Sunday, August 16, 2020

Sherlock Holmes Fairy Door

I made a mistake and cut a piece of molding too short when I was working on my guest bathroom. It was the last piece of molding I had to install. It was also the last bit of the molding I bought for the job.

Of course.

My options were to try to ignore the little gap between the molding and the tile or buy a huge piece of molding that only comes in giant size to cut to the proper size with a ton of leftover molding I will not use again.

I tried ignoring the gap. I even pushed the slightly larger than I thought bathmat over the molding and gap.

But.

I.

Still.

Knew.

It.

Was.

There.

How to fill a gap in floor molding

I’m very disappointed in your shoddy workmanship Lisa. This never would have happened if you let me supervise. Nice tile job, though.

As I skimmed The Fairy Door Guys  Blue Toucan Studios Etsy Store (this is not an affiliate link. I’m trying to give some love because I an thrilled with my door,) I thought they were cute. I liked the different shapes and sizes but wasn’t quite sure if the darling neighborhood cherubs down the street who think my yard is their playground would leave it alone if I had a little hobbit door outside. (They make their doors from resin and can live outside in the elements or inside your house.) Until I saw the Sherlock door and my heart skipped a beat. I knew it was The One. And I knew exactly where it would go.

 

how to stick a fairy door to a wall

Save this Fairy Door idea to your Pinterest boards for later! Share it with your friends!

 

Warning: Super Huge Literary Geekdom Deep Dive

 

I devoured Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Homes stories and novels as a kid. I watched every movie, TV show, and listened to all of the old radio show recordings I could find (let’s hear it for libraries!)  I saved every penny I could and bought this exact hardcover The Annotated Sherlock Holmes book and I still read it, I read these Basil of Baker Street books to kids I babysat (Basil is a mouse who lives at 221B 1/2 Baker Street below Sherlock Holmes house. He is named after one my of favorite Sherlock Holmes actors Basil Rathbone,) and may have convinced those kids to watch the movie based on the Basil books Disney’s Great Mouse Detective (you can learn more about the movie here.) (I am including affiliate links for your convenience.) Even now, I’m not afraid to admit I frequently stream Sherlock (the Benedict Cumberbatch version here) and think Martin Freeman is the best Watson (with Jude Law as a close second.)

So how could I not fill the gap in my baseboard molding with a replica of the 221B Baker Street door from Sherlock? Especially when the Fairy Door guys tracked down the actual door the BBC used at 187 North Gower Street to stand in on the “real” thing at the Sherlock Holmes Museum on Baker Street (which I visited in person on a trip to England with my husband, of course.)

 

Sherlock Holmes fairy door
It's supposed to be a door for fairies and pixies but I like to think it is Basil of Baker Street's door.

I held the fairy door up to the wall and marked where I needed to cut the molding with a chalk line, removed the base molding from the room, and cut it to size with a Dremel (any brand will do. You can find a variety of rotatory tools here) although I should have used this mini hacksaw to make it easier to cut the straight line I did not with my rotary tool. I knocked down the rough cut edge with this 180 sanding sponge and stained the cut edge to match the molding.

The pixie door has a magnetic back which works to my advantage. Instead of using Command Strips like these that Blue Toucan Studios suggest you use to attach their doors to a wall,  I gently tapped three of these no nail picture hangers vertically into the wall with a rubber mallet and stuck the magnet to the metal hangers.

how to make a removable fairy door

 The wall paint I used is formulated for high moisture bathrooms. It is prone to ripping when you remove things from the wall as you can see from the mottled area in this photo. Even when the paint has cured for a year. This has happened more than once in this room and the fix is to sand the ripped paint bubble area down (which is a beast to sand unlike regular wall paint) and repaint. Or you can cheat and hide the new mistake with a fairy door. Guess which method I chose?


I suspect and hope visitors will open the Baker Street door to see the surprise inside. For a little extra insurance, I attached two heavy duty glue dots to the back of the transom.


Magnetic fairy door

When you open the magnetic fairy door – there is a photo of the Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman version of the 221B Baker Street front room!

  

Looking for more fairy, pixie, or mouse detective size door ideas? Check out the following options – and more! – below!

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6 comments:

crisdsanchez said...

I love your Basil door!

Jenna H. said...

Fairy doors are so freaking adorable! I went to school in Ann Arbor and there are so many fairy doors around that city - this one is super cute (and quite the smart idea to cover up the molding mishap). Great post!
Jenna ♥
Stay in touch? Life of an Earth Muffin

Beth Watson said...

The detail you added to this door is amazing! I'd love for you to share over at our Creative Crafts Linky Party https://creativelybeth.com/creative-crafts-linky-party-3-join-in-the-fun/
Have a great week!
Creatively, Beth

Southern Sunflowers said...

Well, isn't that just the cutest and most original idea ever! That will definitely be a bathroom conversation piece. lol

Penneybuc said...

Making a mistake like that sounds JUST LIKE ME. You have taught me that there
are awesome ways to make a good thing out of it. Thanks!

Marie-Interior Frugalista said...

Oh my word what a fabulous idea to fill the gap in the trim! I don't have a gap but now I wish I did or maybe I'll just make one for the grandkids sleepover room because I think they need a fairy door! ADORABLE!!!

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