“For the mountains may depart and the hills be removed, but my steadfast love shall not depart from you, and my covenant of peace shall not be removed,” says the Lord, who has compassion on you.”
Isaiah 54:10
Hello sweet friends and Happy September, the month that we welcome autumn, my favorite season.
Five years ago I mentioned it would be nice to have a potting shed next to the garden. Renaissance Man agreed, but life was busy and we didn’t make any plans. The following year (2016), we became grandparents and it was pushed to the bottom of the priority list. Fast forward to spring of this year when I mentioned to my sweet hubby that a potting shed would be a great place for me to play and make memories with EM and EK. A few days passed when one evening he asked me if I had settled on the design. Let’s say I got busy finalizing my ideas.
We officially broke ground June 15th and it was completed July 24th…seven weeks from start to finish in the middle of a pandemic! I blogged on the progress and so many of you suggested names and were anxious to see what colors I would use on the exterior. You all were genuinely excited along with me, that is why I love our “everyday living” community. So why have I taken so long to share? This year has had its challenges. It has been difficult to locate the few things I needed for the interior. Who knows when I will find what I have in mind?! I decided it was time to share, anyway.
I am so excited for you to see the exterior of the Sunshine Cottage!
It has been somewhat of a task to take photos of the Sunshine Cottage without sunshine and between showers and thunderstorms.
Late yesterday the clouds parted and we finally had sun on the Sunshine Cottage…so we plugged in a pic after we were set to publish!
The porch is 6 feet by 12 feet. It hasn’t been decorated, but hopefully in a few weeks it will be dressed in autumn’s glory with pumpkins! The glider came from my Daddy’s screened porch. I spent many hours sitting on that glider next to my beloved Mother drinking coffee and talking. When Seth first saw it on the porch of the cottage, he immediately said how much he had loved sitting on the glider next to his Nanny. I hope to make lasting memories with my girls on the rusty glider!
If you remember, my plans were to stain the board and batten. We tried several stains, but I wasn’t happy with any of them. After much deliberation, I decided on painting the cottage and I am glad that I did. It is “dove white” by Benjamin Moore, the same that is on the trim of our house and Butch’s workshop. The antique French doors and vent are “buxton blue” by BM.
I feel that painting the cottage white makes the cedar shake roof more defined.
In a previous post, I made mention that the shed would be called by a different name…it would be known as a cottage. It made perfect sense with a chandelier hanging from the ceiling. I have always admired the English country style with the mixture of patterns, colors, and textures. The interior will be a mix of shabby chic and English country. I also have a deep admiration for English country gardens, much like this area next to the cottage.
Our plans are for fall planting in front and on the sides of the cottage! The pea gravel walk which leads to the garden is lined with brick from the historic home that was located on the farm.
A view from the porch as a thunderstorm is approaching.
Another view from the porch looking toward the hubby’s workshop!
We had narrowed the choices for naming the cottage to two names…our pick and Ella Mae’s. Ella Mae chose Butterfly Cottage and I adore the name. We do have a lot of butterflies in the garden. I had thought of Sunshine Cottage for many reasons and Butch immediately liked the name. The cottage has no shade trees surrounding it, except a small ginkgo that will provide some shade in the future. It is obviously in the sun. If you have followed our blog for any length of time, you will be aware that we are huge John Denver fans. “Sunshine On My Shoulders” is Butch’s favorite song…and the sunshine makes us happy! “Sunshine Cottage” also has a spiritual meaning to me that I will share when I reveal the interior. I was so torn between the two names until Ella Mae said to me, PJ you can call it the Sunshine Cottage and I will call it the Butterfly Cottage. The perfect solution!
We added another sunny, blue sky photo. We were getting happy at this point!
“If I had a wish that I could wish for you,
I’d make a wish for sunshine all the while.”
-John Denver
Thank you so much for your visits and gracious comments. Next Thursday I will take you inside. Wishing you a joy-filled day!
Linking with:
Pieced Pastimes, Between Naps on the Porch, Katherines Corner, Follow The Yellow Brick Home,
Imparting Grace,Life and Linda
L❤VE! Pamela and Butch, it is wonderful. That song has a very special meaning to me as well. I will share that at another time. I love that you painted it and have your Daddy’s & Mother’s glider. I can’t wait to see the inside. You are so blessed! Enjoy!
Thank you Rita. The cottage has already brought such joy. I so want to hear your story about the song.
