When I was 12 years old, I asked for a dollhouse for Christmas. I had inherited a cardboard one with little plastic furniture from my cousin, but it distressed me that the floors were warped and that there were no stairs going to the second floor. Therefore, one of my main requirements for the new dollhouse was that it have stairs.
My father kept this request in mind and built a huge wooden dollhouse for me. I believe he may have made it the size it is so that I would never outgrow this one and request another (wink). It is 30" tall (with a 35" high chimney), 39" wide, and 19" deep.
There are nine rooms in the house. Starting on the left-hand side of the first floor is the kitchen, entry way, and living room. On the second floor is the daughter's bedroom, the bathroom, and the son's room. In the attic is the master suite with the nursery, a sitting room, and the master bedroom.
Several years after I received the dollhouse as a gift, I received an electrical wiring set from my parents. I then wired the whole house with electricity. (My husband teases, "Do you have fire insurance?") Only four rooms have lights at this time -- the hall, kitchen, living room, and girl's room.
Much of the furniture was made by my mother, father and myself from kits and patterns. This includes the living room sofa, chair and fireplace; and the kitchen counter, cabinets and china cabinet.
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As I prepared the pictures for this page, it made me think of the many things that I still want to do with my dollhouse, especially making curtains for many of the rooms and more wall hangings. However I've still done a lot with it over the years.
The front hall has a grandfather clock (left) with a mouse peeking out from underneath, and a long table, and bench made from a can (right). On the coat rack in the back right, there is a blue knit cap made from the tip of a glove finger.
The kitchen cabinets, counter, stove, refridgerator and china cabinet (left) were made from a kit. The iron on the left is a from a Monopoly game.
The dark green sofa, chair and ottoman were made by my mother and me; the curtains were made by my mother, and the fireplace by my father. The piano (back right) is a wind up music box. The chair in the front left was bought at a dollar store and easily recovered to match the room. On the coffee table is a candy dish made from the cap of a contact lense case filled with glued-in tiny beads, a collection of tiny seashells, and a nut dish made with a bottle top filled with birdseed and a pair of nut crackers from a minature store on top. On the fireplace is a flower vase made from an upside down drawer pull and a dried flower.
The bathroom curtains were made from a pink lace handkerchief gathered onto a wooden stick. The toilet paper rolls on top of the toilet were made by wrapping thin strips of pink toilet tissue around a small tube (a coffee stir or small straw would work also). The toothbrush on the sink was made from a thin piece of wood with the bristles painted white.
The perfume bottles on the dresser were made from beads glued together and set on a small metal tray from the inside of an eyeshadow case. The white table to the left of the rocking chair is a prop to keep a pizza box top from caving into the pizza. The pink trash basket on the right is a bottle cap. The Scrabble game box in front of the bed is a box of candy.
The toys in the boy's room are miscellaneous real toys. The lamp on the dresser (left) is a blue game piece with a toothpaste cap on top.
The computer table (right) was made from a kit. The blue table and chairs (back right) were a gift from one of my grandparents' trips abroad. The black waste basket (right) is the cap from a highlighter pen. The bird cage (left) is a Christmas tree onament. The room dividers in the attic were made by my husband to my specifications.
The yellow waste backet (left) is a bottle cap. The baby toys are miscellaneous small toys. The rocking horse (right) is a Christmas tree ornament.
The jewelry box on the dresser (left) is a small box covered with woodgrain contact paper, lined with black velvet and filled with small chains and beads. The lamp on the night table (right) is made from beads and a jewelry finding for the shade. The bassinet (right) was a baby shower favor.