From Old Bookcase to “Mouse Mansion” — The Story Behind Our Magical Maileg World

When we first discovered the whimsical world of Maileg almost eight years ago, we never imagined that a few tiny mice would eventually transform an old wooden bookcase into one of the most loved features in our family home.

Like many Maileg collections, ours began very slowly and very personally.

Each of us chose a mouse that felt meaningful. Toni chose a nurse mouse, Phoebe — who is a paramedic — chose a little mouse with a wooden ambulance and Ruby chose a Little Sister mouse with a tiny yellow skirt that she still remembers so fondly today.

At first, those special little mice simply sat on a shelf inside an old wooden bookcase in our lounge room. There was no grand plan to create a dollhouse or perfectly styled display. It was simply a growing collection of treasured little characters that slowly became part of our family story.

Over time, however, the little world surrounding them continued to grow.

Today, our “Mouse Mansion” is made from an old wooden bookcase with three shelves and two glass doors, each level carefully styled into its own magical little world.

The top shelf has become the bedroom level, where the mice tuck themselves into tiny beds after busy days inside the mansion.

The middle shelf is home to the kitchen and cosy lounge room complete with a fireplace — and the favourite sleeping place of Grandpa Mouse, who can often be found resting peacefully in his rocking chair near the warmth of the fire.

The lower level contains the laundry, bathroom and children’s play area, where the hardworking maid mouse is constantly busy washing clothes for the more than twenty mice who now reside in the Mouse Mansion.

At Easter in 2024, we decided to take the Mouse Mansion renovation to another level and began adding wallpaper, wainscoting and detailed finishing touches to make it feel a little more grand and magical.

My husband — whose name is also Tony — made countless trips to Bunnings collecting tiny pieces of timber for cornices, skirting boards and wainscoting trims. Meanwhile, I took on the frustrating task of wallpapering the tiny rooms using patterned paper from Spotlight.

What sounded simple in theory proved much harder in reality.

The walls were not perfectly square and I was absolutely determined to line up the wallpaper patterns correctly from wall to wall. It required far more patience than I originally expected, but eventually everything came together beautifully.

One of the things we love most about our Mouse Mansion is that it is not perfect — it is quirky, imaginative and full of personality.

Over the years, we accidentally purchased a mix of different Maileg furniture sizes without fully understanding the sizing system. Some of the furniture is technically far too large for the mice, but instead of replacing it we decided to embrace the charm and imagination that came with it.

The oversized kitchen has become one of our favourite features, with the chef mouse needing to stand on a stool just to stir his pot of soup simmering away on the stove. And of course, the maid mouse absolutely needs a very large washing machine to keep up with the endless laundry demands of twenty busy little mice.

That imperfect and imaginative styling is part of what makes the Mouse Mansion feel so special to us.

While the Mouse Mansion already features tiny rugs and cosy details, there are still many things we hope to add in the future — timber flooring, miniature chandeliers, wall art, room dividers and perhaps even a fridge stocked with fresh produce and treats for the grandparents.

Like all Maileg worlds, we do not think the magic is ever truly finished.

The beauty is in slowly building something over time, adding memories piece by piece and creating a world filled with imagination, storytelling and family traditions.

That spirit of slow imaginative play and timeless childhood wonder is exactly what inspired us to create Mouse House Collective.

We hope our little Mouse Mansion inspires other families across Australia to build magical worlds of their own — whether inside an official dollhouse, an old cabinet, a bookshelf or a treasured piece of furniture already filled with family history.

Because sometimes the most magical little worlds begin in the most unexpected places.