Sunday, January 24, 2010

Final Dollhouse Tour

Here are the last photos of my dollhouse tour. You can see the others by following the "dollhouse" link in the sidebar, and they're in my Flikr page too. This is the small bedroom.

I made the bed: the headboard is from pre-made fence shapes from Michael's craft store. The dresser and vanity are from the dollar store. I felt like it was my lucky day when I ran across those.
This room still needs pictures on the walls. Just like with a real house, you're never quite done decorating a dollhouse.


The T.V. is a Japanese magnet. You may be able to see the perfume bottle next to the lamp is made from beads.


This is the second bedroom. I enlarged it by covering over the opening for the staircase that was originally on the right side. The stairs would have had to face away from the open side of the dollhouse, toward the front wall, so they wouldn't have been visible. I've been able to use the display space for more furniture.

This bed was made from balsa wood, and the headboard is a decorative wooden medallion.

This picture of my kids as babies was a charm for a necklace.

Don't you love these side mirrors? I was lucky to get this dress form on EBay.

Originally, there was a sepia-toned picture of a large house pasted into this frame in the wall. I wanted to keep it, but when I masked it off to paint the room, the picture got damaged. I replaced it with a postcard featuring a painting by Carmen Lomas Garza, of a family making tamales.


She does beautiful paintings of everyday life among Texas Mexican people, some of which are incorporated into children's books. The postcard advertises an exhibit of her work at the University of Texas. In front of the picture is the treadle sewing machine I knew I wanted for the dollhouse.


One big question about dollhouses is how to display them. They take up a significant amount of space, and you want to be able to see both sides. For the time being, I've installed mine on the counter between my living room and kitchen. From the living room, you can see the inside of the dollhouse.

From the kitchen, and when you come in the front door, you can see the outside. I'm pleased with this arrangement for the time being.

Thanks for visiting the dollhouse. Drop by anytime, the coffee's always on.

9 comments:

Magpie Sue said...

Oh lovely, lovely! I marvel at all the tiny replicas you've managed to find to outfit your house. That sewing machine! I have a Barbie sewing machine - pink of course, and modern looking. I also have a little false TV. It is a souvenir item from Berkely, I think. You can see little pictures of some of the great works of art from history in it. What fun to be able to use them in a doll house of your very own!

quiltmom anna said...

Have you always loved dolls and dollhouses Barbara?
Yours is filled with many loving touches. I love the postcard - her art is so bright and colorful. Your perfume bottle is a brilliant idea- A friend of ours has a number of miniature houses and the detail in all her pieces , like yours, is phenomenal.
It is nice to see that you get to enjoy your handiwork by having it in a central location. I am sure that you smile each and everytime you look at it. Perhaps when you look, you think of something else you want to add to it.
I am determined to blog and quilt today.
Be well,
Regards,
Anna

beth said...

Thank you so much for the lovely tour! I had fun looking at all the rooms. My favorite is the post card picture, I think. And, I do like the placement of your doll house right there in the midst of your own home! What a fun hobby. You can redecorate to your hearts content and not break the bank!

allie aller said...

This is play at its very best.
Barbara, what a masterpiece!!!
Thank you so much for the tour...

Vicki W said...

It's fabulous! I adore the red furniture and would like to have it for my own home.

Judy S. said...

How fun! If I were only tiny enough to move in...Wherever did you find the tiny sewing machine and the little box of thread? You clearly had fun doing this.

Kay said...

What fun! You've added so many wonderful little touches like the perfume bottle and the thread, and paintings, and on and on.

Susan Elliott said...

Wouldn't it be fun to drop by for coffee!! Love all the pics -- where in the world did you get the dress form???

Debra Dixon said...

Good thing I clicked over here because this didn't come up in my bloglines.

Your house is just super! Wasn't it fun looking for props in unexpected places? I am sure you could go on indefinitely!

Wonderful!

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