Make a Magical Vacation at Fablerealm
Nestled in the northwest corner of Northern Georgia in the town of Chickamauga is a vacation destination like no other. Fablerealm takes you “inside the pages of the story” and makes your vacation a truly wonderful escape. The owners of this enchanting escape have taken their love of fables, fairytales, Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, and more and truly poured it into some truly incredible and immersive vacation experiences. The owners of this magical place guarantee you will be able to “step out of the ordinary and into the extra ordinary” no matter how long you stay at Fablerealm!
Fablerealm currently has six unique and special vacation rentals, each with their own flair, but they promise there are more to come! Below we will highlight each one, and go into detail about what you can expect. We will also include details about each rental with helpful information about how many bedrooms and bathrooms there are, and how many people it will Sleep. Ofcourse we will also have the link ready for you to click when you are ready to book (in the orange text!). Make sure you stick around to the end - we have also included an interview with Kristi, Byron, and their daughter Rachel about what has gone into the process of creating this amazing property, and what special surprises they have in store for the future! All photos are courtesy of Fablerealm.
The Fairy Tale Cottage
3 Bedrooms, 1.5 Bathrooms, Sleeps 8.
This is the cottage that started it all at Fablerealm. Once just an old A-Frame in the woods, the owners have turned this cottage into a magical fairy tale escape. Each room is an homage to famous fairy tales and the shelves are packed with plenty of books for you to lose yourself in. The whimsy details will truly amaze you, including the 6 foot long cast iron claw foot tub in the Swan Princess inspired bathroom. Our favorite detail has to be the staircase, each stair hand painted with the favorite fairy tale of members of the owner’s family - it adds such a personal touch, you can tell this cottage was crafted with real passion! Click this link to see more photos and availability of the Fairy Tale Castle!
The Groundskeeper’s Cottage
1 Bedroom, 1 Bathroom, Sleeps 4.
Fans of Harry Potter will love this stay, modeled after Hagrid’s famous groundskeeper cottage. This larger than life cottage has to be seen to be believed! Relax and watch Harry Potter movies on the flatscreen TV or soak up the evening air around the fire pit. The attention to detail inside is incredible, there is even a scavenger hunt! Set on the 40 acre Fablerealm farm you may never want to leave, but if you do, you will be close to the historic town of Chickamauga, Georgia and Chattanooga, Tennessee. Click this link for more photos and availability of the Groundskeeper Cottage!
If you think this is cool, definitely check out our list of Harry Potter themed Airbnb rentals here!
The Adventure Suite
3 Bedrooms, 1 Bathroom, Sleeps 6.
The hosts have designed this suite with artifacts from their travel all over the world. Take a break from discovering lost civilizations, and dodging sandstorms in this classical adventurer's suite! Inspired after the adventures of Indiana Jones, guests can rest in the luxurious hidden bed, second stunning romantic bedroom, or lounge on the soft leather couch and recliner. This cozy getaway is full of treasures collected from all over the world including bronze mermaids, wooden Don Quixotes, rustic trunks, ancient tomes, and more! You will love exploring the space via the in-house scavenger hunt and take home a vintage postcard to remember your stay! Click this link to see more photos and availability of the adventure suite!
The Burrow
2 Bedrooms, 1 Bathroom, Sleeps 6.
Fans of Harry Potter will definitely love the Burrow! Perched on the top of a gentle hill on the 40 acres Fablerealm Farm, The Burrow is an immersive vacation rental. When you walk inside, chirping owls and charmed knitting needles clacking away welcome you home. Step into the cozy, cobbled-together kitchen where a bevy of red-headed wizards once made an orphan feel like he was finally home. Settle into the common room where wizards and witches studied for their O.W.L.s, hoping to get passing marks. Behind the bookcase, you’ll find hidden rooms ready to explore. And the bathroom is just the kind of place to hear mermaids sing while you are taking a long soak. Ready for some adventure? Take a stroll through the Forbidden Forest and watch for a stray Patronus. Once you’re back inside, see if you can find the missing items on the scavenger hunt! Click this link to see more photos and availability of the Burrow!
