The Dolls house Diaries

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-25T00:15:00.000-08:00

Just popping by to say a hearty Merry Christmas to all my lovely followers and friends! Have a wonderful Christmas and all the very best for the year ahead. Lizzie

Triang 1939 or 1950.....

2011-10-08T09:31:00.000-07:00

I wanted to share my most recent dollshouse purchase. I went to an auction with the intention of buying some vintage clothing (see http://thewasherwoman.blogspot.com/ for my other obsession!)
Somehow I managed to buy this little beauty as well as several boxes of wrecked old wedding dresses and other delights.

On returning home I rushed straight to my copy of Marion Osborne's reference on Lines and Triang dollshouse to put an exact date on the house. It would appear that dolls house design number 91 was made in 1939 and then again in 1950.

The exterior of the house says "1930's" to me, as do the papers in all of the rooms except the main bedroom (but it is possible that this has been over-papered?) The main bedroom has a curious deco fireplace while the other fireplaces are all of the usual brick design.

Apologies if the photos are a little hazy. I had to use a different camera, and it certainly isn't as good.

As you can see, I have already found a few bits and bobs of furnishings, but have a long way to go..... I would appreciate any help in pointing to the exact date of this house.

2011-09-22T23:38:00.000-07:00

A good friend has alerted me to this fantastic fund raising event.

Sale of Dollshouses old and new 1.12th, 1/16th, 1/24th

Saturday November 5th

10.30 to 2.30

at Shaw Farm in Wiltshire, SN8 4LU

Kits, Roomboxes, Shops, Books, Magazines, Dolls

Tools and Supplies, Furniture, Accessories

All proceeds to Cancer Research UK

Shaw Farm is in Lockeridge near Marlborough, SN8 4LU

email pat.cutforth@tiscali.co.uk for further details, or visit the website here

Introducing The Country Cottage

2011-06-27T23:05:00.000-07:00

This Triang/Lines back-opener dates from the 1924, and is listed as The Country Cottage DH/H in the Lines Bros catalogue. It is in almost all -original condition, if a little scuffed and worn in places! The wall and floor papers are all original and intact. The lace curtains at the windows also appear to be original to the house, some are in better shape than others.

Like all back-opening dolls houses it is best placed in front of or near a window so you get light flooding into the rooms.....

It came with a lot of furniture and items that I believe are original to the house, including the Triang dining table and chairs. The upholstered furniture also came with the house and is home-made. I have recently seen another set like it, so now wonder if it came from a kit or instructions in a magazine?

The left hand bedroom is furnished with a pretty upholstered daybed and matching chair, it is marked with stenciled writing underneath "Vinnie Doll House Furniture". I don't know anything about this maker, but guessing it might be American?

The kitchen has its original card and metal stove and dresser (that both came with the house). I have added the sink and the painted set of furniture in the centre. This would probably be better suited in a nursery, but I haven't found anything suitable yet for the centre of the room! The right hand bedroom is furnished with Triang and Elgin dark wood furniture. It is quite a small house, so the scale has been a challenge to work with. The height of the rooms are 6.5 to 7 ins. to give you an idea of scale.

Jenny's Home. Work in progress.....

2011-03-21T09:13:00.000-07:00

I have always loved these quirky plastic units that make up the unusual dwelling called Jenny's Home. Dating from the 1960's and made by Triang. At the moment the dolls have a rather precarious looking clear plastic terrace, but I have plans to cover this with some grey paper (once I can remember where I put it!)
I have furnished the bathroom with the cream plastic Kleeware suite (Renwal in the USA) as I have yet to find the complete and correct bathroom set.

Work still to be done in the bedroom as covers and bedding are needed for the hard (!) plastic beds.

The sitting room has a 1960's original carpet (that I had in my dolls house as a child). I love the red plastic upholstered sofa and chairs but I am unsure of the maker?

Finally I have made one of the rooms into a Hair Dressing salon with a collection of pink plastic 60's peices.

Mystery bungalow

2010-12-19T09:33:00.000-08:00

I bought this little bungalow a few years ago. I have not been able to work out who the maker was, or country of origin (although I suspect it is English). It is made from cast metal and fits together with slatted and hinged components. I would guess that it dates from the 1930's.

