Strange noises have been heard in our house of late. Scratching and skittering from behind the panelling, often at night. Things are also going missing; tiny things, like single earrings, and crumbs from the floor. My husband, ever the pragmatist, is convinced that we have mice. Whilst he headed off to the rodent-control section of the hardware store yesterday, Harry and I stumbled across the truth, and it’s much more exciting; We Are Not Alone!
Almost invisible to grown-ups, camouflaged against the kitchen skirting boards, is a very tiny front door. To adults it looks just like a plug socket from a distance, but to eagle-eyed little people it is immediately obvious that this is the entrance to the home of the Other People who share our house. And look; as if more proof was needed; they even receive mail and milk deliveries!
So now we watch this door very carefully, from the corner of our eye, just in case we manage to catch someone coming or going. We’ve found that the best thing to do is to be very still and to pretend to be absorbed in something else entirely. Whilst we wait, Harry has led an exhaustive search of the house to see if there are any other signs of our neighbours, and lo and behold; we found another door!! Occasionally when Harry comes down in the mornings there is a tiny plastic ladder nearby; we think they borrow it from his toy box and use it to scramble up the skirting to reach the door.
Harry is convinced that this front door belongs to all the little action-figures which by day are jammed into his toybox; at night, they obviously retire home to a warm – if tiny – bed, shortly after Harry wends his own weary way upstairs. As a lifelong fan of Mary Norton, I think that we have Borrowers, and have been telling Harry all about them. In due course I expect we’ll also discover that this is the doorway that Santa’s tiny elves use on Christmas Eve when they slip in to check that the coast is clear for the Big Man himself. The tooth fairy, too, probably makes a cameo appearance via this very same entrance. In the years to come, doubtless Harry will forget this wee door and it will fade into obscurity again. Till maybe one day, years from now, someone small enough and attentive enough will discover it once more…
This is the lovely site which inspired me to create the presence of tiny neighbours in our own house. I ordered a couple of inexpensive, non-opening dolls house doors online (‘proper’ doors have deep frames which make it difficult to affix them to skirting unless you actually go the lengths of channelling them in – only for the truly dedicated), then spray painted them and added some miniature door furniture. I crafted tiny letters and tied them together with bakers twine; interestingly, it’s these that Harry has been most captivated by and saw as the ultimate proof of life. The doors are attached to our skirting boards with double-sided tape; strong enough to withstand Harry knocking on the door and tugging the knob, but easy enough to remove if necessary, with perhaps just a dab of touch-up paint if needed.
And finally, for those who want the instructions in an all-in-one Pinnable tutorial, here’s a montage below;
I LOVE it. It will definitely be part of the christmastastic Cameron household. Think I can happily use it to cajole good behaviour – “this is where the elves watch to be able to tell FC if you’re being good or not…”
Hope you are v well – if not training coffee soon? H x
Oh Kate,awesome and beautiful as always. That little Harry is going to have the most awesome memories and traditions to pass on to his children
I do hope you will be doing The Elf on the Shelf this year!
Hi Lou, thank you! Being a new-ish mom still, I hadn’t come across the Elf on the Shelf, so THANK YOU – I’ve just googled it and am completely entranced; we’ll absolutely be doing this at Christmas this year
I love discovering new things and starting new traditions to go along with the old, so this is a lovely addition…
Hi Kate,
wow I love your idea. As yo know I am a dollshouse and miniature lover.
Do you know “The Barrowers” by Mary Norton?
That was my favorite book (as a child). Maybe also something for Harry?
Maybe in your house live also little “Borrowers”?
Now I am very nosy…
A big hug from Germany
Sonja
Exactly what it reminded me of! I’d be looking out for Arrietty!
Thanks Sonja; I just played Harry your movie clip and his eyes are like saucers; we’ve had to go and sit and stare at the door for a bit in case someone chose to pop in or out
That is just gorgeous!
