Beautiful Hand-built Antique Dollhouse

This Incredible Antique Dollhouse in 1/12 scale has 7 rooms with a central hall.

It is 37 inches wide, 30 inches deep and 30 inches tall to the top of the chimney.

The front door has a lovely portico door canopy

This is the kitchen and bathroom side of the house

The bathroom has a toilet paper holder and towel racks

The kitchen door is quite charming

It was lovingly hand-built with lovely details, like a built-in cabinets around the fireplace in the living room

And an elegant staircase in the tiled hall.

It shows some signs of wear. All of the original carpets have been removed and it is It is partially wired. But now the house is ready for restoration.

Big Green Dollhouse

I have spent the last week refurbishing this beautiful dollhouse.
See the last picture to see how the poor thing had been neglected.

I refreshed the exterior paint.

The interior was partly finished and I started to add more to it,
but I have decided to sell it, so it remains unfinished.

I think it looks so much better now.

 

It is not happy in the before picture.

Deluxe Reading Kitchen 1961 - The Grocery Store Special

Deluxe Reading toys were sold in the 1950s–1970s in supermarkets. 

One of the most successful toys for girls was the "Dream Kitchen" (circa 1961) which consisted of four 12-inch-tall colourful kitchen appliances, a kitchen table and four chairs. The 1/6th scale of the set made it perfect for Barbie.

This toy was unique in that the sink worked with water, the oven had batteries to turn a plastic turkey on a spit inside.

The refrigerator had pull-out shelves, and the dishwasher also worked with water.

Included were scores of food boxes, cleaning supplies, food replica items, plates, utensils and more. The box proclaimed that it held "176 pieces."  I have acquired many extra accessories for my Deluxe Reading Kitchen.

This attractive display was high up on the grocery store shelf causing many children to beg their parents to buy them such a wonderful toy. I remember, as I was one of them, but I didn't get the set until I was grown up. (Picture from Pinterest)

The set came in an colourfully illustrated cardboard box. (Picture from Pinterest)

The kitchen set was also sold in the 1963 Montgomery Ward Christmas Book, Page 230

Barbie's Dream Kitchen Dinette from1964

Barbie invited her best friend Midge to brunch. She wanted to show off her cooking skills in her new modern Dream Kitchen Dinette. She made coffee in her Corningware percolator and cooked a casserole in the matching dish.

Barbie kept peeking out the window to see if Midge was getting close.

Everything is ready, and Midge is finally here.

"Everything looks wonderful!" Midge tells Barbie. 

"Let's eat." says Barbie

"We can sit on the patio later"

The 1964 Barbie Dream Kitchen Dinette is harder-to-find than some of the other vintage structures. It has wonderful graphics inside and out. I find the outdoor scenes particularly attractive. 

It is a cardboard house and came with many accessories. You could "Decorate it yourself with exciting SEW-FREE cloth draperies, pot holders, place mats, apron". 

Luckily, most of the original pieces were in my set. It is missing only one piece of toast, one knife, one spoon and the top of one stool. I am amazed that all the other pieces are there. They are so tiny and easily lost or vacuumed up. I am grateful that some careful little girl packed them all inside when she outgrew the house.

The original price tag is still on the house. $1.44. Wow, what a sale. I paid a bit more than that when I got it, but I'm still happy to have it. I hope you enjoyed the visit as much as Midge did.

The Big Dollhouse Renovation

This is the after picture of the large vintage dollhouse I refurbished over the last few years. I have worked on it on and off since the summer of 2015. It is 1/12th scale, 46" tall, 17" wide. 26" wide.

It looked like this when I got it. Someone had made a start on the siding, but didn't get very far. The shingles were a mess and the attic windows looked as if someone had glued something to them and later ripped it off. The house had been in a garage for years and I gave it a good cleaning.

Some siding strips came with the house, but I had to buy more to complete it. While I worked my cat, Lily kept me company. She thought the house was a fun place to hide and sleep.

Some of the double sash windows came with the house,
but I had to purchase others to complete the exterior

I painted the exterior siding a pale yellow after I had finished the siding and repaired the shingles 

I painted the interior white with a plan to wallpaper it and add baseboards, crown molding and lighting at a later date, but never got that done.

I found two windows for the attic in my stash of dollhouse supplies.

I had this book for many years and finally used it for the stained glass windows in the attic and in the sidelights of the front door. The stained glass panels in the book can be hand coloured, and it was fun to do so to match the house.

I mixed together some acrylic paints and came up with the olive shade for the trim, and then the pink for the shingles. I love the colour contrast on the house.

I felt it needed some flowers and added flower boxes to the attic and the main floor windows. The six windows on the front need flower boxes too, but I never did get any.

The side windows aren't as fancy as the front windows, but they are also double sash.

I think it turned out very well, and as I write this the house is on it's way to a new home. The new owner was so excited to get it, and appreciated all the work I had put into it. I know she will love it as much as I did and maybe she will decorate the interior. I never got around to it.