The front opens to reveal the sitting room and hallway. The roof lifts off so that you can see down into the 4 rooms. I have furnished them as sitting room, bedroom, hallway and tiny kitchen. Not sure what the dolls are supposed to do if they need the bathroom! I love the curved bay window and linoleum effect flooring.

Dimensions are as follows width 17 inches, height to the top of chimney 14 ins, depth 11 inches.

McLaughlin Brothers Pretty village

2010-12-02T23:48:00.000-08:00

I took these photographs some time ago at a friend's stand at the local Antiques Fair. Of course I was very tempted to buy them....
But had to resist as I really had nowhere to put them. We live in an old house and it is prone to damp, so a collection of delicate 100 year old cardboard houses were not going to have a happy time!

As most of you know these toys were made by McLauglin Brothers (founded in 1855) in The USA. It really was a rare treat to see them for real.

Pollack's theatre backdrops

2010-11-12T10:12:00.000-08:00

I have had these for a while, but due to an extreme Autumn "Spring Clean" I have listed them for sale on ebay this week

Click here to view the auction!

Have also listed some German dolls house furniture.... and several other dolls house related items. Have a great weekend!

Listing on ebay this week....

2010-11-03T07:13:00.000-07:00

After all the excitement of the Vintage Bazaar, it is time to come back down to earth and sort out the chaos at home! The best way to do this is to have a bit of an ebay campaign so that we can begin to see the wood for the trees. I am listing a collection of dolls house bits and bobs, so if you want to see what is for sale, search for seller name sunshed.

The Queens Dolls house Early 1920's - Triang

2010-09-24T02:53:00.000-07:00

One of my favourite houses (despite being a back-opener) Dating from the early 20's , it was said to be an "Exact reproduction of the Dolls house furnished by her Majesty the Queen and given to the London Hospital for sale in support of their funds"

Quite a small house, dimensions being 22 ins high, 25 ins wide and 14 ins deep.

The back of the roof lifts up in butterfly fashion to allow access to the upstairs. Most of the wallpaper is original. The curtains are a later addition made from vintage fabric from that period. It is furnished with a mixture of Triang, Pit-a -pat and handmade items.

The French Epicerie

2010-06-14T12:28:00.001-07:00

épicerie (f)

n. grocery, store which sells food and other household goods

This delightful shop came from France. You can just about make out the writing at the top of the first picture. I would imagine that it dates from the early part of the last century.

I love the paint colour and those shelves just waiting to be filled.

It was destined for The Dairy House this week, but has already found a new home. Check Jane's blog for what happens to it next!

stable building of unknown origin.....

2010-05-27T05:16:00.001-07:00

On a recent trip to France I came across this dolls house stable building. Of course I had to bring it home as I fell in love with its very shabby charm.

A close up of the doors which don't quite meet in the middle, I suspect they are not a pair, and I am missing their matching other halves. There are signs that there would have been doors in the left side of the building.
Upstairs there are 2 rooms, the one on the left has this great wallpaper, the other one has plain wooden walls.

There are several types of brick and roof paper on the building, some of which I have seen before on commercially made dolls houses. My eagle-eyed son spotted a number on the paler paper (which has been covered up) the number is 5876. I wonder if this is significant?

This is a close up of the right hand upper window. This may have been a loading window to the hay loft? there was a metal pulley lying on the floor in the stable, but I haven't worked out where it belongs yet. Any information or clues as to the origin or maker would be much appreciated. Many Thanks!

Bargains of the weekend!

2010-05-18T00:22:00.000-07:00

I have enjoyed a busy weekend selling at two Flea markets. Above are some great finds from the Exeter Fair - this collection of old toys all came together in a cute old box.
Then on Sunday at Shepton Mallet Flea market this early 20th century Lines Bros house was discovered on an outside stall.

As you can see it requires some restoration. There are signs of woodworm on the base, so my first job will be to treat that.

More from the Lines Bros 1915 house

2010-05-11T11:01:00.000-07:00

Slowly, slowly I am getting things together in the 1915 Lines Bros house that I started work on earlier this year.

