Remoldeling a Gift Miniature Dollhouse Store: the Mini House by Lorraine (and now by me!)

My wonderful hubby got this wee dollhouse store for me at Christmas. OK, I found it and he bought it, but its the thought and cash that count! 

 

 

It came with eight little 1:144 scale dollhouses, the main reason I wanted it:

"Crafted by Lorraine", and the name of the home are on the bottom of each little dollhouse. I've seen a couple of them as kits on eBay so one may still be able to find one to make. But, I must say, Lorraine did a very lovely job with each one and I'm very lucky and honored to have them.

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The Remodel Begins

When the set arrived the front of the store had broken off, but that gave me the idea to make it into a front opener instead of accessed from the top. I also wanted the store to have some floor space and the homes displayed at different levels, so I set to the fun task of remodeling it (I hope you don't mind Lorraine!).

 

The front door it came with is a standard HouseWorks Palladian so I bought two more (with split doors) and removed the doors from their frames to create two large storefront windows. The beaded wainscoting is from Manchester Dollhouse and Wood Works, painted the same color as window trim.

The wainscoting and first shelf installed over the painted walls. I created the wallpaper border from a pict of a full size border with my awesome MacBook. The floor got gently sanded, restained and polyied before any of the other work was started.

 

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Finished!

I liked the gingerbread trim that Lorraine had used on a couple of her little tables so I located some more and painted it gold, like she had. I had just enough to trim all the displays and shelves.

Now the really fun part, setting up the store!!!

 

My husband won a wee bakery at our dollhouse club meeting and I found a sweet little temple grouping that got added to the dollhouse collection. I'll be adding an Old Woman In the Shoe dollhouse (it's a kit I'll enjoy making I'm sure), some battery lights and mini dollhouse books, once they arrive.

 

Welcome! and Goodbye Lorraine! Thanks for Christmas present!

 

Well now that it's done, I've decided to add a top floor, living quarters for dolly. I've found the room box kit and the HouseWorks Palladian windows that match so I'm rarin' to get busy! See ya!

Retrofit the Kit Tudor Dollhouse: Part 12 FINISHED! My Barton Tudor Dollhouse - Real Good Toys Country Tudor CC15

Ta Da!!! My kit bash is done!

Yes, finally, after four months of many and mostly "a first time for everything"s, I'm finished! The last day was somewhat bittersweet; that high that you get when you're done with a long and arduous project and that sad funk that you get when you're done with a long and arduous project! My little Tudor dollhouse...

 

What my goals were:

• To protect and display my vintage 3/4 scale English Barton Tudor dollhouse furniture that I was so fortunate and privileged to get.
• To create a sturdy, small profile, front opening dollhouse, that can be on the floor.
• To keep the display/dollhouse within the 1:15 and 1:12 scales, for possible resale value.
• To explore the “Tudor” style.
• To incorporate two Concord wall dividers in creating a bay window effect.
• To incorporate the cute medieval fabric scrap I purchased many months ago.
• To have fun, practice patience and learn!!

I think I was relatively successful!

The Outside...

  Not much trimming on the sides, but I didn't want to go overboard. 

The outside detail of the bay that was so time and mentally consuming.

The Door Wall...

Open sesame! Gee, wouldn't it be convenient if my own house could open this way!

The Living Room...

Had to have one of those cool, battery powered chandeliers!

The Bedroom...

 I think the landing and stairs came out well!

The Attic...

 

A peak through the skylight.

What I would have done different:

• I would have found a different method of insuring the chimneys evenly lined up when installing them. I’m about an 1/8 inch off, horizontally. That’s a lot in dollhouse land!
• I would have figured out how many shingles I needed, BEFORE I stained them, especially since I made deviations to the kit’s instructions (luckily, I did have enough, once I counted after dying). You want to insure the same dye lot when dying shingles, so make sure you have enough, FIRST!

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And now to furnish it...

Here's all the furniture and such, waiting to go in.

The Living Room...

 

English Tudor Barton trestle table, bench and chairs, the hutch and the corner cabinet. Boy! Am I lucky to have all these fabulous 3/4 scale pieces! Have a seat on the Petite Princess fireside chairs.

The Bedroom...

 

 

A Barton Tudor bed, trunk, and highboy. And by the fire, a Napoleon and Josephine Limoges table set for tea drinking.

The Attic...

 

 I always wanted an art studio like this!!  Barton sideboard, trestle table and chairs (yes, I have two sets!). The lovely easel was made by an artist in England. How fitting!

 

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The Whole Kitten Kaboodle...

 

Well, there you have it. All that time and energy and it's just a wee, three story dolls house! Why did it seem bigger all the time I was making it???? My Barton Tudor furniture display is done. Maybe I went a little overboard?!

 

Thanks for the "bones" Real Good Toys!