By . Ollie Gillman For Mailonline . A man who feared he would have to sell his 'wonderland' home because he lost his job has taken it off the market after strangers donated thousands of pounds to his cause. On first glance, John Trevillian's former council house in a quiet cul-de-sac in Great Dunmow, Essex, looks nothing special. But on the inside Mr Trevillian has transformed it into the extraordinary, with different rooms designed to reflect a different time and place in history - including a 1950s New Orleans kitchen, Victorian dining room, Moorish bedroom, Cambodian tree-house loft and Scottish Edwardian hall. After spending almost 25 years and £700,000 on the home, he was forced to put it on the market for just £350,000 because he could not afford the £2,000-a-month upkeep after being made redundant. Scroll down for video . The extraordinary Moorish-style bedroom, which Mr Trevillian calls the 'room of dreams', is just part of the house's £700,000, 24-year renovation . The sitting room, which Mr Trevillian calls the 'watchtower', is filled with ornate artefacts. His home, called Talliston House and Gardens, has more than 1,650 objects, costing around £500,000 altogether. The other £200,000 spent on the house paid for building materials . Mr Trevillian opens up his 'wonderland' home for visitors' tours, as well as photoshoots and murder mystery nights. The home includes this 1950s New Orleans kitchen . The Victorian dining room is fortified with stone walls, which had to be lifted in by crane, and the tree-house in the loft is supported by a real trunk. The smells have been engineered too - nutmeg and coffee waft through the New Orleans kitchen whilst jasmine fills the tree-house air. Even the sounds have been tweaked to help muster the right mood - and visitors quickly forget outside is suburban Essex. But the £2,000 a month costs, which include the mortgage, insurance and general upkeep, became unaffordable when Mr Trevillian, 49, lost his job on a magazine earlier this year. He was forced to put the house up for sale in June, but set up an online fundraising site in the hope other people would share his passion for Talliston House and Gardens - Old English for ‘secret place in the woods’. He was in luck, with strangers donating £6,000 to his cause - enough for the delighted homeowner to take the property off the market. Mr Trevillian said: 'I'm just emotionally exhausted. It's been such a rollercoaster ride but there's been so much positivity and it really shows how important Talliston is, how much people love it. 'Talliston is the thing I would hold above my head if I was drowning. It affects so many people in such a positive way and I needed to do whatever it took. Some people think it’s totally mad but others say it’s like being in one of those novels where a secret door opens up to a different world and fall in love with it.' Rich foliage and bright-coloured lights fill the fountain courtyard, which was almost sold along with the house but was saved by donations from strangers . From the outside, the three bedroom property looks unremarkable, but inside it has been transformed into a 'wonderland' Emotionally exhausted: Mr Trevillian, 49, said the past two months had been a 'rollercoaster ride' and that the donations show how much people love his house . More than 1,650 objects from 27 countries fill the incredible home, which he bought in 1990 for £73,000, with the artefacts costing him £500,000. John, who lives in the house alone, spent a further £200,000 on building materials, and says he has spent 'every penny' in the last 24 years on his labour of love. ‘I’ve always been interested in English history but being from an ordinary East End of London family, I was never going to afford the sort of house I wanted,’ Mr Trevillian said. ‘It’s every penny I’ve had for last 24 years – and every weekend too.I was into writing speculative fiction at the time – fantasy, horror and science fiction – so originally the idea was to have a place I could write. ‘I picked the most normal house. I didn’t want character because I knew I was going to start from scratch. In fact, it was hideous – the bathroom leaked, it had everything wrong with it and it wouldn’t sell. I thought, “perfect!” I started with the office and then moved onto the bathroom and have gone on from there.’ Quite a transformation: The bedroom - now the 'room of dreams' - before the renovation. Mr Trevillian bought the council house for £73,000 in 1990 . A shadow of things to come: This dingy kitchen is what welcomed John in 1990 when he moved into the worn out house. Now it is an extraordinary 'wonderland' Mr Trevillian opens the house to visitors, and even hosts murder mystery nights and photoshoots. He holds them in the living and dining room, which is arguably his greatest achievement. The room took Mr Trevillian four and half years to complete, with authentic stone walls which are a foot in depth and had to be lifted into place by a crane. The walls are defined with £4,600 worth of oak paneling and he then rendered them using limestone. An open fireplace, carved table, and velvet curtain complete the look. Mr Trevillian said: ‘To me, it’s the perfect place for entertaining. People walk into the room and are transported to a different place. ‘I want Talliston to be a centre of creativity. I want it to inspire people.'
John Trevillian had to put the extraordinary Talliston House in Great Dunmow, Essex, on the market after losing his job .
Home has 1950s New Orleans kitchen, Victorian dining room, Moorish bedroom and Cambodian tree-house loft .
