About the Hobbit
The hobbit house is about 600 square feet and is into a hill behind an old stone wall. This home in rural Chester County is about 50 miles northwest of Philadelphia, surrounded by thick fog swirls around the trunks of knotty trees. Inspired by the setting of fantasy novels by J.R.R. Tolkein’s The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, this home is one of a kind.
Journey towards it
A lifelong fan of Tolkein requested architect Peter Archer to design the same structure as Hobbit house in Chester County. Vince Donovan, the owner of the house, created a tiny stone cottage of Hobbit proportions. But everyone needs not to be a fan; we understand this when Archer said he hasn’t even read the book but are doing the background study of Tolkein for inspiration.
Structure
The building’s roof is shaped in whimsical curves and covers with clay tile. The showpiece is a distinctive, hobbit-sized and round door that pivots in a single, wrought-iron hinge. Archer made sure to include the construction of the main door as per the requirement. As per him, it’s not an underground structure by any kind of imagination, but it is built as per the grade. Archer said he didn’t want it to be more of a cartoonish in any way. He wanted to make something that was built up well with the combination of stone, timber.
Crafting
The cottage housed Donvan’s collection of all the things related to the hobbit, which he collected for almost 40 years. There are swords, pipes, hundreds of figurines and lots of novels by Tolkein. It also had dime-stone paperback editions and gilt-edged box sets. The walls are set by the use of rocks from the 12-acre site where the cottage stands. There is also a massive iron hinge that supports the 200-pound round mahogany door.
All-in-all this project was a lot of fun for all the people who worked to make this project a success. As per Archer, everyone worked beyond as to what they were paid. It was amazing for him to see everyone putting up their efforts into this project.
And the legend continues
Well, it is unnatural for a house to be that fanciful but lacking practical things. The cottage amounts to $150,000 but requires a bathroom, bedroom and plumbing. The only thing you can do here is, IMAGINE. The owner of the house, Vince Donovan, has the interviews covering this story, but it seems he soon will have a competition. According to Archer, he is working to build a proper hobbit style house in 5,000 square feet of land in Tasmania.
Well, even if there are other houses in the world, none is constructed as per the description of Tolkein. As per the novel, the sole purpose of the hobbit is to sit comfortably and ponder about great adventures.