Happy Labor Day Weekend!
Wow, Sunshine Cottage is beautiful! It is perfect in every way. The name is perfect too. You have given me a lift this morning seeing your vision and hearing your heart.
I love that you painted it white and agree it defines the cedar shakes. The blue shutters and doors make it happy for sure.
I look forward to seeing the inside. I am amazed how you did all this so quickly and didn’t miss a beat blogging.
Thank you my friend. I have been a busy bee all summer. We are already making memories! Happy Friday…
Pam, Your cottage is going to bring you lots of sunshine and sweet moments with your grand girls! I love the texture of the cedar shake roof and board and batten exterior and shutters. It looks so happy the blooms planted in front. Seven weeks from start to finish during a pandemic sounds super quick to me. I know you will have fun outfitting the interior even if it takes longer than you planned. Love the addition of your parents’ glider on your porch. Happy Thursday ♥
Thanks so much Mary. The interior is not my final vision, but during these times I just have to make do. Happy Friday ♥️
Lovely
Thanks so much!
Just looking at your Sunshine Cottage makes me happy! Can’t wait to see the inside!! Thanks for sharing!!
It is beautiful and fits perfectly with your surrounding garden. I love English style gardening as well. The more colorful flowers the better! Can’t wait to see the inside next week.
Thank you so kindly, Rachel. Wishing you a lovely Labor Day Weekend!
Thank you Cecelia. Wishing you a lovely Labor Day Weekend!
What a charming cottage and setting! I’m sure many happy moments and memories will be made there.
Aw, thanks so much. We have already made some sweet memories.
Oh my goodness! What a very special place. I am so happy for you and thank you for sharing the beauty you create. I love Sunshine Cottage and can’t wait to see the interior. Love English cozy florals and charm too. Ah, what a reverie.
Thank you Ruthie. Have a lovely weekend!
Love, love, love your cottage! I would love to paint a watercolor zinnia painting for it! If interested, check out my Facebook page and contact me! Helen Riley Sturgeon Watercolor on FB.
Thank you Helen. I will check out your page!
Adore!
Thank you Linda!
What a lovely cottage! Perfect for your beautiful garden. I know your granddaughters will grow up with a lot of beautiful memories of you and the cottage. What a blessing!
Thank you Nancy for your sweet comments. Wishing you a lovely Labor Day Weekend!
How delightfully charming, and the dove white is a perfect backdrop for your garden flowers.
Thanks so much Carole!
Be still my heart. It’s beautiful Pam and Butch. Sunshine cottage is perfect. It looks to me like it’s been part of the garden for years because it’s situated with the garden perfectly. Almost like a pop up flower you would find that God had planted. My prayer is that you will have many years to make memories with your precious princesses.
Thank you Alice for your sweet and encouraging comments. Memories are being made…
Pam, I love, love, love your beautiful cottage. That would be my home away home! It’s looks like something I would see in a magazine. AWESOME Job and will be there for you to enjoy for a long time. Hugs and blessings, Cindy
Thanks so much Cindy. We grandmothers love to make memories with our grands!
Your Sunshine Cottage is so charming. I am looking forward to seeing the inside!
Thank you Penny. Wishing you a wonderful Labor Day Weekend!
Pam, your cottage is beautiful in every way. Love the name too. May you have many wonderful hours enjoying the time spent with your sweet granddaughters❣️
Thank you for your sweet comments. Memories are being made!
Oh, Pam, the name is perfect. The cottage will be such a happy place and many special memories will be made there. A dream that has come to life. I know the inside is perfectly lovely as well. I am so happy for all of you.
Thank you Sandra. You are a sweet encourager ♥️
Oh Pam I love the name and the fact Ella Mae came up with a cute compromise! The blue and white colors are perfect for your cottage shining in your garden! All the photos with your flowers in the foreground, swoon! How special that your son had the same fond memories of the glider that you do. You and Butch have created such a special place for generations of memories, thank you for sharing the cottage and the meaning behind the name.
Jenna
Yes, EM might make a good diplomat 🥰 Thank you dear Jenna. There will be a special memory in the making over the weekend!
That is beautiful!!!
Thank you my friend!
Beautiful cottage, just so interesting, so much to look at. My only memory of my grandfather is sitting on the metal porch glider with him and not talking, just sitting together.
Sweet that you just sat together. Thank you so much!
It is absolutely beautiful! I look forward to seeing the inside!
Thank so much Linda!
