Remember when you were a kid, and you dreamed of having a truly magical place just for yourself? Maybe if you were lucky, you could find a quiet corner where you could hang out and daydream.
But one lucky girl's secret hideaway is about to blow the lid off any corners we might have had as children. That's because her dad is a uniquely talented individual, and he decided to turn fairy tales into reality with a seriously impressive DIY room makeover project.
Using basic materials, practiced skill, and a lot of imagination, Reddit user radamshome created a real-life fairy tree, full of lights, flowers, and birds, complete with a reading nook where his daughter can read and let her own imagination run wild.
And just like the little boy who got his own house-bed, this tree provides a personal space for radamshome's daughter, where she can daydream and create. And the best part? Since it's a DIY, there's no other room in the world like this!
Check out this amazing room, and while you might feel a twinge of jealousy that you didn't have this (it's natural), you also can't help but be amazed at the craftsmanship that went into this.
[H/T: BoredPanda]
This was the room before. It's a great room, but nothing special. Reddit user "radamshome" described his daughter as not being very excited about her room at this point.
To create a fairy tale haven, this dad started the old-fashioned way: with a drawing. He works in the video game industry, so he's used to the digital world, but this required a more hands-on approach.
He also built a scale model so he could understand how to put everything together in the room.
After drawing a grid on the floor and walls to get the scale right, he began sketching out the shape of the trunk and branches, using the model as a reference.
The framework of the tree is made of steel and welded together. He wanted the tree to be climbable, but that meant that it had to be strong enough to support his growing daughter's weight.
For this project, radamshome learned how to weld from a professional sculptor who offered welding lessons in her studio. Using his new knowledge, he welded the skeleton of the tree together.
Once the frame was done, he wrapped it in a metal mesh "skin" to give it a rounded, realistic shape.
And his daughter approves of the progress.
The actual tree bark was created using concrete. That's right. Concrete. He applied it like stucco, with a trowel, and sculpted in the bark texture.
But concrete was too heavy for the upper branches, so papier–mâché was used for those. Although it's lightweight, it's very strong when applied in several layers.
Finally, it was ready to be painted.
For a look that was realistic but also magical, he used many layers of paint, starting with the darkest colors and building up to the lighter ones. To create this color wash effect, he used Rit clothing dye!
But of course, you can't have a magical fairy tree in a bland room. So the rest of the room got a makeover, too, with a rainbow wash of color.
Inside the tree's knot holes, radamshome installed lights on a dimmer switch, which his daughter could operate from inside the tree. He created these cute little windows to go over them.
And he also carefully decorated them, turning them into perfect little fairy houses!
Artificial leaves and vines were attached to the branches, and the whole thing was decorated with birds, butterflies, flowers, and trinkets.
Now, his daughter can hang out inside the trunk in her own private nook…
…or climb up to the top and survey her kingdom!
Oh, and the rest of the room looks great, too.
And it lights up at night for even more magic.
All told, this project took radamshome about 350 hours of work, and several thousand dollars in materials. Working on weekends and at night, the project took 18 months to complete, but as far as he and his daughter are concerned, it was worth it!
SHARE this impressive DIY with someone who's looking to make their kid's room a little more magical!
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