I have had this set of furniture for quite a while, but never found a suitable house to place it in. As I have said before this dolls house has a decidedly French feel to it (despite being English), so I have decided to go with the flow and try this furniture in the Parlour of the house. The carpet is made up from scraps of lovely old pieces of embroidery. Next I need some pictures for the walls and some cakes for the stand!

Identification help please!

2010-03-17T12:11:00.001-07:00

This week I bought these great items at a local auction. They are big scale (dresser height 8 inches) but I am sure I can find somewhere to place them. The dresser has the word "British Made" on the top and a symbol on the back which looks like DWB.

The sink is 7 inches tall, I have seen this item in the past, but in a different colourway (green I think). There are no makers markings on it.

The blue dresser is a little worse for wear, and has the same markings as the red dresser, except there is the word "Easiwork" across the top. it also has a charming metal dispenser - probably for flour?

The cooking range is a fab shade of green, with Made in England printed on the front in cream. Total height just under 7 ins, if anyone has any more information about them I would love to hear from you. Many thanks.

Lines Brothers 1915 Dolls house

2010-01-14T09:21:00.000-08:00

Having had this house for almost 2 years, it really was about time that I attempted to restore it a little.....

As you can see it had been over painted and redecorated at some stage in the past 40 or 50 years. Sadly none of the original wallpapers remain, so I decided to strip off the modern papers (that took a few hours!)

The front of the house is in pretty good condition with its lovely big metal framed windows and original metal door.

I have chosen vintage papers for the restoration, they are mainly hand-blocked and from France. Despite being an English dolls house, I feel it has a slightly continental feel to it.

I have decided to leave the cream internal paintwork as it is far too big a project to remove it, and it has yellowed with age.. which helps.

The house is in the 1915 catalogue, described as Number 61, 33 1/2 ins high, 24 ins wide and 16 ins deep. Interestingly it is described as "Elizabethan Type House with staircase and fireplaces in rooms". Having attached some old lace as curtains I feel it is beginning to feel like a home. More later on the interior.....

Little Houses.

2010-01-10T09:42:00.001-08:00

This has always been one of my favourite books on dollshouses. Ever since I got as a gift in 2001 from Louise I have always wanted to find some little houses....

Last year I was lucky enough to find two. The first came from Sue via her blog http://vintagetovictorian.blogspot.com/

As you can imagine it is quite a challenge to find suitable furnishings for such diminutive dwellings, but I am getting there slowly. As with most Antique dolls houses you need to be a little imprecise on the sticky subject of scale. So far the bed is Newly Weds or Oro....the sofa Schweitzer and the prim lady is possibly Britains.

The second house (on the left) came from an auction locally, and has yet to be furnished..... I will keep you posted.

Ski doll has a day out

2010-01-09T06:21:00.000-08:00

This poor vintage 60's ski doll has been perched in the front garden of a 60's dollshouse for the past year....

But today she had her moment of fame & fun! Doesn't she look the part? She is all - original, from her natty clothing to her plastic ski poles.

If you want to know where she came from, I will tell you that I got her from Leonore -International Quality Kitsch - she has a stand at most of the vintage fairs I do, but you can also purchase from her on ebay.

Unusual Vintage dolls - maker unknown......

2009-12-31T09:26:00.001-08:00

I bought these dolls some time ago. They are beautifully made, and appear to date from the middle of the last century (or possibly earlier?) I suspect they were handmade, rather than commercially produced as the handiwork is exquisite.

Most are in Tudor costume, and some are kings and queens. They are about 10 inches tall, so far too big for a dolls house, but I wanted to share them on the blog. Who knows, somebody may know more about them???

Happy Christmas from the dolls house!

2009-12-17T10:21:00.000-08:00

I have picked out a few Seasonal dolls house views to say a warm Merry Christmas to all my friends in the vintage miniature world!

You can see that father had a bit of a struggle getting the large 1950's tree into the cottage.....

The bar has already opened in the cottage next door..... Cheers!

Not such a jolly time is being had in the kitchen though! Have a good time & hopefully not all of it being stuck at the kitchen sink!

