Unique ‘Butterfly House’ built for heartwarming reason
If you’re sick and tired of the modern penchant for monotone homes, this unique property, dubbed “The Butterfly House”, could be the remedy you need.
The home, adorned in vibrant colours and plenty of butterflies both inside and outside, started out as a standard, if somewhat run-down, house in Pacific Grove, California, that was transformed for a heartwarming reason.
Its original owners, J and Sonja Jackson, purchased the house in 1977 for just $US 37,500, equivalent to about $191,000 ($NZ 300,000) in today’s money, per the New York Post.
Given its state, with the floor one day collapsing under J’s feet while he was washing dishes, the retired school counsellor rebuilt the home from the studs up, but began to decorate it in the 1990s, when his wife began suffering from a degenerative eye disease.
Sonja, the secretary of the Blind & Visually Impaired Center of Monterey County, was losing her eyesight but still able to see bright colours, so J took it upon himself to make it as bright as he could.
As for the butterflies, J chose them as a tribute to the unofficial mascot for Pacific Grove: the Monarch butterfly.
J made many of the butterflies by hand, spending an average of six hours a day creating them.
What’s more, the property is just a kilometre away from the county’s Monarch Butterfly Sanctuary, a small wooded area that has been preserved as a habitat for the butterflies.
Now, the two-bedroom, two-bathroom home is up for sale, with a listing price of $US 998,000 ($NZ 1.57 million).
Sotheby’s International Realty agent Arleen Hardenstein, who is managing the sale, told The Post that Sonja is selling the home because of her changing needs, with J passing away several years ago.
“I love the eclectic artwork,” she said
“One whimsical section flows to another — it’s very sparkly, fun and pretty.”
Given its celebrity status in the local area, Ms Hardenstein said the new owners would have to both love the home and “be willing to live in a bit of a fishbowl”.
“The P.G. Butterfly House is well known in the community and attracts a fairly constant stream of visitors who are curious to see it,” she said.
So far, Ms Hardenstein has received “an enormous amount of interest” from prospective buyers, with many loving the home, its story, or both.
As of publication, the home is contingent, less than a month after being listed for sale.
Images: Sotheby’s International Realty