Crafting Fanny The Fairy: Izzy's House

Izzy's home is inspired by a real house in Glencreagh, near Bantry, in West Cork, Ireland.

At the time, I was searching for my very first home. My budget was modest, so I widened my search to West Cork. One of the most idyllic places imaginable. It did not take long to realise that my options were limited to either a tiny apartment or a cottage with one of the worst building energy ratings known to humanity. I chose the cottage. More than anything, I simply wanted a place I could call home.

I looked through the estate agent's listings, one property immediately caught my attention: an old two-storey farmhouse with a crooked tv antenna on its roof. The roof was covered with black tiles. Four large windows on the upper floor, with another two framing the entrance below.

The front door had a staircase with only a single handrail (don't ask me why). The carpet runner had long since disappeared, leaving behind faded paint and patches of discolouration. To the left of the entrance was the living room. The original wooden flooring ended strangely at the doorway. The living room had a green floor that I could never quite identify. It may have been painted concrete, Formica, or old linoleum. What I remember most vividly was the dust. Then my eyes were drawn to a lone black electrical cable hanging from the ceiling, suspended awkwardly in front of the fireplace. The opposite side of the house was in better condition. A small refrigerator stood beside an old washing machine, while a second fireplace (painted white this time) formed the centrepiece of the room.

Upstairs, faded black and white chequered linoleum covered the original wooden floors. The kitchen walls were painted a pale green, the exact same shade my mother once had in her own kitchen, a small detail that instantly made the house feel familiar.

The final room was my favourite. It was large, with exposed wooden beams stretching across the ceiling, worn timber floorboards and a broken radiator. The bedroom window overlooked an endless green field behind the house. It was imperfect in every possible way, and yet it possessed an undeniable charm.

You might wonder why I would ever consider buying such a place. The answer is simple: I was desperate. And isn't that often how these stories begin?

As I looked at the empty rooms, my imagination took over. I found myself wondering about the family who had once lived there. Having explored Baltimore only a few weeks earlier, my thoughts were already immersed in the world of Fanny The Fairy. It felt almost inevitable that this farmhouse would become the inspiration for Izzy's home. A place inhabited by a family who had lived there for generations, deeply connected to nature and quietly linked with the magic surrounding them.