This was a no brainer. Everyone wants the Vermont experience. Bob Newhart, maple syrup, Ben and Jerry’s. Lots of visitors to the state get to visit a sugarhouse, many of them even get to make maple sugar. But how many of them get to sleep in one? That is where the inspiration came from on this cottage. The traditional sugar shack copula lets in great natural light and the rough pine siding was locally harvested. We wanted the cottage to actually smell like maple syrup when you arrive, we had to settle for cedar instead. For the floors we decided on this locally milled wide plank pine that is so common in the area.

The trim is called “spalted maple”. When a downed tree takes on moisture and starts to rot it gives the wood these incredible patterns. This particular tree was lying in the forest about fifty feet from the cottage where my neighbor Jason Day suggested cutting it up with his Alaskan sawmill. Jason helped us build the exteriors of the first three cottages as well as spray foam insulate them. Not only does it make the cottages wonderfully efficient, but also very, very quiet. The suarhouse was meant to be our honeymoon, romantic cottage so we did not waste room on a large kitchen space. However, the breakfast nook is constructed from a pine plank given to us as a wedding present from the local ski/bike shop owner. It came out of a gigantic pine that fell in his yard. Planks from this one tree are in countless places, including many of the bike path bridges you will encounter on the trails. Most of the room saved went directly into the bathroom. We really needed a claw foot tub to complete the feel. Our plumber salvaged one from another job he was on. The wood in the bathroom came out of the Montgomery wooden toy factory. A place where much of our recycled wood came from, and was generously donated by its now owner. Lastly, the sink. This sink came out of my childhood home in Enosburg Falls, VT. I guess we hung onto it over the years for this purpose. The artwork is all locally produced and gifted to Shéady Acres for your viewing pleasure. We feel we were really able to capture the essence of Vermont in this cottage. Oh and by the way, the curtains were all made by my mom.