The Dorm Room
1 Bedroom, 1 Bathroom, Sleeps 4.
This rental is the perfect magical escape for any fan of Harry Potter! When you open the ancient front door to The Common Room, you’ll apparate directly into the world of witches and wizards, and you will love how this cozy place feels just like you stepped into Hogwarts. There is magic everywhere; tucked under the beds, there are trunks full of what the students left behind—ticket stubs, letters, scarves. The detail here is so rich you can role play as a member of the trio you know and love, or as a new student fresh off the Hogwart’s Express. You can explore every shelf and every inch of wall for signs of magic during your immersive vacation rental experience. See if you can find all the items on the scavenger hunt during your cozy stay! Click this link below to see more photos and availability of the Common Room.
Green Dragon Inn
Chickamauga, Georgia. 3 Bedrooms, 3 Bathrooms, Sleeps 8.
Come visit the land of Dwarves, Elves and others in our Middle Earth inspired space! This amazing Lord of the Rings house will have you feeling like you stepped right into Middle Earth at Fablerealm! This home feels like a roadside Inn you may stop at in your travels. There is an outdoor fire pit where you can tell your tales, there are comfy beds you can rest your heads, and there are many touches that feel make you feel like you have been transported. This is one of the most immersive stays at Fablerealm! Check out this link to view more photos and availability of the Green Dragon Inn!
Coming Soon - an incredible Studio Ghibili Suite!
Fablerealm’s newest offering will take you inside the world of all your favorite films—Ponyo, Princess Mononoke, and more—plus a bathroom fit for fans of Spirited Away. Stay tuned…
We recently had the chance to sit down (virtually) with Rachel, and her mom Kristi, who own and operate this fantastic vacation escape. We got to chat about what goes into designing such amazing spaces, and what is coming in the future. Check out our interview below!
1. Your vacation rentals are mini destinations on their own, much more unique than a typical hotel room or Airbnb, how did you get started?
We started first with the little fairytale Cottage on the farm. It was an abandoned A-Frame cabin on a lot adjacent to my parent's farm. My Mom, Kristi, fell in love with it and bought it, even though pretty much everyone told her it was a bad idea and should just be torn down. She ended up being right! After spending months gutting and remodeling the A-Frame, it was cozy and wonderful. At first, it was just used for out of town friends, family, and business guests - but then more friends of friends wanted to come stay and we decided to list it on Airbnb. My Mom loves people, and loves to decorate, so next she created the Hogwarts inspired common room themed space. It's little, but it's a guest favorite. Things just kind of snowballed from there! Then it was The Adventure Suite, The Burrow, The Groundskeeper's hut, Dragon's Keep, The Glen (our little wedding space and pavilion)! Up next are a Middle Earth stay and a Ghibli inspired space. But everything started with that little A-frame.
2. What inspired you to create the unique stays at Fablerealm?
My mom has loved books her whole life, and has always been a great story teller. She also loves to decorate and loves to meet people, so she kind of combined all those passions into one! Creating magical spaces that she can share and not just keep bottled up in her library.
3. The attention to detail is incredible! Are you yourselves big fans of the media your rentals are themed after?
Yes! My mother is a GIGANTIC Harry Potter fan, even more so than the rest of us! She's a Gryffindor (though she gave birth to two Slytherins), and loves everything about Harry Potter. She probably quotes the films once or twice a day. All of the rest of the spaces are also tied into things we have always loved; Indiana Jones, The Mummy, Fairytales, Fantasy novels, Lord of the Rings, Studio Ghibli. So each one has definitely been designed with a love for the literature or films that inspired them.
