3 years ago in 2017, as a film director, I wanted a new visual cinematic challenge, so I could continue developing my storytelling style.
I was born in Belfast, also the Titanic ship which was built in Belfast and is the biggest tourist attraction in Northern Ireland.
I decided to buy 2 Titanic shipyard (Harland & Wolff ) original workers houses, and one larger house in the same area and turn them into living stories/movies, an authentic ”Walt Disney world” (Style) entertainment accommodation so the tourists can really live in the Titanic story and other Irish stories.
These cottages were created for the workers who built “Victoria Park” and that was in 1860, so we have a good idea of how old these houses are.
I must admit, I bought Becfola because of the 31 meter long garden with its trees, the cottage had been empty for some time, and as all these cottages are built on a marshland, they were prone to damp, that is why they were built on a wooden base so the air could flow under the houses and keep away as much dampness as possible.
I then had to decide what theme I would create, at first I thought I would make a Titanic theme, but after I got a movie set designer from Switzerland to visit, his first words were “ For a tiny cottage, these cottages must have been made by the “Hobbits”.
Because I had bought the cottage because of the garden and the trees, I then started with my research to find an Irish fairytale that included trees and forests, and so I found the famous Arthur Rackham (the illustrator for the Hobbit ) who created this great picture "Becfola and the Snarling Horde” for the story “The Wooing of Becfola”
And so my 3 year project started.
Absolutely everything had to be done to the cottage, a new damp proofing in the entire ground floor, a new staircase, new bathroom with glass blocks to let some light in, and of course everything had to be related to trees.
Apart from all the furniture that had to be handmade, I needed to tell the story of Becfola, so I decided to get the story written and painted on the walls throughout the house, so the cottage became a kind of “Follow the yellow brick road” All these paintings took about 14 months.
If we use so much energy to create this “princess” world, then we had to do a 100% job, so now we even have the ambient sound of wind blowing in the trees, and Irish fairy tales being told throughout the cottage. 18000 LED lights.
I never wanted to build a house but an adventure, a memory for the guests to not forget.
If we use so much energy to create this “princess” world, then we had to do a 100% job, so now we even have the ambient sound of wind blowing in the trees, and Irish fairy tales being told throughout the cottage. 18000 LED lights.
I never wanted to build a house but an adventure, a memory for the guests to not forget.
I was to open in April 2020, but of course the Covid 19 arrived and the country was shut down, so I had to wait another 6 months to finish, but again before opening, the neighbouring cottage was getting some building work and they put a large hole through our wonderful wall mural, so more work and time was used to make her perfect again.
Finally in September 2020 our Becfola Princess world was completed.
Click here to view more information on Becfola