How To Make A Gnome Home

This post on How To Make A Gnome Home is sponsored by Shutterfly.

When we moved into our house about 8 years ago (where did the time go!), there were a few peculiarities that just come with the territory of buying an old house. Some things definitely had to go (ALL of the painted shut windows) but there were other things that, though no longer in use, gave the house ties to a bygone era and added to the personality I fell in love with. A perfect example of a seemingly unnecessary but totally quaint fixture was this floor heater vent that was just begging to be turned into a Gnome Home!

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Early Construction

I have no idea when the last time the floor heater was in use but having an open hole to the crawl space below our house totally creeped me out. Before we even thought of a gnome home, we cut a metal mesh sheet to fit over the entire area and prevent any teeny tiny creatures from crawling up. In fact, now that I’m thinking back, it’s probably because the metal sheet created a new “floor” that we started to think of that space as a little room and why a few years later, after having two little boys of our own, we began to refer to that space as the Gnome Home!

Gnomes Move In

It stayed that way for a couple years but my husband and I love working on projects together so we spent one date night (when the boys were with my dad) converting the floor heater vent into a miniature house that made the 8 year old girl in me giddy! Thanks to the dollhouse section of a craft store, the gnomes now lived in style with a hardwood floor, plenty of furniture, and enough props to celebrate every season. We eventually added a remote controlled light so that the boys could easily tell when the gnomes were home!

To Every Thing

The Gnomes decorate when the seasons change and for different holidays (although they have been known to miss quite a few!) We’ve explained to the boys that sometimes “the gnomes” get so busy that they forget to put out Halloween treats or Easter baskets. Honestly, I’m kinda jealous of how often the gnomes go visit family in Mexico for an extended amount of time! But when the gnomes are home, boy, do they accessorize! Collecting a bin full of different miniature accessories has been so much fun. I’m always keeping my eyes out for a new piece that can easily characterize what the gnome family is doing these days. One of my favorite props is a basket full of seeds that our little guests bring out when it’s time to start planning our garden. They definitely don’t have the black thumb that I do!

Seasons Greetings

Regardless of the gnomes religious preferences, they sure do love to celebrate Christmas! Complete with gifts (which can be found opened on Christmas Day!) and ornaments, their tree usually goes up way before our Thanksgiving decorations are even down. We’ve even started letting the boys pick out a small gift to give our house guests that gets added to the small room decor. This action is reciprocated on Christmas morning when our boys usually find small edible treats waiting for them outside of the gnome home. What polite guests they are!

Branching Out

This year the gnomes have started decorating a bit outside of their home! We added an awesome new panel of candid pictures from Shutterfly and were pleasantly surprised to find rows of holiday pennant flags decorating them the other day. I guess the gnomes love our new pictures just as much as we do! My favorite thing about the Shutterfly Design-a-Wall service is that with the free hanging kit they make it so easy to get your pictures up as soon as you get them. They even include a level, how awesome is that?! I love that I sometimes find my kids standing in front of the pictures laughing and reminiscing about good times (as opposed to the normal wrestling and punching that usually happens when they’re together!)

Friendly Little Neighbors

So, you have officially been introduced to the little gnome family that lives in our walls! Just like fairies, they’re kinda shy so we’ve never actually seen them but their presence is a constant reminder of all that is magical and sweet in this world. My seven year old has already started smirking a bit when we talk about the gnomes but my four year is still all in. I know that one day the gnomes will go the way of the Tooth Fairy and Santa Claus but until then, if the light is on, the gnomes are always up for a visit!

Check out the Home For Christmas Blog Hop below for more great holiday ideas!