long ago as a child.

Scandinavian probably

European definitely

http://theswedishfurniture.com/archives/a-museum-recreates-the-look-of-century-old-swedish-interiors-with-historic-costumes

http://howtospendit.ft.com/furniture/7130-swedish-painted-furniture

I didn't even know what to search for when I was looking for additional inspiration and it was bugging me. Thanks for the point in the right direction.

Possibly Norwegian?

Prevalent in Sandinavian countries.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tole_painting

It's "hot" now because of Frozen's influence.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosemaling

http://forestwood.webs.com/norwegianfolkart.htm

The painted decoration in the 4th picture is called rosemaling, which was (still is) a Norwegian thing. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosemaling

I'm totally keeping this from my wife (for now).

Since I was a kid I've been drawing and designing houses and whatnot. I have an awesome idea to build an incredible "fairy tale" style house for my family. It'll be complete with short ceilings, round-topped arched doors, leaded window accents, steep gabled roofs, oversized chimneys, oversized window sills, etc...

I've done construction work when I was in college and Ive done a decent amount of furniture and cabinet construction over the years. I'm not afraid to undertake a project like this. I recently left my job and I suddenly have more time than I know what to do with. I think this is the next calling in my life.

i would love to see pics of your progress/project.

as a genre, i believe it is in the folk art category. as a child, i was fascinated by small, rounded wood houses for little people and nature spirits.

during a mad mushroom harvest in the late 60's / 70's, my late husband and a carpenter friend ended up somewhere in the high mountain desert of nevada building little wooden hobbit cottages for some people. or so the story goes….

First off, I believe that certain things like rounded doors and such really bring about the child in all of us - where everything is pure and simple. Secondly, certain things also bring about a feeling of safety and comfort. Thick stone walls project a feeling of safety and strength. Chimneys and fireplaces make people feel warm and comfortable. There is also a fine balance between being too big and cozy. There is a lt to consider when wanting to give a house the right feel.

I'm a severely traumatized and damaged war vet. I spend most of my time and energy on therapy and whatnot. I go to appointments / groups / classes at least 4 days a week and often 5. I recently was pushed into retirement by my former employer which has taken some getting used to for me. I'm 35 and potentially have a lot of life in front of me and I'm looking for projects like this to both complete some things on my bucket list and to make me feel useful and good about myself. I'm very lucky that my retirement income is actually substantially more that my working income was. I used to be a chemist for the government and I made pretty decent money.

So far all I have is a very rough draft of a concept in an architectural program that I spent too much money on. As renderings become complete, I'm sure I'll post my progress to look for some feedback and ideas from others.

I believe that I'm about two years away from the first parts of construction and that the project will take between 2 and 4 years to complete.

to your plan.
best of luck. hope you live somewhere near or around nature for continued inspiration and energy.
my best to you, victor_c3

storybookers.com
Some nice examples of the Story Book style.

Zowie! Lots of good wishes and good luck. Please post pics as you can.