Dreaming of a cottage getaway? Check out this retro-inspired cottage with lots of classic details and an amazing garden.

What did you do with your pandemic lockdown? Build puzzles, play board games, and bake sourdough bread? Sheldon and Shane worked on creating the masterpiece that is their retro-inspired cottage.
What first brought us to Sheldane (the name of their cottage) was the rock wall. Our property is also littered with rocks, and having loved the rock walls in Ireland, we knew that building one was in our future.
Sheldane’s rock wall is quite beyond anything we’re hoping to accomplish. Though they did give us some helpful building advice (perhaps a future blog post?)
DIY Talent
Their DIY talent and attention to detail comes naturally. Sheldon and Shane work as set decorators. Sheldon also used to work as a florist… hence the incredible garden.
Sheldane started out as teardown. The property was littered with garbage, old furniture, and appliances. The building was completely rotten and needed to be stripped to the studs. Turning it into someplace habitable was an enormous amount of work.
But Sheldon and Shane didn’t just fix up the place, they turned it into the retro-inspired cottage of my childhood dreams. Complete with push-button light switches and a clawfoot tub.
To keep with the retro-inspired cottage theme, they clad most of the interior in beadboard or vintage-style wainscotting. It’s all-new… but including small details, like built-in shelves over the kitchen sink makes it feel like my grandparents’ cottage.
The kitchen forms the center of the cottage, with a large great room that is dominated by the most unique light fixture I have ever seen. The bathroom, bedroom, loft bed, and living room all enter directly into this great room. It saves on useless hallways and makes the tiny space feel big.
While some details, (like the light fixture) really jump out at you, it takes time to discover how every part of this retro-inspired cottage was chosen with purpose. A good example is the loft ladder, which has every step painted a slightly different shade of purple. How fun is that!?
Before I finish with Sheldane, I wanted to share one last look at the garden. Can you spot Max and Una hiding behind the riot of color? Photos and words cannot express how incredibly beautiful the garden smelled. I think a good deal of that had to do with all the lilies!
what a lovely exploration of this charming cottage. Thank you!
It really is lovely!