Another Put A Bistro Set On It Moment

This sad little courtyard is at one of my museums. It's been cleaned up a little in the last year or so, but it needs a complete overhaul. I ended up talking with a visitor over the weekend about how her aunt used to be the caretaker at the museum in the 1970s. The aunt lived in the ell on the righthand side here. Her kitchen window was that first floor guy in the far right corner. It looked out on this courtyard, which the niece said was in much nicer shape back then. Can you picture it? A bit of grass, some paving stones for a patio, maybe a bench, and a nice little bistro set . . . I can almost see it now.

UPDATE:  Now I'm actually feeling inspired by this project.  This is the kind of thing I'd love to be able to do to update the look of our property and make the whole campus look more cared-for.  However, I'm leery of having the time and resources to work on it alone, so perhaps I can get a volunteer team together this spring or summer.  Here's another photo from inside the building (from those two joined windows straight back) so you can see more of the weedy mess.  But think of how nice it would look with some mowing, new plantings, and attention.

Bistro Set Carryover

Wow - has it really been three weeks since I last posted here?  That's crazy, especially since I've taken some great images of my museums lately.  I'll try to post those in the new week or two, but in the meantime, let's take a page from my personal blog.  I'm doing a silly little series over there called "Put A Bistro Set On It" or PABSOI.  It's a play on the Portlandia episode "Put A Bird On It."  I always seem to want to put bistro sets in any little outdoor nook and that impulse carries over to my museum work, as well.  So here are three of my PABSOI images from my museums:

Come on, this little brick nook by the back door of one museum's visitors center totally needs a bistro set. To the left is a view of the river and the terraced lawn. I already sit on the bricks here to eat my lunch in nice weather - why not PABSOI?

This is the back entrance of one of my museums and the attached tenant apartment. We're renovating it right now for new tenancy. You know the incoming tenants would love a bistro set on this little slate patio, right?

This PABSOI is kind of a cheat, because it usually does have a bistro set in it! This is the courtyard of one of my museums and as of last year, we've had a nice metal 4-chair & table set right by the urn. My co-workers and I don't eat outside as often as we should, but it's nice to have the option!