A project that began as a way to help a loved one with diminishing vision evolved into a colorful love story—and tourist attraction.

Now, the P.G. Butterfly House in Pacific Grove, CA, is for sale for the first time with a list price of $998,000.

“The owners (J and Sonja Jackson) have had it since 1977. Sonja was slowly losing her eyesight, but she could see bright colors and contrast,” explains listing agent Arleen Hardenstein, with Sotheby’s International Realty.

“So, J started painting the house bright colors and putting up colorful butterflies to honor his wife and allowing her to see some beautiful things,” adds Hardenstein.

The inspiration for the butterflies comes from the city itself, whose seal is adorned with the winged creature. The annual migration of monarch butterflies happens each October through February in this coastal town nestled between Monterey and Carmel. The city is also home to a butterfly sanctuary.

Within a few years, nearly every inch of the home’s exterior was decorated and the project became a fundraising opportunity. J began allowing people to purchase butterflies with someone’s name on them, with the proceeds going to a local center for the blind and visually impaired.

“It became quite a labor of love, and with the advent of social media, [the home] became a bit of a tourist attraction,” the agent explains.

J died in 2020, at the age of 83.

“It’s time for Sonja to move on and to help her to continue to live the best life she can,” Hardenstein says.

The interior spaces of the two-bedroom, 1,334-square-foot home are nowhere near as colorful as the outside.

“It’s not too wild inside. The hallway is pretty vibrant, and he did other motifs in rooms, too, but not anywhere near as artful as the exterior,” says Hardenstein.

The kitchen and bathrooms will probably need to be updated.

“It’s a very livable and functional house,” she adds.

The home attracts a lot of attention, with people pulling up to the home and getting out to take photos.

Hardenstein hopes the next buyer will preserve the home’s colorful exterior.

“Everybody’s very sentimental about this home. I’ve gone to the nonprofit [the owners] were associated with, and they told me if a new buyer doesn’t want to keep the exterior and wants to change it, they would take the butterflies and as much artwork as they could and display it at their building,” she says. “The legacy will still be around, maybe just not as vibrant and in a little bit of a different sense. The love story will continue on.”

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