The mystery house

2009-11-30T09:22:00.000-08:00

I bought this strange little house last week, it is made from tin with a sort of "pebble dash" effect. I think it may have had a porch, and is obviously missing some glazing bars.

It doesn't open anywhere, so I wonder if it was meant to be a dolls house? It could have almost been a garden ornament/model house.

I have adorned it with some miniature fairy lights, and I lit it from within, but the camera has not really shown this! It actually looked quite festive....

Interior views.. getting organised slowly....

2009-11-20T12:16:00.001-08:00

I am gradually getting the interior sorted on this house.... as you can see some of the rooms have different wallpaper on the back wall. I think this is because the wiring was changed at some point, so they papered over the wires? Anyway my friend Rosemary has told me that there are some copied Triang papers on ebay so I need to look into this.

The top left room is intended as a bathroom, so I am on the hunt for pieces for this room.

The sitting room is coming together with an upholstered sofa & 2 chairs that I have had for many years & never quite found the right place to put it. I know the firescreen is a later date, but it fits perfectly & is such a pretty shade of blue. The wooden telephone was a lucky find at the previous Vintage & Handmade fair (last May).

I got this pretty painted bedroom furniture at the Lyndhurst dolls house fair last spring.

I also bought this kitchen table, bench & high chair at the same time. Judging by the glorious paint colour they must have come from the same house. I love this wonky old ironing board, it may be commercially made? Has anyone seen another like it?

The dining room has an unusual drop end sofa and a set of Triang furniture, I love the wallpaper in this room.

"Extras" such as ornaments and rugs are needed in most rooms, but I am gradually finding things. It is the Shepton Mallet Flea market in a few weeks time & I often pick up a few "treasures" there.

Last years Christmas Project

2009-11-05T08:46:00.000-08:00

Remember this? It was a picture of a dolls house on my other blog (The Washerwoman) that had been hidden away in the shed for 18 months and that I had intended to restore about this time last year......

It was looking rather sad with its broken & missing windows.....

Luckily last month I was able to buy some old Triang windows at the Cobham dolls house fair to fit the house. Some of the frames had been over painted in white, so I raided my youngest sons ancient collection of Airfix paints, and mixed a suitable shade of brown.

Once the paint was dry I had the fun job of making & fitting some replacement curtains. Triang windows of this era had fabric strips fitted, but these had long since rotted away. I found some nice old bits of patterned fabric and glued strips to each pane.
This is an image taken from the Triang Toys book from the late 1930's and is DH 80, "A design of a picturesque country residence". I have named my cottage "Turners Hill Cottage" as it reminds me of the houses and cottages in East Sussex. Every time I drive to Ardingly Antiques fair I am reminded of this dolls house as most of the properties in the village of Turners Hill have this distinctive tile hung front.

Work is in progress on the interior, so more photos to follow......

More of The Pre war House

2009-11-05T08:24:00.001-08:00

As promised a few more pics from the 1930's house that came from my husbands family. It is a very difficult house to photograph as it is open at the front (I suspect there was a front but it has long gone.) It also has a steep roof at the rear, so any photos taken from that angle just show an expanse of roof paper! The top left window is the bathroom, bottom left is the hallway. The central window overlooks the stairs. The top right window leads to the totally inaccessible 2nd bedroom which can only be reached through these windows. Can you imagine the frustration of a child trying to furnish & play with this room?

The window and door (bottom right) lead to the kitchen. Note the oversized doorbell!

At the back of the house is the kitchen, here are 2 views of it, I love the "fitted pantry" to the left of the photograph. As you can see I have furnished it with more of the "formica" style handmade furniture. Interestingly the handles on the fitted pantry match the handles on the cooker (to the right).
There is another room to the right of the kitchen which I have furnished as a laundry, sadly the photos are very fuzzy so have not uploaded them.

The start of a project.. or two.....

2009-11-01T04:01:00.000-08:00

Just getting to grips with some Triang windows that I bought at the Cobham dolls house fair.. and winding some wool around a Grecon dolls arms & legs...... as if I didn't have better things to do !!

More about this project soon.....

