very finest quality log stores, to be delivered up and down the country.

Wood Store
Dorset Logstores are the perfect way to season and stack your wood for the winter, in a store based around practicality infused with rustic beauty. Whether your looking for a large store like the Okeford with its majestically sloping roof, or a smaller store for going just outside the backdoor for ease of use (like the Melbury for example), Dorset Logstores has an extensive range of all shapes and sizes to fit any garden or fill any space.

All our logstores are designed with a 19mm gap (I've been informed that is 3/4" in old money) between each board to allow superior airflow to remove moisture from the logs in the shortest time possible. The attention to detail doesn't stop there either. The logstores are made form Tanilith-E treated Swedish redwood, this top quality timber will last around 15 years without any treatment. Never foolish men who build their houses on sand, only the finest construction screws and fittings have been chosen by the workshop to be used for finishing off the logstore.

As well as its traditional timber roofing, the logstores uniquely come with a choice of roof styles. Our cedar shingle roofs are made using Canadian cedar attached to a 19mm plywood backing, giving the store a natural look. The Slate effect roofing is made from a coated polyester resin composite, again on a 19mm plywood backing, giving the whole log store an effortless style and stature.

Kindling on the shelf

All the necessary fireside essentials are available from our sister company too. There are the brushes and pans for the all important pre-fire clean, the wicker baskets for transporting your bone dry logs to your roaring fireplace and all the pokers, shovels and tongs to keep your inferno blazing.

An Okeford Logstore with Slate effect roof


Dorset Logstores have everything you need for keeping Jack Frost from the door, and means that people like me can continue to wear their shorts for just that little bit longer. Now all you want is a helpful fellow to chop up that big pile of wood you have.

Thursday 5 September 2013

My favourite Painted and Decorated Flyte so Fancy Hen Houses

Since the launch of our much admired, beautiful and radiant Gypsy henhouse in 2010, Flyte so Fancy has been offering its customers the chance to add that little extra bit of charm to their chicken coop, with our painting service. Of course here at FSF HQ we love the natural timber of our hen houses, but that little artistic flourish can really add something to our gorgeous coops. Whether its sedate traditional colours or something a little more eye catching over the last three and a bit years we've sent out some brilliantly decorated coops (not forgetting all the intricate detail on the Gypsy henhouses). So I thought i would put together a little blog of some of my favourites, and perhaps give you some ideas for your own chicken coops.

Chicken Coop with painted option

These were two painted Long Legged Maggie's Dozen Hen Houses that we had going out on the same day earlier on this year. The house on the right is painted with a cornish butter body, with a doulton blue roof and accents. The eye catching coop on the left is done up in purple pout and jungle fever green. We asked our facebook followers to vote on which one they liked best and the result was neck and neck (my favourite still being the coop on the left).

duck house decorated with ivy

Here we have a photo of a Hobby Duck House, that the customer requested be decorated like a Gypsy Daydream. As such, it has been painted in cornish butter, with those bold pugin red trims, and has the added touch of creeping ivy up both its sides and decorative daffodils around the pop hole. A lovely looking little house.

poultry protection pen

This photo shows an Annie's Coop inside a 9 x 9 Protection Pen, that we had on our display area here at FSF HQ. We spruced it up with a paint job so the residents hens would stop complaining. A fairly simple paint scheme, it does however add that little hint of charm to the middle of the pro pen.

Of course our decorated Gypsy Henhouses is the pinnacle of chicken house painting and decoration. With its intricate and highly detailed individual style it really adds that unique touch to any chicken house. Here are some close ups of my favourite designs.

roses chicken coop

daffodil gypsy hen house

Painted hen house

Roses, daffodils and poppies all making these hen houses a real spectacle to behold.And of course once the hen house is complete, the final result is quite something too. 

Decorated Chicken Coop

These were some of my favourite decorated hen houses that we have done over the last few years. If you've decorated your hen house in a unique way, why not send us a picture so we can see, and if you haven't, I hope this has given you some ideas on how you could paint your Flyte so Fancy Hen House