That picture's a little disappointing -- only a small portion of the house is underground and near as I can tell, that portion was not dug into the side of a hill but rather built above ground and then the ground artificially built up around it. Dude, you know what would make a totally great fantasy housing development? The 100-Acre Wood.

Some of the design elements are rather nice, but then sometimes it looks like a life-size Legoland piece. I think the basic idea of a fantasy old-worldy neighborhood could have worked if they hadn't been gone so ridiculous with it.

still, probably could have sold more if they had guaranteed, along with your cottage, a simmering homoerotic relationship with your gardener.

Yeah that guy looks a bit like....nah

I was sufficiently intrigued to look further at Myer's plans for The Shire and came away extremely disappointed. First by the sheer size of the houses. Rather than downsizing to a comfy bungalow, he was selling 3000+ sqft monsters with floorplans much like the tract mcmansions we see everywhere. They just had hobbity skins. There were no models for singles or the elderly. The second disappointment was the lack of components needed to create a sense of community, which I would assume was one of the reasons for people to be attracted to the Shire. No common spaces or shops or entertainments. But nice wide roads and three car garages for city workers who wanted to have their bedrooms in Hobbiton. In short, he had the look, but not the feel of the Shire. I'd have to think it would have failed even in the best of times.

That's Middle Earth, apo.

Holy cow. I can't believe I didn't notice that. CHINA NEEDS HOBBITS NOW.

Anyhow, fixed. Thanks.

6: Yeah, standard issue McMansions with kitschy hobbit trim. The appeal escapes me.

8: Maybe they thought it would impress D-orc chicks out of their chainmail?

I felt sorry for him until I went and looked at the development website. Then I thought, "dear god, the horror."

Probably should have been located in somewhere south of San Francisco, maybe San Jose, Sunnyvale. Or perhaps Austin Tx, or Seattle.

I swear this kind of thing +could+ work, if done properly. As 12 notes, there are places with enough retiring hippies and other gentle people to create small communities based on the homely values embodied by the Shire.

At Disney World, visitors begin at Main Street with its faux Victorian buildings (facades for giant souvenir shops) which manage to convey a sense of hometown wholesomeness that the Disney brand represents. Next door is Celebration, the Disney town of tomorrow, designed to provide the same feel -- but which sadly decides to enforce it with oppressive regulations and surveillance.

So imagine a project on the scale of Celebration, but done with heart and guided by the Tolkien's vision. I'd move there in a minute.