I thought I'd take some quick photos of the most recent house I added to my little collection - it's the same as Caroline's Home made by Barton, but came out some time in the 80's after Lundby took over Barton in 1984 & sold as "The Dream House". I bought it about a year & a half ago & haven't done anything yet, other than cleaning it up a bit, but I think it'll be a good place to start.
It's probably silly, but i'm so nervous about redecorating & making a mess of things, but this house is screaming out for some TLC & attention. It's not in horrible condition, but it's far from mint, so I don't feel precious about it which helps my nervousness. I'm thinking of totally redecorating not only the inside, but the outside. I love the red door & shutters, but i can imagine the exterior could look great with some work.
The first dollhouse furniture I ever had was actually Caroline's Home furniture by Barton. I didn't have the Caroline's Home house, but I clearly remember having a number of the items made for it when I was very little (5 or 6 years old). I had the bedroom set (wardrobe, dressing table, bed), a sideboard & bearskin rug, pots & pans, plates of food & a pink tea set, a rocking horse, & maybe a pink & black bathroom set (bath, toilet, sink, which I think might have been Lundby rather than Barton), a cot & grandfather clock. I'm not sure what happened to my first dollhouse or the furniture & accessories I had for it. My Mum & I lived with my Grandparents until I was 6 years old. I can't remember the dollhouse coming with us when we moved & have no idea what happened to it.
I think I'm
going to swtich the layout of the downstairs - most often I see the
ground floor room on the left as the kitchen, with the larger room with
the stairs as the living room. I think the bottom left room works
better as a kitchen when it's in the version of Caroline's Home with a
window on the back wall, but for this version I think it will make a
better living room/snug, with the larger room being a big open plan
kitchen/dining room.
Anyway, yet another project & lots to do.. I haven't bought any of the furniture I want to use for it yet, I have pieces in mind for the bathroom, & kitchen/dining room, but I have no idea what i'll use yet for the living room & bedroom.
Have I mentioned the Dolls' House DIY book by Venus and Martin Dodge? (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Dolls-House-D-I-Y-Book-Venus-Dodge/dp/0715382896/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8) They have a lot of instructions for 3/4" scale pieces, with a 70s vibe (because that's when the book was written!)
ReplyDeleteOr, if you want something more designer and up-to-date, the minimii Arne Jacobsen pieces might be just what you're after: http://minimii.com/wordpress/en/
Hey! :) I don't think you've mentioned the book before to me, but i need all the help I can get so thanks so much for the recommendation! I only have one book so far on making furniture, etc, & that's for larger scale (1:6) & is in Japanese (Dolly Dolly Coordinate Recipe - Dollhouse by Rosalyn Perle) & I definitely need to get some more books, preferably in English & for smaller scales.
ReplyDeleteI think I want the dream house to be like an old house that's been bought & decorated & furnished in a very contemporary style. I need to do gather some ideas for it. I see so few modern looking 1:16 or 18 scale beds that I love that it's tricky - i love the old Stockholm bed (the one that came with the tallboy), but I never see it for sale anywhere, & sofa wise i like the modern Lundby corner sofa, but wish it wasn't in pink. I guess I'll have to make my own eventually or do some customisation.
& argh! yes! the Jacobsen pieces, I so want some of the AJ Series 7 chairs in white <3 (they've been on my wishlist for a while).