Strangers rallied to donate £6,000 so John can now keep the house which costs £2,000 a month to maintain .
Former council house which he bought in 1990 for £73,000 contains more than 1,650 objects from 27 countries .
Victorian dining room is fortified with stone walls and the tree-house in the loft is supported by a real trunk .
By . Ollie Gillman For Mailonline . A man who feared he would have to sell his 'wonderland' home because he lost his job has taken it off the market after strangers donated thousands of pounds to his cause. On first glance, John Trevillian's former council house in a quiet cul-de-sac in Great Dunmow, Essex, looks nothing special. But on the inside Mr Trevillian has transformed it into the extraordinary, with different rooms designed to reflect a different time and place in history - including a 1950s New Orleans kitchen, Victorian dining room, Moorish bedroom, Cambodian tree-house loft and Scottish Edwardian hall. After spending almost 25 years and £700,000 on the home, he was forced to put it on the market for just £350,000 because he could not afford the £2,000-a-month upkeep after being made redundant. Scroll down for video . The extraordinary Moorish-style bedroom, which Mr Trevillian calls the 'room of dreams', is just part of the house's £700,000, 24-year renovation . The sitting room, which Mr Trevillian calls the 'watchtower', is filled with ornate artefacts. His home, called Talliston House and Gardens, has more than 1,650 objects, costing around £500,000 altogether. The other £200,000 spent on the house paid for building materials . Mr Trevillian opens up his 'wonderland' home for visitors' tours, as well as photoshoots and murder mystery nights. The home includes this 1950s New Orleans kitchen . The Victorian dining room is fortified with stone walls, which had to be lifted in by crane, and the tree-house in the loft is supported by a real trunk. The smells have been engineered too - nutmeg and coffee waft through the New Orleans kitchen whilst jasmine fills the tree-house air. Even the sounds have been tweaked to help muster the right mood - and visitors quickly forget outside is suburban Essex. But the £2,000 a month costs, which include the mortgage, insurance and general upkeep, became unaffordable when Mr Trevillian, 49, lost his job on a magazine earlier this year. He was forced to put the house up for sale in June, but set up an online fundraising site in the hope other people would share his passion for Talliston House and Gardens - Old English for ‘secret place in the woods’. He was in luck, with strangers donating £6,000 to his cause - enough for the delighted homeowner to take the property off the market. Mr Trevillian said: 'I'm just emotionally exhausted. It's been such a rollercoaster ride but there's been so much positivity and it really shows how important Talliston is, how much people love it. 'Talliston is the thing I would hold above my head if I was drowning. It affects so many people in such a positive way and I needed to do whatever it took. Some people think it’s totally mad but others say it’s like being in one of those novels where a secret door opens up to a different world and fall in love with it.' Rich foliage and bright-coloured lights fill the fountain courtyard, which was almost sold along with the house but was saved by donations from strangers . From the outside, the three bedroom property looks unremarkable, but inside it has been transformed into a 'wonderland' Emotionally exhausted: Mr Trevillian, 49, said the past two months had been a 'rollercoaster ride' and that the donations show how much people love his house . More than 1,650 objects from 27 countries fill the incredible home, which he bought in 1990 for £73,000, with the artefacts costing him £500,000. John, who lives in the house alone, spent a further £200,000 on building materials, and says he has spent 'every penny' in the last 24 years on his labour of love. ‘I’ve always been interested in English history but being from an ordinary East End of London family, I was never going to afford the sort of house I wanted,’ Mr Trevillian said. ‘It’s every penny I’ve had for last 24 years – and every weekend too.I was into writing speculative fiction at the time – fantasy, horror and science fiction – so originally the idea was to have a place I could write. ‘I picked the most normal house. I didn’t want character because I knew I was going to start from scratch. In fact, it was hideous – the bathroom leaked, it had everything wrong with it and it wouldn’t sell. I thought, “perfect!” I started with the office and then moved onto the bathroom and have gone on from there.’ Quite a transformation: The bedroom - now the 'room of dreams' - before the renovation. Mr Trevillian bought the council house for £73,000 in 1990 . A shadow of things to come: This dingy kitchen is what welcomed John in 1990 when he moved into the worn out house. Now it is an extraordinary 'wonderland' Mr Trevillian opens the house to visitors, and even hosts murder mystery nights and photoshoots. He holds them in the living and dining room, which is arguably his greatest achievement. The room took Mr Trevillian four and half years to complete, with authentic stone walls which are a foot in depth and had to be lifted into place by a crane. The walls are defined with £4,600 worth of oak paneling and he then rendered them using limestone. An open fireplace, carved table, and velvet curtain complete the look. Mr Trevillian said: ‘To me, it’s the perfect place for entertaining. People walk into the room and are transported to a different place. ‘I want Talliston to be a centre of creativity. I want it to inspire people.'
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