The gift that keeps on giving!
So many of us were looking for projects during the height of the Pandemic.
For myself, it was throwing myself into various woodworking projects, a few benches, a rolling stand for my new scroll saw — mostly practical endeavors.
For my mother, it was refurbishing an old storage shed that sits back behind her house. She’d seen an image of a small chapel on Pinterest, and decided that the ramshackle old shed could, with a few coats of paint and some, mostly cosmetic, additions, be made to look like a cozy little cottage, the sort of thing Goldilocks my stumble upon during a woodland outing in the Texas Hill Country.
She did a bang up job of it, and to celebrate her success, I began working on a secret project of my own — a birdhouse designed to replicate her remodeled shed, in spirit, if not in precise detail.
I also wanted it to be something that was going to last. Having taken a close look at so many similar birdhouses available in the market, I’d noticed a preponderance of flimsy materials and shoddy construction techniques, and I was certain I could do better.
That original cottage birdhouse simulated the white clapboard walls and corrugated roof of the original remodeled shed. I repositioned the window around back and made it into an easily removable clean-out door. I affixed a sturdy metal hanger in the roof, and carved a few potted plants and a friendly black cat to distribute along the base, which completed the look nicely.
All in all, I was pleased with the result, as was my mother, and it wasn’t long before I was building more, for friends and neighbors, and then, to sell, as I transitioned away from the pre-pandemic “daily grind” and into my new normal – creating things to make myself, and hopefully others, happy.
Since then there have been both physical and visual embellishments to the design.
I removed the window from the back, which was just too small to easily reach through, and redesigned the construction so that the floor slides out from the back – making yearly clean outs a breeze. I’ve added simulated white picket fences to the sides and a flower garden & watering can to the back, which disguises the clean out door nicely. While inside I’ve added stronger supports in the corners and the roof to help keep it together even in the worst weather.
Visually, I’ve created a selection of attractive versions.
The ‘Sunny Days’ edition is bright yellow, with a sky blue roof and door. The front of the house features a potted plant and a brown speckled hen to bring in the country charm.
The ‘Rosy Rays’ edition has antique rose colored walls with antique white trim offset by a deep green roof and door. Rose bushes are featured front and back, and a friendly spring bunny sits ready to greet visitors.
For a slightly more modern look, there are the ‘Blue Blaze’, ’Purple Haze’, and newest ‘Crimson Craze’ editions. These feature walls that move in a gradient from deep purple, blue, or red to almost white at the peak of the roof.
I still enjoy building small batches of these between other projects, and I almost always have some available in my Etsy Shop.
