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Laura Courtney at Imagine Art Studio in Jamesport. (Credit: Vera Chinese)

Laura Courtney’s transformed antique buildings — such as a restored outhouse turned storage shed and a miniature 19th century general store — conjure up whimsical memories of childhood.

At Imagine Art Studio in Jamesport where she lives and works, Courtney restores and builds barns, sheds, guest houses, arbors and more. The lovely outbuildings are sure to add flare and romance to any outdoor garden.

Sadly, she will not restore or create any new outbuildings, she said last month.

Using only antique wood, or new wood of a kind that was commonly used 100-plus years ago, Ms. Courtney renovates dilapidated outhouses and sheds and creates new buildings from scratch as well. Courtney works with a carpenter to restore old buildings or create new ones using only building materials that were available in the 19th century.

But rising construction and wood costs have made her business unsustainable, she said. And her contractor is suffering from carpal tunnel syndrome.

She is looking for a buyer for the following remaining pieces: a shed with a general store-style facade, a children’s playhouse called “Antiquities in the Garden” and a restored schoolhouse.

She will continue to create garden art and to work as a consultant and a designer.

The ornamental structures can be used for storage, as a child’s playhouse or as a meditation sanctuary in a garden.

Call (631) 722-5342 for more info and pricing.

But please do not enter her property if she is not home. And certainly do not take anything that does not belong to you.

Imagine Art Studio is located at the corner of Herricks Lane and Main Road in Jamesport.

Courtney built this structure to resemble an old-fashioned general store. (Credit: Vera Chinese)
Courtney had this structure built to resemble an old-fashioned general store. (Credit: Vera Chinese)

General Store

“It’s a post and beam shed with a porch. I used all recycled materials. I had in mind a vineyard or farm stand when I made it. It looks like an old general store,” Courtney said of the structure, which is 11 feet tall at its highest point.

"Antiquities in the Garden" (Credit: Vera Chinese)
“Antiquities in the Garden” (Credit: Vera Chinese)

Antiquities of the Garden

This building was originally made more than 30 years ago by her grandfather for his three grandchildren. “It was two feet shorter and I totally restored it. I put in a new floor and it’s all solid wood,” Courtney said.

Credit: Vera Chinese
Credit: Vera Chinese

 Schoolhouse

“The schoolhouse didn’t look anything like it does now,” Courtney said.

She added the shingles, windows and laid down a new floor. The little building has an antique bell in the cupola and can be used as anything from a potting shed to a decorative structure at a vineyard.

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