Oh, Pam, it’s beautiful! We love it! We’re so excited for you! The name is just perfect! John Denver was so talented and that song is a favorite of ours. I love the way the bottom is finished and the cedar shake roof looks great with the dove white and pretty blue trim. The porch is so inviting. The glider will continue to make wonderful memories. I can just imagine you gliding along talking with the girls with the breeze gently blowing the wind chimes. How relaxing! The landscaping is just gorgeous! Thank you for sharing with us. Have a wonderful Labor day weekend sweet friend! Clara ♥️
Thanks so much dearest Clara ♥️
Pam and Butch, I am so happy for you. Sunshine Cottage is a perfect name. It looks lovely surrounded by your English gardens. How special to have your parent’s glider. The porch is a wonderful addition. I am sure many happy days will be spent there with your grands.
Thank you Linda..memories are being made!
Just beautiful! Hope the craziness in this country soon comes to an end and you and those precious princesses can make lots of memories in The Sunshine Cottage. Looking forward to viewing the inside. God bless you and your family as you bless us.
May God bless you and your hubby, Bobbie!
Utterly charming! I’m sure you’ll spend many enchanting hours there!
Thank you so much Sandra!
I just LOVE it! Oh so happy for you to get such a special little cottage, that will bring hours of joy and years of memories.
You have a cottage—I have a shed! Like in ‘shed’.
I can’t wait to see your shed, Nonie!
Beautiful, so beautiful
Thank you Linda!
I have to add, I did a lot of pinning this morning!
Thanks for pinning, Nonie!
Amazing!!!Such happiness! Love your sunshine cottage so much!
Thank you Maristella!
Pam, it is beautiful, and I love the name! So looking forward to seeing the inside.
Thanks my friends!
Overwhelmed! It is FABULOUS! I love the dual-names. That little Ella Mae knows how to work things out; she’ll go far!
It’s adorable. You hardly need porch decoration with all the beauty around it. A few pumpkins and you’ll be good to go. I love the glider and the table on the side. I can envision many a tea party among the three “girls” — you and your grands! I love both the names and I can see why the butterflies like it. And the sunshine, too. What a great accomplishment and lovely haven!
Jeanie, thank you. We have already made memories and hopefully many more. Happy Labor Day!
This brought back such wonderful memories of sitting on the glider on the porch at my Gramdmother’s house (where we lived) growing up. I have a glider here on the patio but would LOVE to have my grandmothers glider, how blessed you are to have yours! Love the name and how you and Ella Mae worked that out!!! Smart girl!
Thank you Pinky. It is amazing how one thing like a glider can evoke so many memories. Happy Labor Day sweet lady!
Oh Pam, Sunshine Cottage is exquisite! You all situated perfectly in the garden, and it looks like it just belongs there. The colors you chose are beautiful, especially that blue. How wonderful to have that glider. I remember being a tiny girl being rocked on the porch by my darling granny and her singing “Froggy Went A’ Courting”. You cannot put a price tag on those kinds of memories. Can’t wait for the interior tour!! It is so lovely to have a whole group of women genuinely happy for you too.
I always love for you to share your memories with me. Isn’t it amazing how much we remember those sweet and precious moments of our childhood. Thank you, Roxanne!
Sunshine Cottage is a beautiful name and Butterfly because of those beautiful flowers surrounding. It looks like a picture from Cotswold, England! The shakes with white and blue is just lovely. You and the grand babies will have a wonderful time making memories just like you did with that glider…Sweet!
Thank you Nancy. I hope to make lots of memories with my girls!
OMG Pam, Sunshine Cottage is sheer perfection of deep meaning and legacy. Is there nothing
that you and Butch cannot create once set upon a course? Our little Ella Mae is a genuine diplomat and found the appropriate name solution.. This will be a most blessed place of
sharing and growing and memory-making. Again, among such beautiful gardens; perfection.
Chomping at the bit until next week’s reveal…..
Thank you dear Mary. We made a fun memory on Friday evening that I can’t wait to share with my lovely friends on Thursday!
Pam, I just love your new play house! Can’t wait to see the inside and hear your stories about it! I love English cottage gardens and yours is so pretty. Keep those pictures and stories coming!
Thank you Martha.
