For my main project, I will be emulating the cottagecore aesthetic for an outdoor space. As mentioned in my previous post, I knew that I wanted to make something for my grandparents to have at their cabin on Blue Mesa Reservoir right outside of Gunnison, CO. They live in this cabin for half of the year during the spring and summer months. The cabin itself is small and quaint, but their outdoor spaces are what make the place incredible. They have beautiful gardens, horseshoe pits, a swingset for my little cousins, and a firepit surrounded by trees. The view from the cabin deck overlooks the lake and stunning mountains, and this is where my grandma loves to feed hummingbirds.

Currently, the cabin does not have a birdbath, so I plan to create one made out of concrete and adorned with small, thin metal tubing. The following sketches are my initial ideas. 

The metal tubing will serve as a decorative piece that adds to the cottagecore aesthetic, and could even be a perch for birds. In order to make this project dynamic, the bird bath will function as a fountain, as well, with water spouting gently from the center of the bowl. For this reason, the middle portion of the birdbath must be hollow to hide the fountain pump and tubing inside. There are also solar fountains available that could be used and secured directly to the center of the bowl, but I plan on having them be my plan B.

As this idea is very fresh, I still need to research the best metal to use for the decorative piece of this birdbath, keeping in mind the following considerations: price, flexibility, durability, and machine-shop constraints (can this metal be shaped properly, and how do I achieve doing so?). I also need to determine the best way to create the concrete casts, as the concrete solution will be mixed and hardened to my desired shapes. I plan on ironing out these constraints in the upcoming Design Preview after I have conducted further research.

An alternative aesthetic that could be used for this birdbath is Minimalism. With this lens, the birdbath would be void of decoration and unique shapes. The following two designs could be implemented. 

Depending on my process, specifically how difficult it is to design my planned concrete casting shape, a more simple shape like these above may need to be used. Then, the birdbath aesthetic itself would become minimalist, while its placement at my grandparent’s cabin outside would add to a cottagecore environment.

(Note: Featured image was taken by me at the cabin mentioned in this post).