Flipping through a copy of Southern Living Magazine, McDonough resident Mike Elrod was captivated by an article about  a woman that moved a small cottage from her grandfather’s property to her own, preserving both the cottage as well as many cherished memories.

  “I don’t know why I was drawn to it, but I saved the book, tore out the pages, and scribbled some plans down and decided one day that I’m just going to build one in my backyard,” said Elrod. “Something in the back of my mind told me I could do it.”

  Resolving to build one of his own, he began his project in June of 2006.

  Elrod did not have much previous construction experience, but figured out the measurements from the article and used “a common sense approach” to figure out the rest.

  “As a boy, I grew up building little rabbit boxes and stuff like that. I’ve done projects around the house, but I’ve never built anything on this scale,” he said. “Looking at the  pictures of the house and then drawing it out, it wasn’t that difficult. It’s just something I guess I just taught myself to do.”

  Completed in December of 2006, the 144 square foot, one-room cottage became a a sort of ‘home away from home’ for Elrod and his wife, Connie and was the setting for many small gatherings and quiet morning and evening conversations.

  “I built it just sort of  as a little retreat for Connie and I,” said Elrod. “It’s snuggled out in the woods behind our house. First you see the woods and then you look twice and there’s this little cottage sitting out there. It kind of draws you back there and that’s what we wanted.”

    For many years, the cottage continued to serve as a sort of getaway for Elrod and his wife.

  However, when Elrod’s granddaughter came along in 2012, the cottage began to serve a slightly different purpose.

  “As a toddler, she would ask to go out there,” he said. “I changed out one of the large pieces of furniture to a little play set kitchen with all the utensils and stuff in it, so she liked to go out there and play,” said Elrod.

  The cottage was eventually named “Peyton Place” after his granddaughter and the television show, he said.

  “We kind of call it that because she claimed it as a little girl as ‘my cottage,’” he laughed.

  Since then, the cottage has played host to many a tea party for Peyton and her grandfather.

  “Her favorite thing when we go out there is to pretend that she is cooking a meal and whoever is in there, she serves them a meal and cups of drink and serves it as tea,” said Elrod.

  Having attended many a tea party over the years, Elrod is grateful for the many memories he has been able to make with his granddaughter in the cottage.

  “Grandchildren are more special than special,” said Elrod.

  As for Elrod and his wife, they still spend quality time together in the cottage relaxing in the mornings and evenings.

  “I actually start every day out there,” said Elrod. “I fix a cup of coffee and I listen to the news and kind of wake up. You kind of see the world wake up around you. It’s just a relaxing way to start the day. Some evenings when it’s cool, we end our day out there.”

  And, like the individuals in the article in the Southern Living Magazine, if he were ever to relocate, Elrod hopes that the cottage will move with him, as it has become a cherished part of his family.

  “If and when we leave, the cottage is going with us, if at all possible,” said Elrod. “I can’t imagine leaving it.”

  Elrod doesn’t think he will ever build another cottage, but might find another large building project in his future.

  “Peyton has a little brother that was born in March. There’s a possibility a tree house might be in my future,” laughed Elrod.