4. How do you combine the unique themes with practical functionality?
That's an ever evolving kind of thing. Lots of trial and error and seeing what works well with guests, all the while still being able to handle the traffic. We also have to make sure the spaces are clean and safe for our guests. Some things work the first time, but other things don't always end up being the best idea long term. We are always able to make design tweaks too, like replacing the bright white toilet in the Burrow with a jet black one to fit the vibe better. We are constantly making changes to make the spaces magical and comfortable and functional, sometimes it's a real challenge! Other times though it's as easy as nailing a rug to the floor so it's not a tripping hazard.
5. When planning a new rental, or working on a new idea, what goes into that process?
It usually starts with "Look, I have a really crazy idea, but it might be a good one..." conversation, then it's a matter of seeing what we already have to work with. For the Castle suite décor, it was almost too easy because my parents, brother, and I already love everything sword and sorcery, everything fantasy, and everything Medieval, so we just gathered all our collections of swords, dragons, tapestries, and other knickknacks together for the decorations. Then we made some changes to the floors and tracked down the beds. With most of the spaces it's a lot of sketches, debates, and yard sales and thrift store combing. Each space is a slightly different variation of that formula, but they all start with the crazy idea conversation for sure.
6. What is the most rewarding aspect of running Fablerealm, and the most frustrating?
I think, for my mom especially, that the most rewarding part of this has been getting to meet so many people and share her magic with them. She loves doing this and has met so many people and made so many friends from all over. The most frustrating...that's a more difficult one! I would say from personal experience and observation, probably when people don't read the house rules! For the Groundskeeper’s hut and the Burrow the house rules have very exact instructions for getting to your stay, so if you don't read them you get lost, which is not fun for anyone!
7. Is there a particular design element you are most proud of?
Personally, I think I'm most proud of the secret room in the Adventure suite. It took a lot of planning and odd construction to make it work. As for my Mother, probably all the woodwork and stone work at the Groundskeeper's Hut. She hand picked all of the boards herself and searched for months for all the cages and things up in the rafters there.
8. Which rental is your favorite?
My favorite currently is probably the Fairytale Cottage. My partner and I used to have date nights there, so it's particularly special to us. Mom's is a toss up between the Adventure Suite, Groundskeeper’s Hut and The Burrow.
9. If you had an unlimited budget, and no one could tell you no, what design would be your dream project?
My Mom's (and probably my brother's) would be to build an actual castle, towers and all, complete with a great hall and a giant table and stained glass windows with a huge library. I would love to build Baba Yaga's hut, which sounds a little weird, but the idea of a little hut on Chicken legs hanging out in our woods makes me so happy. Dad is pretty adamant that Star Wars is next. My kiddo has been hounding us to create a Minecraft themed space, so we all have a totally different dream project.
10. Do you have any exciting plans for the future you would like to share?
We are currently building a Studio Ghibli themed space that's inspired by Howl's Moving Castle, Spirited Away, Kiki's Delivery Service, and all the rest (coming soon!). We have our Middle Earth inspired stay in process as well, and are really excited about it. We also have been making sure to keep accessibility in mind while working on these, because we want these spaces to be a place everyone can enjoy safely and comfortably. We are also hoping to host a couple small art shows even, but that’s a ways down the road. We have a LOT happening right now and finishing the Ghibli inspired and the Middle Earth inspired spaces are our priority!
Thanks so much for reading all about Fablerealm! We think this is a truly great idea and we can tell all the love and passion that went into creating these unique sleeps. I know we cannot wait to see all the exciting new offerings that Fablerealm have planned for the future! Stay tuned here, and over at the website and social media pages for Fablerealm to see updates about the other listings currently under construction!
If you like reading about the coolest things to See, the most interesting places to Seek out, and the most unique places to Sleep, browse the posts on our blog, and check out our Facebook page, we post exciting content there daily! If you are a passionate Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings fan, be sure to check out our interview with the minds behind Treehouses of Serenity, themed treehouses in Asheville North Carolina!
