America's Dollhouse - a pictorial tour

America's Dollhouse in the Smithsonian Museum of American History. I have shown you this before and I am sure you have seen it elsewhere, but I thought you might enjoy my pictures of Faith Bradford's wonderful dollhouse.

The Doll family live here. They are 2 parents, 2 visiting Grandparents, 10 Children, several servants and numerous pets. The house represents a peaceful and prosperous time between the first and second World Wars. I am sure that, like me, there are times you wished you lived there too.

Check out these links from my fellow bloggers and me for more nformation:

The Miniature World of Faith Bradford

The Smithsonian

Smithsonian Miniature finds

Colette and Daphne visit Call of the Small

On their road trip Daphne and Colette are delighted to visit fellow mini-blogger Call of the Small.

They explore houses in her collection that they would love to have at home.

"I love this patio," says Daphne, "But what is that UFO thing on the roof?"

"Oh, Daphne," says Colette, "Don't you know? That's the clothes line."

Hmmm ... it seems the girls need to get out more. More about this house here.

 "This is a cozy room," says Colette.

"Yes, it is," says Daphne. "I wish I had a desk like that. It is much more avant guard than my Strombecker one at home."

 CallSmall very graciously shows the girls the setting from the Ladies home Journal article.

"What a gorgeous house," says Daphne. "I loved the story of how CallSmall got this house."

See the post here: Citadel Road Trip

"I could live here," says Colette.

"It's gorgeous!" says Daphne

Learn more about this wonderful Vero house here.

The girls make themselves at home in the Kaleidoscope house.

"I keep hearing about this house, but this is the first time I've been in one," says Daphne.

"I just love this table," says Colette.

Read more about this great room here.

"Drink! What a good idea," says Colette. "I wonder when the waiter shows up."

"It couldn't be too soon for me," says Daphne.

"Look at these lovely doors," says Colette. "CallSmall had very talented Elizabeth Le Pla of Elf Miniatures make them for her."

"They are wonderful," says Daphne.

Read about it here.

Alas the visit has come to an end. It is time to continue traveling. So Why don't the girls go?

Because Carol and Susan have left them here at the large Vero house.

 Yikes!!

Luckily, the ladies notice the girls are missing before they get too far and retrieve them. Although I am sure Colette and Daphne would be very happy living in CallSmall's gorgeous modern homes.

TTFN,

Susan

On the Road

 Daphne and Colette are traveling through rural Pennsylvania in search of mini items to add to their mini homes.

Pennsylvania is such a beautiful state with lovely little towns. The girls think that the houses look like the dollhouses they are used to at home.

"Colette, I am getting tired," says Daphne. "Let's look for a place to stay for the night."

"Good idea," says Colette. "I am tired too."

 "This place looks nice," says Colette.

"Oh, yes," says Daphne. "It is so pretty with the green lawn and the spring blossoms."

So the girls check in.

 "Colette," says Daphne. "Look up there. What is that?"

Both girls look at the ceiling over the bed.

"Oh my," says Colette.

 "Oh my," says Daphne. "What kind of place is this?"

And both girls giggle.

"Well, I don't know what they are expecting, but they are going to be disappointed." laughs Daphne.

Pennsylvania is a fun place.

Pennsylvania

Daphne and Colette are getting ready to visit every antique mall in Pennsylvania.

They spent a lovely night in their river-view room at the elegant Days Inn at Harrisburg and are now ready to hit the road.

It is a beautiful day, but there is a brisk wind so the girls are wearing the knitted hats that Daphne bought in Peru.

"Okay, Colette, grab your suitcase and let's go," says Daphne. "There are several hundred antique malls near here and we want to hit every one. Have you got your credit card?"

"Wha. . . hundreds of . . . Every single one!" stutters Colette.

"Don't worry," says Daphne. "We can get more suitcases for your finds on the road. How many do you think you can take back with you?"

Road Trip!!!

Daphne is so excited!! Colette is coming to Toronto for a few days and then they are taking a road trip south to Washington DC.

Look out Pennsylvania Antique Malls, here we come!!

Daphne gets out her luggage and prepares to pack ....

But first she has to get Colette's room ready.


Hmmmm. Maybe using the guest room for storage wasn't such a good idea after all.

Sunday morning

Daphne is enjoying a lazy Sunday morning.

 The phone rings ....

 "Hello. Yes? Who?"

"You don't mean it!!"

"Really! Of course! Yes! I can't wait!"

Daphne is so excited she jumps right out of the chair.

Who called? What is the news that made Daphne so excited?

C'mon Daphne, let us in on the story.

Antique Stable and House circa 1900

I was fortunate to acquire this wonderful toy barn recently. I believe it to be a German toy circa 1900. It is hand painted to resemble stuccoed bricks or stone and wood. the stable is on one side, and the living quarters with hay mow above is on the other.

I saw many farm houses with attached barns while driving through Germany and Austria a few years ago.

This type of farmhouse first emerged in the Middle Ages and was built using timber framing and/or stone. It is an 'all-in-one' house (Einhaus) with living quarters and livestock stalls under one roof. This rural type of farmstead still forms part of the scene in many villages in the central and southern areas of Germany. It is a very clever idea in a cold climate as the warmth from the animals helped to heat the house.

In my German toy barn, there is a small entry door with painted latch and hinges, and a charming shuttered wndow with a bench underneath on the living quarters of the barn.

This swings open in one large door to reveal the interior.

The blue painted peasant furniture came with the house. I believe the paper trim along the floor and and the ceiling is original to the house. It has the decorating look from the right period.

I couldn't say whether the futniture is as old as the barn, but the style and scale are just perfect, so I am guessing they are.

The door into the hay mow doesn't open, but I feel the mow wold make a perfect sleeping loft if it was accessible.

I have yet to acquire animals to live in the stable, but now that I have this wonderful structure I will be on the look out for some.



These farmhouse/barns were not limited to Germany and Austria. When my ancestors emigrated from England to Canada in 1850, their first home on their backwoods farm was a combination barn/house. Unlike this one, my ancestors kept the animals on the ground floor level and lived on the floor above. The heat from the animals rose and helped keep the family warm during their first few Canadian winters. The bedrooms were open sleeping lofts above the living quarters. Again, for warmth from below. I was lucky enough to visit the farm that my ancestors built so long ago. I toured the lovely red brick Ontario farmhouse, built once they could afford it. For over a century there has been a magnificent traditional barn on the property. Both are beautiful, but I must say I was more interested in the the first building - the barn/house - still standing and quaintly decorated as an artist studio. It fired my imagination, and gave me a glimpse into my Great-great-grandmother's first taste of life in this new, uncharted country.