Your Sunshine Cottage is truly beautiful Pam! Kudos to you and Butch for your hard work in creating this amazing place where you can house your beautiful plants and flowers and also make it a great place to sit and enjoy the day and view. English gardens are the best and I am in awe that you already have such an established garden that surrounds your cottage like a work of art! So happy for you that you finally got your dream and I look forward to seeing the beautiful things that you will do inside.
I would love a garden cottage…not sure if our ARB will approve….so many rules!
I can also see many tea parties happening in the Cottage….and that song by John Denver is also one of my hubby’s fav songs….we lost this great artist much too early…
Shirley, thank you for your sweet comments. Happy Labor Day Shirley and Tom!
I am so in love with your Sunshine Cottage Pam! I’m so glad you were finally able to finish your special project. What a magical place!
Thanks so much Kim!
Oh my heart! It’s absolutely stunning!
The story about why you named it Sunshine Cottage is lovely. And Ella saying it’s okay to call it Sunshine Cottage was so sweet!
Looking forward to seeing the interior… and it will be as beautiful as you!
Congratulations my friend… how sweet this is for you!
Thank you dear Nancy. EM May have a career as a diplomat 😉
Just beautiful in every way.
Thanks so much!
Oh Pam, I am so happy for you! You have done a most beautiful job designing the outside of the cottage, and the name you chose is most fitting! I can’t wait to see the inside. I know it will be gorgeous. That sweet glider with its precious memories is perfect on the front porch. Enjoy your weekend, dear friend!
Your Sunshine Butterfly Cottage is delightful Pam & I love the colors, my favorites!
I can see that a cuppa on the verandah would give such joy in the beauty of your garden.
Blessings, ♥
Jennifer
Thank you Jennifer…
🌻It exudes peace.🌻
Thank you sweet friend ☀️🦋🌻
Pam, I was out of town yesterday and could only see the Sunshine Cottage from my phone. I couldn’t wait to take a better look. Sitting among your flowers it looks amazing. That color of blue is one of my favorites. I have been anxiously awaiting this reveal as I have been so excited for you. Sunshine Cottage seems quite the perfect name. I also love Butterfly Cottage so the compromise seems perfect. Love the glider and especially the memories that accompany it. Oh, the joy you and the girls are going to experience in this beautiful spot. This is a little dream come true and I think your band of friends is almost as thrilled as you. Continue to bring us joy through your beautiful photos, your timely words and the Living Word. God Bless.
Thanks so much my friend. Can’t wait to share a special memory that we made last night. Have a lovely Labor Day Weekend!
Love the Sunshine Cottage! Just the ideal place for you to make some lovely memories with your two cuties!
Thanks so much Asha for your sweet comments.
Oh, Pam! It is just PERFECT! SO, so beautiful, and I cannot wait to see the inside!! I just love everything about it. It brought tears to my eyes thinking of you and your sweet Mom sitting on the glider together and how you will now make precious memories with your dear grandgirls on that same glider. What a perfect piece of furniture for your lovely porch! I think if I owned Sunshine Cottage, I would never wish to leave and go in the house! What a beautiful, wonderful place to go and pray and spend time with Jesus, too. I dearly love that song, too. John Denver is my sweet hubby’s favorite singer, too, along with Glen Campbell and some others. Sending much love and many blessings to you and your new cottage today! Butch did an awesome job!
You are a blessing and a sweet encourager, Cheryl. It is my early morning place for prayer. Wishing you and your family a wonderful Labor Day Weekend!
I see oodles of memories in the making with your grands in your Sunshine Cottage (LOVE the name). I look forward with great anticipation to next week’s tour inside.
Cindie, we made a fun memory last night. Happy Labor Day Weekend!
Pam I love every detail of Sunshine Cottage! The roof against the white is perfect and I adore the blue trim you chose! Can’t wait to see the inside!
Liz, thanks so much. It has been a fun project!
It is so you and will be beautiful both inside and out. While you mentioned that you wanted a potting shed in the beginning, you definitely ended up with a cottage. I love it and can’t wait until you share the inside with us.
Karen, thanks for your sweet comments. Happy Labor Day Weekend!
This is just beautiful! What a wonderful project to complete! Thank you for linking up with us at Embracing Home and Family!
Thanks so much Jennifer!
I cannot imagine the cutest cottage being any other color but white! I love it and am so excited for you. Every little detail was thought out perfectly and it is precious! What a great place to sit and chat with the Lord! I’d be out there so much He just might get tired of hearing from me! Just kidding, I know that would never happen. 🙂
Thank you Cindy. It is definitely my quiet place to pray.