Artist transforms his house into Peter Pan's Neverland

James Talbot and his wife live a happy and enchanted life in Austin, Texas. The enchanted part is a result of James's lifelong fascination with a famous character from a fairytale: Peter Pan. He's been particularly inspired by the movies, and their magical aesthetic has been a huge influence on his art. James spent much of his life as a designer, traveling the globe in search of his own Neverland.

During his time living in Spain, Turkey, England, Morocco, and Venezuela, he learned new artistic methods and different ways of thinking, and at each stop on his journey he gathered special trinkets to bring home. Everywhere he went he found more souvenirs to chronicle his search for that magical place he has dreamed of since he was a child. But finally, after years of living in foreign countries, James felt it was time to come home. So he headed to Texas and started making plans to build his very own Casa Neverlandia. 

The result is a very special home that was awarded third place in Natural Home Magazine's "Home of the Decade" competition.

The house is made mostly of recycled materials and has solar panels and rainwater collectors. James was insistent on having an environmentally-friendly dream home.

He bought the house in 1979 and has been transforming it piece by piece ever since. He sees every remaining blank space as "a request to decorate."

Most of the decorative ornaments are the souvenirs he picked up on his travels. "The house is made of many pieces from my past," he says proudly.

His electricity bills are impressively low. James pays between $10 and $15 a month, probably because he lives without air conditioning or central heating. But when it does get cold outside, James can warm things up in the house with his incredible fireplace. Stepping into his living room is like stepping into an alternate, magical dimension.

The house is also filled with James's own artistic creations. The inspiration for these is pretty obvious.

James doesn't look like a boy, but he certainly has the heart and soul of one. His dream was to remain young, just like Peter Pan, and in his own way he has achieved just that.

As James says, "Once you know what you want, you've got a much better chance of getting it." He keeps his house open to the public and hopes that it will inspire people to think about what they really want. James knew exactly what he wanted from a very young age and has spent his life making it happen. And we're pretty sure that Peter Pan would be proud of him!