Kate, this is so special. I’m glad there is someone as bonkers as myself, who goes to great lengths to create magic moments for their children. I have sat on many a night helping tiny folk, such as the tooth fairy, to write their little sparkly notes. Xx
Love it! Love it! LOVE IT!
What a gorgeous idea, you are a clever bunny. The two smallest watched the Stephen Fry version of The Borrowers this weekend (was on the BBC last christmas) and were totally enchanted. That’s quite a feat with a “growing cynical by the day” nine year old boy. I may have to Borrow this idea myself.
xx
I LOVE this idea. Every single year, around this time, we tend to get a few of the little buggers in our basement. I guess they come in to find warmth, only to find an “antique cheesetray” with dried up cheese which leads them into their afterlife. Anyway, why not have a little fun with it?! I am TOTALLY going to copy you! I love it!!! And I won’t even tell the kids…I’m going to wait until they notice. Imagine the surprise!!!
Great idea… I wonder how long it will take them?! As for the mice, my husband swears by peanut butter – men seem to be full of this extraordinary random ‘knowledge’; I was cynical at first but – as he gravely pointed out – two of the wee rodents have already been seduced into taking the Reece’s fast train to heaven, so perhaps he is onto something..
LOL……..Love it
I have wanted to put up a fairy door for ages.. so cute..
Although having the Visitors of MICES are not fun.
when we moved in here 12 yrs ago.. we stopped counting at about 50 mice ! they were chewing SO loudly around the fireplace we had to turn the TV up to hear !
the BEST deterrant to mice is the electric deal you plug in .. we started out plug near the fireplace.. YEa.. instant quiet !
I’m so glad I’m not the only one with a mouse problem! I’m convinced it’s because we live in a very old house and not because I am a useless housewife who leaves crumbs everywhere
I’m intrigued by your electric mouse deterring machine… I will have to investigate immediately!
Utterly fabulous – I’ve just ordered a door or two and plan to paint and decorate them with one of my daughters to delight the other (and a couple of small cousins) at xmas. I think tooth fairies might appreciate this bit of homelyness too.
While I was in England enjoying and spending time with my niece, I came across a lovely shop selling all things Fairy. They had quite a collection of tiny doors for skirting boards and each was as delightful as the next, with everything from latches, wood panels, to interesting shapes and colors. We also collected unusual shaped rocks and with the help of Fimo modelling clay and acrylic paints turned these into fairy homes for the garden. We would make up elaborate stories about our fairies and each cottage, door and fairy had an identity. I enjoyed it as much as she did, and now that she is a teen we still feel that connection.
I loved the Borrowers stories when I was a kid…the Littles too. What a cool thing to inspire Harry’s imagination! He’ll love the books when he’s a bit older!
so very charming! What fun to have little house guests that receive such tiny mail.
This is adorable!!!! i just need one of these fairy doors now! so so so cute!
Brilliant!! such a great idea – I love how it allows your imagine to run wild
Really lovely idea. I’d love to install one of these in a child’s bedroom and feign surprise when they discovered it!
Do you ever post something that’s not absolutely adorable?! This is quickly becoming a blog I come back to over and over again!
i love how this fuels a child’s imagination… something a lot of kids these days seem to be lacking… computer games and television seem to be robbing them of that.
The Borrowers was my favorite as a child! I will have to remember this when we read the book when the kids are a little older. SUCH a cute idea!
Perhaps Harry needs one of these http://www.leafcutterdesigns.com/shop/wspskit.html !
Genius! Never mind Harry, I love it myself! Thanks for sharing… such a cool idea
I saw this door and immediately thought of Alice in Wonderland! I have got to make one of those magical portals! Thank you for sharing about this!