Pre war dollshouse

2009-10-21T23:59:00.001-07:00

This house dates from the late 1930's and was made by my husband's Grandfather for his daughter. The story goes that he made it to "celebrate the fact that we were not going to have a war". Sadly he was rather over-optimistic.

I have a lot of the original furnishings that came with the house & added a few of my own. This metal bathroom set was one of the items that my husband's Aunt gave me with the house. I added the metal loo roll holder (complete with authentic "Izal" style loo paper!)

The main bedroom has a beautifully made set of furniture from a slightly later date, but it is a good scale and I think works well. Sadly the wardrobe was a little too tall for the bedroom, so it is in the hallway. (very useful for storing all the coats & boots)

The carpet is a sample piece of fabric from the 30's & is effective. Taking photos like this is a good way to remind oneself that there are things that still need doing! (That bedding & cushion look awful!!!) I am however pleased with the wallpaper in the bedroom. I think the sitting room below could do with a vintage wallpaper makeover....

The sitting room has more of the handmade furniture with formica detailing. The chair in the foreground appears a little over-sized, but actually doesn't look too bad in real life.

Furnishing older dollshouses is always a challenge as the furniture often has no scale, so one has to furnish by trial & error. The rug is possibly Pit a Pat, it came with the house & has the remains of a red label underneath.

Exterior photos & kitchen to follow.....

Keystone 1940's American Dolls House

2009-10-05T09:24:00.000-07:00

I mentioned my American Keystone house in the previous post. Well, here is the interior.....

It is furnished with American pieces, mostly Strombecker... and nearly all generous gifts from friends...... Louise (http://toysandtreasures.blogspot.com) and another friend who recently gave me her childhood items. As she grew up in the USA, they were just PERFECT for this house. Thank you so much Sarah.

I adore the stencilled boats in the children's bedroom.

Just need to make some pretty curtains for the main bedroom. I did make the cross stitch rug about 20 years ago so I hope you are impressed!

..and lastly the dining room. Is this the lady of the house thinking about which china to set the table with!

Cobham Dolls house Fair

2009-10-05T08:58:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was the Cobham Antiques Dolls, Toys, Dolls house & miniatures Fair. We had a great day, chatting to old & new customers...

As always there was a superb selection of items on sale..... This Triang Welsh Cottage on Wendy Hobdays stand was very tempting....

Ken's shoe boxes held a treasure-trove of goodies.

But this had to be the bargain of the day. A 1940's Keystone house for £25!!!!! The only reason that it was not smuggled into the back of my car was that I already have one.

It had not sold by the end of the day so I took the sellers number, I have her permission to pass it on to anyone out there who is interested.... but please note, this is a biggish house & would not be easy to post! I know this from experience as mine was posted to me from the USA by a great friend almost 20 years ago. It got lost en route and eventually turned up about 6 months later after we had both given up hope of it getting to me.

Another dolls house gem on Janet's stand.... Gottschalk or Reichel?

and lastly a peek of my stand where I set up an "Antique shop" within the room box that you may recall seeing in an earlier post!

A Christmas Project

2009-09-24T00:06:00.000-07:00

I spotted this pretty Georgian style house at the Dairy House (http://www.dairyhouseantiques.co.uk/) recently. It reminded me of days gone by when I worked at the China Doll in Bath. We sold beautiful specialist dolls houses and miniatures for the discerning collector. There were also more affordable houses which could be bought and decorated by the new owner.
This is the sort of house, nicely made and finished, and ready for the imagination and creative owner to make it their own. Sue has this house priced at just over £100, a sensible figure for a delightful project.

There was also a similar dolls house in a recent edition of BBC Homes & Antiques magazine. The owner had painted the exterior plain white & it housed his collection of collectable paperbacks. A nice idea I thought.

Mrs Pepperpot finds a mate....

2009-08-23T06:03:00.001-07:00

I have had Mrs Pepperpot since I was a child & she lived in my dolls house. Imagine my joy to find a Mr Pepperpot the other day at the Flea market! Cute eh?

They might not have been the same vintage cruet set, but I thought they make a cosy couple.

