It's a matter of time, we always get lost..

I still haven't opened up all my Christmas Lundby yet, but I took some quick photos the other day as the last 2 sets (Smaland dining room & kitchen) arrived last Saturday.  So far the only set I've opened is the Stockholm set with the shower & jacuzzi, as I wanted to see if the shower would fit in the small left hand upstairs room in my "Dream House" (the Lundby version of Barton's Caroline's Home).  I feared it would be too tall, but it *just* fits in.

I still have some more recent Lundby pieces on my wishlist. I think the sets are the top of my list are mostly Smaland sets - the bathroom set with the roll top bath (I'm sure the Stockholm jacuzzi will come in useful, but I much prefer the roll top bath), kitchen accessories set with the herbs, & the new stereo sideboard, + the older Stockholm bedroom set (which I'd buy in a heartbeat if I could just find one).

I'm planning on using all of these in my Dream House but still need the roll top bath to complete the bathroom, the sideboard to complete the living room, + a complete bedroom set & more furniture for the spare room upstairs, though I'm not even sure what that room will be yet - possibly an office/craft room (the old Smaland TV set with the yellow bookcase might be handy to go in there with the brightly coloured Stockholm table & chairs).   However I think I have enough to start figuring out how I want to decorate the walls & floors of the house.



I'd love to find a way to replace the stairs in the dream house, whether that's making some myself, or using some made for another house.  I really love the stairs in the old Stockholm but don't have an old or new Stockholm myself (yet, maybe one day - I'd love both)  to measure to see if they would fit in the Dream House.  I do have a spare staircase (the type in the Smaland/old Gothenburg) but I don't think they would work in the Dream House - they're too tall & would need modifying + I want some open stairs, so you can see through to the rest of the room - the large room downstairs, which is supposed to be the living room, but which I'll be making into a large open plan kitchen/dining room).

I'm looking forward to opening the rest of the sets & trying them in my Dream House, & really hoping the layout I've visualised will work. 

Oh.. & Happy New Year! 

Where the heart is..

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.

For the upstairs I know there's going to be a main bedroom & bathroom, but I'm not sure what the third room will be yet & I'm not sure what the layout will be like, that will all depend on where the furniture fits best.  At the moment I think the third upstairs room might be an office/craft 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.