Thank you SO much for all the lovely comments – it’s wonderful to post about a project like this that was fun for us to do and somehow also captures the imagination of so many others – I’m picturing lots of fairy doors popping up mysteriously in houses everywhere… just in time for all those Little People to come in from the winter chill! x
I am just catching up with some posts…I LOVE this idea so much. It’s the detailing like the milk bottles and post that get me. Such a simple and captivating idea. x
The Borrowers book were my favourites when I was growing up. Imagine my delight when I discovered my first boss was Mary Norton’s son! Even better was when I first moved to London, Mary’s daughter let me have a room in the attic of the family house (rambling, eccentric, book- and antique-filled house in Richmond). The bed I slept in was an ancient brass bedstead with a real horse-hair mattress. Mary also wrote Bedknobs and Broomsticks so I was sleeping in one of the beds which inspired her story! I can die happy.
What an amazing story – I’m so envious! I cant just imagine the house… it does sound like the classic period house of a true English eccentric! Lucky you
That. Is. Awesome.
My daughter and I love to build fairy houses outside. I love this idea – how do you convince your child that the door is real, and not simply affixed to the wall?
Hi Jeannie; I think a lot of it has to do with age; Harry is almost 3 and so has little trouble believing it’s somehow magical and real. It helps though to have a constantly changing array of small props to suggest activity; I leave mail on the doorstep and then remove it later, or add a small pair of doll house-sized boots that look to have been cast aside by whomever lives behind the door before going in… other ideas would be a tiny washing line, the appearance of a festive wreath on the door or milk bottles, as here.
This is just lovely ! Your son is sooooo lucky, and, as for me, it’s a pity my son is too old for this. Where were you five years ago ?!?
Audrey
PS : i was wondering … is your blog going to stop at the end of december, as you first started it to “share one year of your projects” (this is how you explain the purpose of your blog in your homepage) ? I really really hope it’s not going to !!!
Love it!
Will you be my mom? Love, love, love this! Thank you!!
I love it. And now I’m a little homesick for Ann Arbor. Maybe next time I visit my parents, who live there, I can do this and tell my kids that one of them must have hitchiked back home with us.
OH MY GOSH!!!! This is SO fun!!! I want one in my studio, and maybe in my kitchen!
This is one of the most adorable things I have seen in along time.
This is so sweet. I love this idea!
When our kids were younger, we used to spot these around downtown Ann Arbour all the time. People would leave pennies or ticket stubs etcin front of them. How much fun to have some in your home.
I think that this is the most adorable idea ever!!! I will do this when I’m a mom <3 your blog is so awesome! I just started one and I would love it if you could look at mine. It's: theblissofsimple.blogspot.com
Thank you!
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I’m so glad I found this post. We had a fairy door (I too was inspired by the same sight and then found a place online that sold them) and I had it outside and it went missing. I’m so going to make my own now (I’ve been missing our fairy door). Found your site by way of Design Mom…. your home is gorgeous!
xo . trina
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Although my girlie is now 15, she’s always been a “believer”. There may soon be a new door in our Pacific NW abode so that the wee folk have another place to escape the driving rain! Thanks ever so for sharing.
Any chance you could share where you ordered your doors online from? I just love this idea, but the doors I ordered are plastic and just not quite the same! Thanks
Hi, Of course; I bought a couple of these (below) from Minimum World, a stockist of dollhouse equipment and DIY materials. They have quite a range of doors and appear to ship worldwide; good luck!
http://www.minimumworld.com/diy027-false-door-p-10080.html
Thanks Kate! Have placed an order & can’t wait to do this for my little monkey’s room!
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This is just SO special. Glad to see there is another mama out there who fills her children’s heads with the possibilities of magic and wonder. I love this – THANK YOU for sharing.
Here’s proof of OUR fairy – the Dummy Fairy
http://theycallmemummy.com/2012/10/31/the-day-i-became-the-dummy-fairy
I’ll definitely be sharing this with my followers. So thrilled to have found your blog.
This is wonderful! I’m going to have fun deciding where to do this, and then see how long it takes my family to notice!
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I LOVE THIS! <3
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I really want to do this. My children aren’t little any more but I have never lost the child in me! – Asta x
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