Vintage Dolls house roomboxes

2009-08-12T10:30:00.001-07:00

Here are 2 wooden room boxes that came my way fairly recently. I am guessing that they are about 100 years old, but there aren't many clues. The blue "shabby chic" style kitchen is almost contemporary in its style.....

This one needs a bit of work as the front door is broken, but I think it would make a great shop.

They will be wending their way to The Dairy House Antiques fairly soon (http://www.dairyhouseantiques.co.uk/ ) as we are going to be renting space there to sell a variety of items from Dolls house miniatures (Antique & Vintage only), full size items of furniture for the "large scale" home and a selection of pretty collectables from vintage wedding head-dresses to fabric covered boxes.

We should be moving the stock there in the next few weeks, so will let you know when it happens!

Vintage Dollshouse Wallpapers..................

2009-08-03T11:41:00.001-07:00

wallpaper sample 4For several years I have been acquiring rolls of old wallpaper suitable for dolls house restoration projects. Recently I have been having a bit of a "spring clean" and have decided that I can part with some of the collection. Here are a few examples of the designs I am selling, they are suitable for old Triang houses, and other vintage houses from the middle of last century.

wallpaper sample 3Obviously the photos don't really do them justice, but I am happy to send small sample pieces if you are interested in purchasing any for your own restoration projects.

wallpaper sample 2
The one below is especially "porridgy" and just right for a Triang house from the 1930's to the 1950's.

wallpaper sample 1..or if you are planning on coming to the Cobham dolls house fair I will be bringing a selection with me so you can make your choices there!

Des Res....

2009-08-02T10:42:00.000-07:00

This great little 60's gem was for sale at the Honiton Rag Market in Devon last weekend, the price was a snip at £25.. but I resisted. If anyone is tempted, it will be at the next Honiton fair on August 11th. The fair takes place in the Mackarness Hall in the middle of town & is open from 10 am to 4 pm.

Five dolls in a house

2009-07-31T04:40:00.000-07:00

This is my very worn copy of Five Dolls in a House which has to be my number one favourite childhood book. (With The Family from One End Street coming a close second!)

It is the charming tale of Elizabeth Small who is able to become tiny enough to visit her own dolls house and meet the occupants. A colourful collection of dolls, Vanessa who is bossy, Jane who is helpful, Amanda who is pretty, Jacqueline who is French and well dressed, and my favourite, Lupin.

Oh yes, and not forgetting the mischievous monkey who lives on the roof.

It is still available (I have just checked Amazon) and amazingly still has the same cover as my original copy from 1966, but is a little on the expensive side at £15.79, or an extraordinary £45 for the "collectable" edition!

2009-07-31T03:58:00.000-07:00

A date for your diary, Sunday 4th October 2009 at Cobham village Hall, Lushington Drive, KT11 2LU

10 am to 4 pm, Admission £1.50

Early Admission 8 am £10

Easy parking at venue, leave the M25 at junction 10

Refreshments Available

Dates for 2010

21st March, 27th June, 3rd October

Simplicity to sophistication....

2009-07-31T02:00:00.000-07:00

I have always had an interest in dolls houses. There is satisfaction in searching for the right items for the right era. Rising to the challenge of making the rooms feel "just right"......

......and yet still being able to enjoy putting together a house that children can play with. This is the kitchen from one of my "childhood houses". My young niece and I have been messing around with this one for most of the week.

The third picture shows the bedroom of a 1960's Triang house, furnished mainly with the "Spot-on" items from that era. It also has a doll which has been in my possession since I was at Junior school. I discovered many years later that she is a "Jennys Home"doll, but has always been known to me as Cathy. Any eagle-eyed collectors out there might spot that she is wearing a Dolly Darling dress!

The dolls house Diaries..

2009-07-27T10:41:00.000-07:00

Good evening, welcome to my new blog, the Dolls house diaries, a blog dedicated to diminutive dwellings!

An idea sparked by the interest shown on my other blog

(http://www.thewasherwoman.blogspot.com/)

Hope you enjoy the diaries, I plan to include information about Vintage dolls houses, the specialist fairs and related information.

This is the bedroom of the Polypops English cardboard house from the 1970's. Isn't it fab?