4/25/2011

Whim Whamming a Fairy Room!



I have long dreamt of surprising the girls with a special fairy room. Recently I was given the inspiration necessary by my dear friend Carrie, of Carrie's Confections, when she gave my daughter a fairy door for her birthday. This inspired a project and the need to further whim wham my little darling’s room. The final result is breathtaking and draws MUCH attention from ALL of the kiddos that come to our home; boys, girls, young and old. Below I've shared the steps I went through (with the help of my sweet husband) to create this look for my daughter.

Fairy doors are available in any color upon request...fairy rooms are up to you to whim wham yourself! Have fun!!!



Prior to starting this project, you must first search out the wall on which you'd like the fairy room to be situated. In order to create a fairly deep fairy room you must select a wall that allows you to cut through 2 levels of drywall such as the external wall of a closet. By using a closet wall, you can cut through the drywall inside the room as well as the drywall directly behind that wall in the closet itself. This will allow the fairy room to have support at the front and the back of the structure.




Once you've made this decision, you can decide how wide you'd like the fairy room to be as well as how deep (depending on the space allowed you between the two layers of drywall). Once you've made these decisions, cut your wood (I've used 1/4 inch oak here) to the specifications you've selected. You will need a floor and ceiling of equal size, 2 room walls of equal size, and a back wall. You will also want to go ahead and cut the face plate to which you'll attach the door and mount to the wall. The cutting of the faceplate will include not only cutting it to size, but also cutting out a space equal in size to the fairy door frame. I would suggest making the faceplate at least 1 inch larger on all sides than the fairy room itself.  This will allow you plenty of space during installation and further guarantee a secure fit on the wall. 

Next you will need to gather supplies to assemble and decorate the fairy room. The supplies include: a fairy door, 3 side walls, a floor and a ceiling, small nails, long screws (dependant on size of wood and fairy room), a hammer, a screw driver, a drill, wood glue, scrapbook paper to use as wall paper, foam paper to use as carpet, mod podge, and a paint brush. You may also want to gather the supplies to make the face plate and porch of the room, which include: several fat and several skinny Popsicle sticks, hot glue gun and glue, white wall paint, a piece of crown molding to be used as a stoop, the face plate you've already cut, as well as quarter round cut to finish the edges and a strong adhesive such as wood glue or E 6000. 

Use Mod Podge to attach sturdy scrapbook paper to side walls prior to assembly. Next, attach the flooring you've selected.  Here, I've used hot glue to attach the foam paper.  Be sure to cut the flooring with enough space on each side for the side walls to fit into position.  This is a good time to make any accessories you'd like for the inside so you can attach them prior to final installation (such as the fairy photo frame shown here).
Attach the side walls with wood glue and two nails per side. Drive the nails from the floor up into the wall.

Select fairy-like accessories.
Attach ceiling and install accessories

Measure, draw and cut a hole in the drywall inside room the exact size of the fairy room. Next, trace a hole on drywall in closet using a level to ensure it will match up with hole you've already cut in the interior wall.

Insert room into holes in wall and ensure it is a snug fit.

Mount the face plate onto the wall first by applying a strong adhesive to the back of the face plate and then, using long screws, screw into the frame of the fairy house. You should also use screws to attach the face plate directly to the drywall to ensure a snug fit against the wall.

Finish the face plate with paint or with heavy scrapbook paper (attached here with mod podge) to cover the screws used to mount the face plate to the wall. You should also finish the little porch as you'd like. Here, I've used both large and small Popsicle sticks to create the look of decking (attached here with hot glue).

Paint the porch with wall paint...

And VIOLA a fabulous fairy room!

Oh the whimsical possibilities!




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